This is it, the end of
summer. Usually, I am so thankful for
the beginning of the school year.
Even though I am required to pack Marie her lunch every day and take Thomas to preschool a few times a week, it feels like a break. Probably because I'm not monitoring the delicate balance between how many episodes of Full House (Marie's show) versus how many episodes of Annoying Orange (Thomas's show) were watched at one time while frantically trying to get school work done.
But I do not feel this intense relief that summer is over. In fact, I am sad since I wasn't savoring this season. Between moving and accepting additional responsibilities in an already new job, I felt that I was balancing more than normal. I have written a few posts at Detroit News MichMoms about these feelings here and here.
Even though I am required to pack Marie her lunch every day and take Thomas to preschool a few times a week, it feels like a break. Probably because I'm not monitoring the delicate balance between how many episodes of Full House (Marie's show) versus how many episodes of Annoying Orange (Thomas's show) were watched at one time while frantically trying to get school work done.
But I do not feel this intense relief that summer is over. In fact, I am sad since I wasn't savoring this season. Between moving and accepting additional responsibilities in an already new job, I felt that I was balancing more than normal. I have written a few posts at Detroit News MichMoms about these feelings here and here.
I never felt like I
struck the right balance; it felt more like a seesaw.
We went from this
extreme
 |
| Pool time at the gym before swim lessons |
 |
| Pool time at our neighborhood pool |
To this extreme
 |
| Unlimited amounts of screen time. Breakfast in front of the TV? Yes. Lunch while the TV is on? Absolutely. When asked about Marie's screen time at her well checkup, I may have just added up the hours and divided by two to get a more desirable number. |
Because of this
 |
| I got this all worked out, and now will proudly update my LinkedIn profile with PowerPoint presentations as my new super power. |
What can I say – this summer
was all about transitions and none of them were seamless. I felt it was extremely challenging to be
present, and I torment myself with guilt that I could not focus more on the
kids for the finite amount of time they are home for the summer. However, here is a positive thing I can say
about summer: it was so fast and furious that I think the beginning of the
school year will feel easier.
How are you feeling
about the end of summer? Are you excited? Sad?
3 comments:
Erin, I went through our summer pictures this morning after I dropped the kids off to make sure we did enough "fun stuff" this summer. Yes, feeling guilty about not being able to "do it all". We are in the same boat my friend. Good to run into you, Elizabeth
Don't you think moving totally put a crimp into summer fun?!
it was great to run into you, too!
It's good to hear that I am not the only one with Mommy guilt! Summer goes by more quickly every year and it seems more difficult to fit in everything that you want to do! I just try to live in the moment when I do have time to spend with the kids and understand that sometimes they prefer to watch Full House over hanging with Mom! Don't be too hard on yourself!
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