When we think of summer, it conjures up images of days at the pool or the beach, fewer schedules, and warm weather. When I was a kid, I actually spent most of my summers holed up in my room with books, but I liked it that way. I took trips to the pool with my best friend, played outside when the heat of the afternoon cooled off, and bought the occasional treat from the ice cream truck. Easy and carefree, like we imagine summer to be.
Now that I’m a parent myself, I’m realizing more and more that summers like that aren’t going to be the norm for my kids. Since both Chris and I work full-time, our schedules don’t change just because the weather does. Even when school lets out for the summer and the pools open, we still start our days by 6 am. We are still out the door by 7am, armed with lunches, daycare bags, and whatever toys Abbie wants to bring along that day. We still battle traffic morning and evening, and Abbie still spends her days at daycare. Our routine doesn’t change, and occasionally I long for the lazy days of summer I remember.
While those lazy days will likely never be reality for us, most of the time I’m completely content with our hectic schedule. Our family thrives on routine – all three of us (and hopefully this baby does too). Summer just makes it a bit busier. Most of summer, our weekends are full of all the summer fun we can’t do during the week. We take weekend trips, hit the pool and amusement parks, and have family cookouts. Summer may not be lazy for us, but it’s so full of life and fun. while I sometimes wish Abbie could have those lazy summers, most of the time I don’t miss it at all. I’d much rather have a full summer than a lazy one.
