Hey Mama, It's August, Time To Feel GUILTY!
With summer comes a whole lot of plans and expectations -- which will inevitably lead me (and many other moms) to feel guilt ridden and exhausted by the time August rolls around.
Here's a look at a general timeline for our collective mom guilt and angst:
Meet May Mom
She's exhausted by the marathon of end of year obligations, tired of the alarm clock, car pools, class parties and extra curriculars. Bring on summer! It can't come fast enough.
June Mom:
Enter June. The month of our very best intentions . . . and right out of the gates we're KILLING IT!
In Walks July Mom:
You know you've got some regrets. Netflix might be one of them. And then maybe that time that I yelled at them and told them that I couldn't wait for school to start. And then they told me that I tell them that at least once every summer and roll their eyes.
Oh Hey There August Mom! Happy New Year.
August rolls around and we realize our summer days are numbered, our kids are fighting, the summer slide has set in -- our kids are officially dumber for having been with us all summer, our bucket lists are unfinished and another summer has come and gone, just like those homemade popsicles you pinned on Pinterest.
Tick tock.
via@kvd_photography
Happy New Year ladies!
Panic. Angst. Guilt. It all crashes through you like the waves on the beach you still wish you were on. Oh wait, and then you can't wait for school to start. And then you feel guilty again. And then you try to schedule like ten things into the remaining two weeks of summer. And then you're daydreaming of a quiet house again. But then you start thinking about Christmas and you wish it was June.
Girl, you're conflicted . . . or is it just me?
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Bonus Points!
Working moms, you get to feel an extra dose of guilt and angst. The juggle of work paired with the daydreams of carefree time off and summer magic are like a herd of elephants (from your local zoo that you meant to get to this summer) sitting on your chest. Those summer dreams can be crushing.
10 points for Gryffindor. You earned those mama!
Solutions
I have no solution. Time is an evil task master. This happens to me every year. I want summer to be longer and shorter all at once.
But I do have some ideas to help counter balance these feelings:
- I'll be reviewing our summer photos like a highlight reel. I truly forget how much we really do pack into a summer. Summer really has been good to us.
- I declare September the month of MOMS. The weather is still great. Send the kids off to school and park yourself AT THE POOL. I'm scheduling an afternoon to float a river with my besties . . . in my sunnies . . . with a shake in hand.
- Breathe a little. No really - I just need to CALM DOWN. Working on it.
In the meantime, let go of all that guilt. It's not doing any of us any good and I'm pretty sure our mom's weren't lamenting the way that we do. I think they were happy to have kept us all alive and consider us all blessed to have had some Jell-o Pudding Pops stocked up in the freezer. #childoftheeighties
Carry on summer moms! Buy one more box of popsicles, catch a few more sunsets, and know there will be more.
I look forward to seeing you poolside September Mom!
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