Some of my fondest childhood memories are of the summer time. Everything is relaxed and lazy and enjoyable during those long summer days — for the child, anyway.
So far, this was only my second summer as a mother, and my first definitely did not have the words “relaxed,” “lazy,” or “enjoyable” attached to those long days. Not to say I didn’t love the time we spent together or the things we did, but I didn’t feel like we really did all the summery things. Heading into this summer, I was a little worried I’d run into the same issues. My son was a small baby last summer, which made things hard, but in all honesty there were plenty of excuses against doing fun things this year, too (and there will be every year). I didn’t want to get caught in that trap.
I knew this year some things would be much easier, but of course some things would be harder, too. My son may be only 1 year old, and maybe he won’t remember anything we did this summer, but I do think the beginnings of memories, the feeling of the summer, if you will, will start to be embedded in his memory. So I wanted it to be filled with joy and laughter. I think I succeeded.
Armed with the memories of last summer and the things I wanted to do differently, I went into this summer with a different mindset. Last year, some days were so hot it seemed almost dangerous to bring him outside. And if I did bring him out, it seemed necessary to slather him in sunscreen. On the other hand, it seemed a lot better for his skin to not slather him in the sunscreen (even if it was organic, nontoxic, and “baby-friendly”).
Trying to get past the thought of braving the heat and dealing with sun protection to try to do something summery and “fun” like go to the beach would bring up endless other dreaded issues — how much would he scream in the car, how far would I have to carry him and all the stuff from the parking lot, how would I set up the gear and keep the sand from his eyes, would I be able to bring enough water to keep up with the hydration my body constantly needed for nursing. It was much easier to stay home and inside. I’m sure other mothers can relate.
Not this year! This year I was a second-summer mama. This year my son could walk around and loves being outside and active. So this year I put a couple of strategies in place to make it a summer to remember — for him and me. Yes, there was a slew of super hot days again where we hid in the air conditioning, but we also found ways to stay cool even while doing fun things.
Planning in advance and allowing myself to look forward to the days rather than dread the details really helped a lot. I realized I needed to be mindful about what we were going to do and schedule things in a way that made sense and wouldn’t overwhelm.
I started our summer with a few events in mind so that my son would experience some authentic summer memories. Want to know what we did? We made homemade popsicles, spent an afternoon at the splash pad, went to farmers markets, ran through the sprinkler, and went out for ice cream. When it was hot we went to the mall for a stroll and spent the day looking at lights, people, and shiny new things. On other hot days we went to the library and got our summer reading on. We also tried new playgrounds and started swim lessons. And yes, we even went to the beach! We made some really fun summer memories and found some activities we’ll continue to do for summers to come.
Did you do anything this summer to make memories, even if at first it felt more overwhelming than fun?
