Parents - how we doing? It’s hot, right? I don’t know about you, but I spent the better part of the last two months sweating through my active wear while buckling my kids in and out of their carseats as we zoomed here, there and what feels like everywhere. 

we might be running ourselves ragged with the pressure of ‘only’ 18 summers.

We’ve all been told we only get 18 summers, and like the good parents we try to be, we want to make each one count.. But I also feel like we might be running ourselves ragged with the pressure of ‘only’ 18 summers. Because it is a lot of pressure. Anybody feel me on this? 

Here’s the thing— think about your best childhood memories from summertime. Hopefully, you have a lot of them, and if I had to guess, most of them are made up of small moments that at the time felt relatively insignificant. Sure, our parents put in the effort to make summer magical, but this was likely at a time when social media wasn’t a looming reminder of everyone’s daily highlights.

I went ALL out to set up a s’mores bar for an outdoor fire pit night—they didn’t touch my fancy marshmallows and chocolates, but they did belly-laugh under the stars

And now it’s our turn to experience this desire (pressure?) to give our kids the best of the best, and seeing first hand how sometimes, less is more. I’ve learned this lesson a few times already when we lugged an entire wagon full of toys and things to the beach but our 2-year-old’s favorite part of the whole trip was chasing after the seagulls. Or the time we took our kids downtown for a baseball game, spent wayyy too much money on tickets, ice cream, and face paint to give them that picture-perfect summer baseball night, BUT at the end of the day, they said their favorite thing was “reading books with mommy” that morning. And then there’s the night that I went ALL out to set up a s’mores bar for an outdoor fire pit night—they didn’t touch my fancy marshmallows and chocolates, but they did belly-laugh under the stars as we sang silly songs and hilariously failed to capture fireflies.  

So let’s all agree that it’s okay to stop trying so hard, and just be present enjoying summer’s smallest moments. Not because we only get 18 summers, but because it’s hot, we’re tired and the kids are going to be just fine.

All of this to say,  what lasts even longer than the smokey smell of my hair from last night’s campfire, are the memories of a childhood rooted in simplicity. The little things. The togetherness. So let’s all agree that it’s okay to stop trying so hard, and just be present enjoying summer’s smallest moments. Not because we only get 18 summers, but because it’s hot, we’re tired and the kids are going to be just fine.