Summer
Here in the Northern Hemisphere it is summer. School is out(for most places), pools are open, summer camps begin and the sound of children are heard later in the evening as the sun is setting. For many people summer is a time of relaxation and rejuvenation. For some, it becomes a time of challenges.
Maybe you are a parent struggling how to manage healthy childcare for your littles. Other parents might be struggling with how to set boundaries around screen time or time with friends. Maybe you just have a child that doesn’t know what to do with their time and isn’t engaging with the world.
Maybe the dynamics for you are having to work overtime to pay for everything ‘fun’ for your family and you feel real burnout, but can’t stop. Or your relationships suffer in the summer because your schedule isn’t as flexible as your friends.
Whatever your challenges are as we move through this season, I hope you can find a rhythm that works for you and your family and friends. Sometimes, this feels selfish or impossible or not how it used to look last year. THIS IS OK!! Not every year is one to ‘knock out of the park’. Sometimes we just need the calm, feet in the grass, cold glass of tea kind of summers without saying to ourselves, “I should…”.
When sitting with many clients around the summer expectations, I hear the phrase, ‘I should..’. It is important to recognize your expectations…do they need a little modification for this year? Are you ‘shoulding’ yourself? You have this one beautiful life that doesn’t look the same from year to year. Allowing yourself the time for reflection, correction, and connection is how life works.
I hope as the start of the summer goes, you can embrace the wildness with curiosity and thoughtfulness. You are worth it.