A Working Mom Summer

I grew up with a stay-at-home mom, so summers were spent outdoors, building forts in the woods, swimming at the cabin, or biking around with friends. Those long, lazy days filled with adventure and exploration are some of my fondest memories. Naturally, I always thought that would be what summers looked like for my children—until I decided I wanted to be a working mom. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel guilty when our kids are being shuffled between camps and daycare. Sure, they have a great time. But what about that picture-perfect summer I had in my head?

Earlier this month, during a work meeting, I shared that one of my dreams was to be able to spend summers with my kids. My boss looked at me and said, “Well, what are you going to start doing now to make that happen?” In that moment, I realized that instead of working today’s summers away so I could “maybe, someday” have a whole summer off with them, I was going to start now. I decided to:

• Stop feeling guilty that my children’s summers will look different than mine.
• Stop feeling envious of parents who get to spend summers with their kids.
• Stop working so hard for a future goal that I forget to enjoy the everyday moments now.

So, I made a summer bucket list with activities that felt doable between camp pickup and bedtime. We are taking full advantage of no homework or piano lessons and turning that time into family fun! I am dubbing this the #workingparentsummer. The activities are not novel by any means, but I did have to switch my mindset from weekday evenings being a “school night” to weekday evenings being a “summer night.”

Participating in the 30 More Outdoors challenge fits perfectly with our new approach to summer. It’s a simple yet effective way to ensure we make the most of the time we have together.

So HERE is our Summer Bucket List for Working Parents.