Dear Mom-who’s-already-dreading-summer,
Does the thought of having all the kids home make you break out into a cold sweat?
Are you already dreading soccer practices, swim lessons, and your job as their summer social director?
Struggling with feeling like an epic failure because you’re fantasizing about months of doing nothing while your girlfriends have a list a mile long of fun things to do with their brood?
Don’t fear these next few months – embrace them.
Do what you want to do. Go where you want to go. Spend time with who you want to spend time with. Make summer dinners you want to eat.
- Feel like staying home in your pj’s all week long? Do it.
- Not up to going to the zoo in triple digit hear? Don’t.
- Is Pinterest taunting you with a thousand summertime kid crafts that all perfect moms do with their kids? Delete that app from your phone.
- Haunted by that mom-blogger who just shared the pleasure of making homemade lemonade with smiling kids and organic lemons handpicked from her tree? Stop following her.
- Don’t feel like paying hundreds of dollars for swimming lessons this summer? Say NO. A mom who says no to swimming lessons doesn’t make you a terrible parent. Life jackets and floaties are accessible for your next water outing—I promise.
A Great “Summer Mom”
A great summer mom – says no more than she says yes.
A great summer mom – does less so her kids can learn to do more.
A great summer mom – hands her child a broom when they say “I’m bored.”
A great summer mom – feels no guilt reading her favorite novel while her kids play outside.
A great summer mom – drags her kids to the library no matter how much they complain.
A great summer mom- puts her kids to bed early so she can spend time with her husband. Wink. Wink.
A great summer mom – takes a break from her phone and hunkers down to enjoy face to face time with her kids.
A great summer mom – chooses the peace of an open schedule instead of the chaos of a bulging calendar.
A great summer mom – feels no remorse making sandwiches for dinner three nights in a row.
A great mom chooses the peace of an open schedule instead of the chaos of a bulging calendar. – Joanne Kraft
Dear mom who’s already dreading summer–stop fretting about these summer months and let yourself off the hook. Remove these invisible expectations you’be put on yourself – the ones you believe make you a great mom and start believing what God says about you.
YOU ARE ENOUGH.
You, sweet mom, are the captain of this ship. Set your course on the island paradise of your choosing this summer. Then watch and see how quickly your crew of littles climb onboard.
Joanne Kraft is a mom of four and the author of The Mean Mom’s Guide to Raising Great Kids and Just Too Busy—Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabbatical. She’s been a guest on Focus on the Family, Family Life Today and CBN. Joanne and her husband, Paul, moved their family from California to Tennessee and happily traded soy milk and arugula for sweet tea and biscuits. Joanne joins her mom-friends over coffee every Saturday morning, sign up and grab your favorite cup—she’d love to have you!
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