Parenting During Summer Break

I always thought that summers should be filled with vacations, excitement, long days at the pool, and sandcastles. As a working parent, my summers do not reflect what my younger self envisioned.

The stress of summer starts to seep in during March and April when I'm trying to figure out what summer camps my kids will attend. I agonize over where we will go for vacation. Is it a summer for visiting family? Is it a summer where we try to squeeze in a bucket list experience before my kids are too old? Could we be brave, try to make it happen, and go for both? As the school year comes to an end, my kids are excited, and I am a ball of anxiety. How will I get everyone where they need to go while making appointments? Will my kids still have an enjoyable summer while I am working? The guilt of am I enough takes over.

Summer is just beginning, and I have completely forgotten what it is all about. It is a time to slow down, even if it is ever so slightly. It is an opportunity to give myself grace and compassion and remember that I don't have to be superhuman. I need to be a loving and caring parent who is doing the best I can with what I have. It is ok to be resourceful. This can look many different ways. One idea is finding a fellow parent that you can take turns carpooling with. You may not be able to take the kids to the park for a picnic in the middle of the day, but you can eat dinner on the back porch on a blanket.

Sometimes we need a little assistance reframing the narrative that we tell ourselves. Instead of allowing anxiety and self-doubt to take over, we need to look at what are the expectations that I am putting on myself.

Are they obtainable?

Is the story I am telling myself true?

Here at Harper Therapy, we can help.