Summertime

Summertime officially started for me yesterday.  Why?  It was Braden's last day of school.  And when you're a kid, that's when it really starts, right?  Summer = lack of school.  And since my life revolves around my kids these days, I've adopted that definition once again.

I have always loved summer.  There's something so carefree about it.  The unscheduled afternoons.  The mornings at the pool.  The vacations.  The sun staying out past bedtime and eating dinner outside and being able to go out at night without a jacket.  I anticipated and embraced this easygoing season for twenty six long years until...

REAL LIFE!

Real life came with my first "real" job which just happened to be biglaw.  And in addition to the normal anxiety any biglaw lawyer feels, summer brought a new anxiety.  Anxiety over cancelling vacations and missing social gatherings and just plain being depressed about being stuck in the office on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  Summers weren't carefree anymore.  They blended into spring and fall and conference calls and discovery deadlines.  Summer days were just another day.

I suppose that's an inevitable part of growing up, no matter what your occupation.  But one of the perks of being a stay at home mom is that I get a little of that summer excitement back.

And I love that.

I love that I don't have to ask off for summer vacations.  I'll be going to Cape Cod for two weeks in July, and no one can stop me.  And I don't have to check my email the whole time if I don't want to.

I love that I can go to our neighborhood pool anytime I want.

I love that I can take walks with the kids during the evening "witching hour," because it's warm out and it's light out and it winds the kids down.

I love that I can actually use our backyard again, and maybe even sit out there and read myself during naptime.

I love that I am not sitting in an interior office and I can see the sun.

I love that my time is mine.

I love that I feel summer again.

And sure, it would be nice to have my husband and all of my friends who have those "job things" hang with me all day.  And even nicer if my kids would sleep in past 7am and nap daily and refrain from having poolside meltdowns.

But I'll take summer anyway I can get it.

And it has arrived!