Issue 60: It's A Mom-First Summer
Plus: coming up for air after a whirlwind June + some links!
Since I became a parent, I’ve eagerly anticipated summer—my favorite season—while also dreading the many hours of time I’d need to drum up activities for my kids to keep busy until daycare or school started again. I looked forward to the extra time with them, but it also felt heavy with planning and all the while there was some loss of the autonomous joy that I used to derive from this time of year.
This, to me, is the reason all the millennial moms are flocking to the idea of creating a 90s summer for their kids: it’s full of nostalgia that connects them to the joys they experienced pre-parenthood. That, and it feels like focusing on the simplicities of neighborhood bike rides, popsicles on the back deck, and encouraging weeks of pure boredom is a permission slip to let go a bit and stop doing so damn much to ensure our kids have the best summers ever. The moms are tiiiiired.
One year for Christmas, my friend Sara (hi Sara!) sent me a Christmas ornament, a beautiful, brightly-colored felt cocktail glass (pre-kids I was very into cocktail-making!) along with the note: “I hope you look at this ornament every year and remember all the things you were before and in addition to ‘mom.’”
That note is pinned on my office bulletin board and I think of the sentiment often. We gain so much in becoming mothers, and we also lose parts of ourselves at the same time. It takes many, many seasons to slowly rediscover those forgotten bits—or remake new ones in their place.
With this thought in mind, it struck me that maybe there was another way to experience summer. Instead of planning kid-centric activities to fill our summer days, what if I made a list of all the things that I wanted to do this summer, and see how I might be able to weave my kids into those plans? So I created a series that invites you to reconnect with yourself, prompting you to ask the question: What do I want out of this summer? And then: how might I be able to bring my kids along for the ride? My hope is that it might encourage you to reorient this season so that you—and all the things you love to experience—may be brought forth, reminding you, too, of who you were before you became “mom.”
There will be three guides in the series, each with a theme: Creativity, Culture + Community, and Whimsy. I’m really excited to share these, and I hope they help in some small way.
See you soon with the first guide!
June was a whirlwind month here…
A belated birthday adventure for my now 6-year-old to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and his very first stay in a hotel(!!)
Two graduations (preschool and kindergarten!)
A 10-day visit from my husband’s mom and grandmother (my kids’ nana and great nana)
The start of ballet for my daughter…
…followed by celebrations for her 4th birthday
Our first camping trip together
A big BBQ with my side of the family
Plus a million little things in between—like trips to the river, end-of-school events, and a week of camp
Lots of memories made, and also very little time to rest. I’m happy July is here, and ready for a bit of a reset (and more time working on this newsletter!!). And just a PSA: if you’re drowning a little bit this summer, I see you. This season can be both wondrous and overwhelming, relaxing and chaotic, cup-filling and depleting. Let it be all the things. You’re doing great.
- ’s merch is excellent—I’m leaning towards the Radical Left Lunatic shirt myself.
I loved the concept of a “mentor mom” from
in her post on 7 Things I Wish I’d Known As a Young Mom: someone who has kids a bit older than yours, being just ahead of you enough to offer perspective but close enough that she can still relate to what you’re going through.Recent river trips make me feel like it’s time to succumb to buying a quintessential mom sun hat (currently sold out; this one is fun too)
- ’s world peace cookies feel very needed right about now.
- ’s greeting cards from her Kwohtations line are just the best out there. I want to order one of each just to have on hand, popping them into the mail on a whim.
Added a bunch of books to my TBR thanks to
of - 17 Essential Reads About Motherhood.Love these confetti tortoise shell sunnies.
I love Kate McLeod’s body lotion stones, and her new sun stone feels like a summer must-have.
Playground pants. (A+ reporting by
)Tinto de Verano—red wine and lemon soda over ice—is on my summer menu.
Speaking of cocktails: PALOMA OLIVES!! from
!Don’t have to tell me twice: a bibliophile oracle deck.
thanks so much for the mention, Christy!
Thanks for including me! <3