My family and I have been having such a great summer so far, and the best part is we haven’t had to travel too far from home.
As a parent it’s easy to get caught up with what other parents are doing over the summer. I hear from other moms about their Disney vacations, road trips across the states, Caribbean travel, and more awesome things we’re not quite doing this summer. But to be honest, we’re perfectly fine with our simple summer and staying close to home.
My girls are still so young (3 years old and 18 months) that I feel like I can still get away with doing much of nothing. My husband and I talked about possibly going to Disney this summer and decided to go next year when our little one is out of diapers (a great idea if you ask me). The truth is they are content with just spending time with us, no matter what we’re doing, because they really don’t know any better. They’re not in school yet (Olivia will start pre-K in September) and their social circle is pretty small, so they’re not exactly comparing notes with other kids — and I absolutely love that.
I always have to keep reminding myself to treasure this special time when my girls are still so little. Other parents constantly remind me, too, and have confessed that they started taking all their trips and packing their schedules with activities once the kids were in school and they felt more of the pressure from other families. I know it’ll feel like a matter of months before they’re asking to do whatever they’re friends are doing; whether it’s ballet, soccer, karate, huge birthday parties, long road trips, etc.
We’ve got time for all of that, down the road. Right now, I’m enjoying spending an afternoon coloring or a summer evening getting ice cream and looking at the stars. My personal favorite: a get-up-and-go beach day. Luckily for me my girls are beach bums just like their mom, and the closest beach is a short walk away. Although it’s a simple summer, it’s a busy one. In addition to the beach, we’re taking advantage of the local pools and parks. They’ve gone to the zoo a few times and when I’m feeling like I’d rather not do much after a long workweek, I’ll call another mom for a playdate. When the weather’s not so great, we go to the library. My kids are having a great summer — they’re not really missing out on anything and I’m enjoying my babies.
