Warm girl summer…
It’s so easy to get “lost” in motherhood.
To get sucked in by ALL THE THINGS and all the responsibilities that motherhood brings along and then suddenly wonder what the hell happened to you? You know… the “real you”… the one that is cool… and fun… carefree and laid back… the one who doesn’t need to buy “cool mom” merch to convince yourself you are one… but who actually believes it (<-ahem… this last one is personal… 🙄…).
From the minute I found out I was pregnant with baby number one I was determined not to get lost in mommyhood… I was always going to be dope… mom or not… I wasn’t going to miss a beat.
Well ain’t that some funny sh*t. Because even though that might have been the case with one child… add in two extra kids, a pandemic and some anxiety keeping me locked in the house for over a year… and I felt far from cool, or dope, or carefree.. and those moments feeling “lost” in motherhood felt inescapable. Given the circumstances I can’t blame myself or anyone else who felt stuck in those moments… but what I will say is that I absolutely didn’t want to stay there.
And thankfully I didn’t. Someone told me years ago when you have kids remember that they came into your world. Don’t stop living because you have kids… just take them along for the ride. While that might sound good it’s definitely not always practical and I get it. What I also know is that there are times I don’t want to bring my kids along even when I can. Lol.
And while I might have felt bad about that in the past… this last year reminded me that I need to drop the mom guilt or I’ll be sucked into doing absolutely nothing but momming… It’s okay to want time alone. Time without the kids. Times with just you and your man. Mornings without waking up to a child or an alarm… Basically wanting anything that gives you some semblance of your pre-kid life. Lol.
I know I - for one - started envisioning my “warm girl summer” the minute I was fully vaxed. Lol! Brunch… girls nights out… date days… date nights… wine festivals… beaches and poolside drinks… the possibilities felt endless considering what last summer looked like. And I AM HERE FOR IT. Okay?!
Truthfully I think it was the thought of having some time with, and to, myself that excited me most. Funny enough I came across two other posts this week from bloggers on the mom guilt topic and in case you didn’t catch it the first time… I’ll say it again. Drop the mom guilt. Not only is it okay… but it’s necessary… to want to DO YOU. You need it to be your best you. To be the best version of yourself for your family and to show up for them the way you want to.
So have that warm girl summer. Drop the kids off with a friend. Go somewhere alone. Be cool, and carefree and fun. Remind yourself who TF YOU are. You’ll be all the better for it. 😉