Everyone loves summertime fun. You might not be a fan of the heat, but just about anyone enjoys the different activities you can partake in when nice weather and time off work allow. Heck, I freaking love summer fun. Mostly.
The thing is, it’s exhausting. Like it’s really exhausting. It did not used to be this way. I can remember a time when I loved nothing more than throwing on my swimsuit, grabbing a towel and awesome novel or gossip magazine, and heading out in my grandma’s Nova to the lake. I would lay out, soaking up the rays for hours. I didn’t even wear a watch most times. If I got hot, I got in the water. If I got sleepy, I took a nap. It was the best.
Every year when May starts winding down and the weather gets hotter, I find myself getting all excited. Thoughts of swimming in the pool and lounging around with a good book invade my brain. I forget that it’s not that simple to grab ahold of these summer pleasures any longer. I think it is though, so I make what’s called plans.
Plans are really cool things you construct in your mind, sometimes on paper, to get together your needed supplies and take them somewhere awesome. When you have kids plans become altered. Plans become more complicated. They have to be more detailed and time-consuming, yet ironically you find yourself with less of that thing called time.
Everybody wants to go do something fun. “Yay Mommy! You’re the best! Let’s go swimming!” So everyone is in favor of this summer fun adventure. Then they all disappear.
What I mean is, they all go off to watch TV or play “Baby Birthday, Dress-up Doctor” on the iPad while you are left holding the empty beach bag. Everybody wants to go have some fun, but nobody is too excited about contributing to the actual task of getting there.
Who thinks about things like water, snacks, and towels? Momma does.
Who packs folks dry underwear and their favorite juice box? Momma does.
Who knows where all the floats, sunscreen, and water shoes have been hiding all winter? Momma! She’s the only one. Believe me, she asks, and nobody knows.
Sometimes a stray child will wander up with an orange giraffe on wheels. “Look what I found mom! We can take it with us!!” Yep. That’s great. I don’t think we’d make it to the beach without a rolling zoo creature.
By the time you find everyone’s suits, pack a bag of towels, sunscreen, and floaties, make a lunch, and load up the van, you’re sweating heavily, and quite eager for a dip in the cool water.
Despite your exhaustion, you’re pretty excited too when you finally arrive at your destination. Whether it’s the reprieve from cartoons coming from the back seat or the ceasing of the “are we there yets,” you feel full of happiness as you put the vehicle in park.
Everyone else is excited too, and they try to jet when you open the automatic doors. They’re pulling against seat belts, and the big ones are no where to be seen. Everyone under 18 years old becomes so excited that their arms break. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for why Mom is left holding all the bags, floats, and cooler.
If Dad is around, praise Jesus, he carries his fair share, but often times daddy-o is working and kid-corralling around a body of water is left all up to mom’s capable hands.
Guess what? You can in no way enjoy a great novel when little people cannot swim. Not happening. You know this, so you don’t even bring one.
Laying out? It just doesn’t seem appealing. You’re usually pouring buckets of sweat after carrying half of your house to the water, changing multiple people into swimsuits, and then lathering them with sunscreen, and attaching flotation devices. Baking in the sun doesn’t sound fun after all that.
So you get in the water. With kids. Who can’t swim. Strike that first part. You get in the water and hold kids who can’t swim. Yep. That’s what you do.
And you enjoy it. You do. I’m not saying you don’t. You love their sweet, excited faces as they splash and kick. You look every single time they scream, “Hey! Watch this!” And you clap proudly.
Summer fun with kids is still fun. It’s just different, and it’s exhausting. But you know the best part about that? Kids who fall asleep early and sleep all night! The trick is making sure you’re not so exhausted yourself that you pass out by 9pm too.