A Love Letter to Mid-Summer Parenting
Summer is my favourite time of year. It always has been. As a child I loved the long lazy days chilling in the garden, cycling around country lanes for hours and sitting outside pubs on countless sunny evenings with a packet of crisps and a Vimto in a bottle with a straw. There's something about the whole season that makes me feel more like myself. And with it, more like the mum I want to be.
And the long school holidays just add to this being time of year that feels most right. There's none of the boring routine of the school run, or rushing to get ready for it every morning. No nagging to get homework done. Instead there's more space to breathe, to laugh, to just be. If I had my way, every day would feel a bit like this.
If you are anything like me, at this point in the school holidays, time has pretty much stopped making sense. The house is a chaotic mess of half-finished projects and odd inventions. And my normally-well planned calendar has dissolved into chaos, with the general plan being "lets do something." We have run out of rules and weirdly, it works.
We are deep enough into the holidays that we have forgotten what day it is, but thankfully not so deep it feels like it will end any time soon. This is the sweet spot. The bit of summer where life feels free and easy and like it'll stay this way forever. It is not about big trips or big plans, although we have a few of those lined up. It is the everyday magic that shows up when you have got nothing urgent to rush off to and nowhere in particular to be. And honestly, that 'boring everyday' is where most of the good stuff happens.
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I love that I get to say yes moreWhether thats saying yes to eating breakfast outside, ttaking a different route because there's no urgency to get back home or to a later bedtime so we can stargaze together, saying yes more feels good for the soul. I admit the yes to the slightly questionable 'fort' that is now a semi-permanent fixture in the garden may make Health and Safety squirm but the kids love it. And I love the saying yes to all day play dates and our house being open to kids all day, every day.
It feels as though there is more time, so I use it differently. Slower mornings. Longer walks. Looser bedtimes. We cook together. Dream up new plans together. Even test out business ideas together. I may still be working, but life feels more flexible.
I love that everywhere feels like an adventureIt doesn't matter where we go, the park, the woods, the patch of grass behind the shop, we explore everywhere like its a big adventure.
We climb trees we would not normally climb, (well lets be honest, I watch others climb trees). We follow the trail just a bit further. We lose count of the unexpected little discoveries that turn a walk into a memory. We get tired. We get mucky. And we come home with our hearts full.
I love that I get to reconnect with my family and with myselfTo me, mid-summer brings a kind of clarity where the pace slows and all of the background noise of 'life' fades just |
enough for the things that matter to get louder. The giggles. The odd questions. The completely bizarre ideas people come out with when their minds relax doing something different to the norm. And there is a rhythm to this kind of parenting. Not the careful choreography of school days, but a looser, livelier beat. One that lets us move side by side instead of me always leading or lagging behind picking things up! We do not get this much time together as often as I'd like. And yes, sometimes it is intense. But more often than not, it is golden. We are in the middle of it n ow, properly in it, and I do not really want it to end.
I love that I get to be wild, free, and slightly unhinged, intentionally
This is not the calm before a storm. This is the storm. Of slow mornings, rambling conversations and wild exploration, even if its sometimes just in our imaginations. We are unhinged from our normal structure and routines. From the school-run grind, household admin, the constant need to be somewhere for activities and always feeling guilty if we're not doing something productive. And in that space? We are living. Properly living.
So if you are somewhere in this sweet mid-summer muddle: warm, tired, and just a little off-piste, I see you. You are here doing it with me, and it is brilliant isn't it? Really, this is how I think life should feel most of the time. Not perfect or polished. Just full of light, fresh air, and the people we love best.
P.S. If you are soaking up this season and want simple, ready-to-go outdoor adventures that match the mood...
Days like this are what our Family Adventure Pack was made for. We send you easy outdoor prompts, nature challenges, and creative ideas each month. Minimal planning, no pressure. Just open the pack and head outside. August’s theme is Wild and Free, I mean, what else could it be?
Find out whats in the pack → Button