Summer is over….and it’s awful. How did it go by so quick? I feel like I wait all year for warm weather and the beach and finally the time comes and I get maybe 2 months to enjoy it. Certainly not enough. This year though I can truthfully say that we enjoyed as much of it as we could. We were running around almost every day with some fun activity and I think when I look back I will remember this year as one of the best summers as a parent.

When I look back over the last 7 summers I realize now that they weren’t always full of “fun” . For 2 of them I was pregnant (1 I was VERY pregnant), and another two I was nursing. Both of those things left me with 4 summers of not indulging in too many cocktails and letting lose. Even though I could have when I was nursing I still couldn’t truly relax because lets face it…who relaxes with an infant???

If I am left with 3 other summers we can safely say that I was on parenting duty pretty much all the time. I can still remember trying to get my little man to the beach with his friends with Tessa strapped to my chest in the Ergo and hauling a beach buggy full of things we didn’t need or use. I remember walking up and down the beach for her to nap, and I remember making sure at some point that both of them didn’t eat rocks, or run into the water without their float. When it came to talking to friends, conversations had to be broken between yelling “don’t do that” or “come back here”. It didn’t feel like a burden at the time, I actually enjoyed those summers too, but after experiencing this past summer I now realize how much easier it can get.

This summer I got to sit in a beach chair and have a conversation. I got to go to the beach with a chair on my back and a beach bag while my kids HELPED to carry their chairs and shovels. I got to indulge in adult beverages while the kids played and know that I could relax. I got to go to BBQ’s and know that if we stayed out a little later it wasn’t the end of the world. All were pretty fabulous!

I was nervous that my son didn’t want to be signed up for too many camps because he is one who always needs to be entertained, but in the end I truly loved having him around. Him and Tessa played and both looked forward to whatever adventure we did during the day. Even if it was a run to Trader Joe’s to find Co co the stuffed animal. (they got a prize in the end!)

We loved it. So much of it and now it’s over. Now the weather is going to get cooler and my beach and pool days are done for the year. I am back to counting the days till next year. It certainly can’t come soon enough!