Summer Check-In: How Are Y’all Doin’?

Well, school is officially out. So tell me, mamas… how are y’all holding up?

Because around here, this summer’s soundtrack apparently only has three verses:

🎵 I’m bored.

🎵 I’m hungry.

🎵 Mom! Mom! Mom!

On repeat. All day. Every day.

We haven’t had school or camps for the past two and a half weeks, and let me tell you, every errand now takes twice as long and somehow costs twice as much.

Laundry comes out of the dryer and immediately migrates to the sofa, where Nugget has discovered the absolute luxury of warm towels and freshly dried clothes.  He proudly sprawls across the entire pile like he’s king of the laundry kingdom, only to act personally offended every time I pull out a shirt to fold.

Jessica genuinely wants to help.  Bless her sweet heart. Unfortunately, her folding technique currently produces tiny fabric burritos packed with wrinkles.

Meanwhile, Jenna has decided the laundry room is a marina and apparently, a laundry basket is a boat. More than once, I’ve walked away for two minutes and returned to find her sitting on top of freshly folded laundry while commanding Jessica to push her around the living room. Captain Jenna sails at dawn!

Freshly washed sheets have become fort roofs.

Cardboard boxes headed for recycling have been dramatically rescued and transformed into luxury Barbie condos and stuffie apartment complexes.

And I am convinced my children are conducting a scientific experiment to determine exactly how many bowls, plates, cups, snack wrappers, and mystery spoons can fit into one sink before a mama loses her mind.

And seriously…

If nobody is paying these children to fill every moment of silence with noise, why are they doing such an excellent job for free?

By the end of the day, I am mentally exhausted, physically exhausted, and emotionally exhausted.

And if I’m being completely honest, I do not enjoy having my routines disrupted. At all!

The first few days of summer, I focused on everything that wasn’t getting done:

The laundry, the cleaning, the projects, and the endless clutter.

I fussed, I stressed, and I mentally updated my to-do list approximately 437 times a day.

But then I started thinking about my own childhood.

The things I remember aren’t spotless kitchens or perfectly folded towels.

I remember my mom sitting on the floor playing Barbies with me. I remember exercising with her every morning to Richard Simmons.  (Yes, I realize that statement gives away my age.  Let’s just keep moving.) I remember weekly pizza and ice cream runs with my dad. I remember swimming in the pool with him on hot summer afternoons.

Do I remember whether the house was messy? Nope.

Do I remember whether the grass was cut? Not even a little bit.

What I remember are the moments. The feeling of being together. The ordinary things that somehow became the memories that lasted.

So this summer, I’m practicing giving myself a little grace.

I’m climbing into the living room forts instead of stepping over them. I’m saving the cardboard boxes for stuffie condos. I’m accepting my role as the bottom layer of the family pyramid while Jessica, Jenna, Nugget, approximately seventeen stuffed animals, and three blankets pile on top of me for a Bluey marathon.

Because one day, these girls won’t be asking me to join the fort. They won’t need me to be the customer at the pretend ice cream shop. They won’t want me squeezed into a blanket nest watching cartoons.

And while there are absolutely days when I need a break, a quiet room, and maybe a piece of chocolate hidden from the rest of the family, I’m trying to remember that these messy, loud, chaotic days are also the good old days.

The laundry can wait a few minutes. The dishes will still be there.

But these summers? These summers are flying by.

And these are the moments they’ll remember.

So if your house is messy, your routine is upside down, and your children have somehow eaten six meals before noon, you’re in good company. We’re all just out here surviving on snacks, sweet tea, and determination.

And you’re not alone, mama.  ❤️

#PlanItMom #PlanItMomUS #SummerBreak #MomLife #MomHumor #GeorgiaMom #AtlantaMoms #CoffeeChaosAndCatchUp #BlueyMarathon #SummerWithKids #FamilyMemories #MessyHouseHappyKids #MomPerspective #SouthernMomLife #SweetTeaAndSurvival #NuggetTheDog #SummerChaos #MakingMemories #YouAreNotAlone