Romanticizing Summer with Toddlers
Every day with toddlers may be a gamble, but Summer is a time to ante up.
Happy Summer, y’all.
We’ve officially reached the season of droopy, slow mornings, endless cicada-toned afternoons, and sticky evenings filled with outdoor laughs and late night ice cream cones. Wake up, babe! It’s time to romanticize and seize the day.
As a toddler mom, who can still call herself a mom to 2-under-2 for a few more days, romanticizing this Summer comes easily. These are our good ole’ days.
It’s the first ever for my daughter and technically the third for my Summer-born guy. Girlfriend recently gained some ambitious mobility and can’t wait to explore every inch of this earth. Toddler guy is turning 2, exceptionally verbal, and noticing so much life around him in this season. Birds, planes, and definitely Spider Man(s) all around. Basically, I’m saying my kids are a great hang on a lazy Summer day. Everything is exciting and fresh. And we own a 💦 hose!
As a Summer baby myself, I find I cling to this season with an expectant hope and childlike whimsy.
Ice cream after dinner? That’s a yes. 🍦
Water fight in the back yard? Lets go wild. 🔫
Stay up late to catch a community concert? You bet we will. 🎸
But of course, I can’t just hinge my Summer joy quotient upon the hope for fun. I must analyze and plan (even if I’m mostly staying flexible), because that’s who I am as a person. So let’s build the equation for a perfect Summer day together:
Morning is slow and free of expectations. Sleep in, get up early and go for a run, play with your trains, do you. The early morning is a time to take for yourself, slowly unfurl and expand your perspective on the day. The only requirement is a filling and yummy breakfast that includes some fresh fruit and an indulgent coffee.
My current fixation is watering the veggie garden with my 2-year-old. We take 3-4 trips back and forth from the kitchen to fill the pea green watering can and say “good morning” to the plants as we go. After everyone is hydrated, we dig for worms in the pile of excess dirt by the garage.
Mid-day is for exploring. At some point, you’ll feel an urge to get moving. This is your cue to get together with your family (or friends, or general crew for the day) and get outside. Head to your nearest park with a picnic and a frisbee, walk to the playground, or venture further afield to a community pool, an amusement park, or a cute shopping area you want to explore. The idea is to take your non-agenda agenda on the road. Change the scene. Don’t do errands.
Bonus points if your outdoor adventure offers promise of a delicious cold beverage. Ice coffee with mint, draft beer, those insanely sugary carnival lemonades, anyone?
What local events are you looking forward to attending this Summer? I’m partial to our upcoming neighborhood arts festival.
If you’re a parent to little kids, at some point they’ll nap. In our household, this midday break provides a sacred ‘cool down’ opportunity for the entire family. We keep things dark, quiet, and air conditioned. Yes, you can scroll on your phone. But you could also do some yoga and take a cold shower, call a friend, write in your journal, or read a few chapters of fiction. Really think about taking the space you need. What does that look like?
Post-nap, we find ourselves at a fork in the road. Do we venture back out beyond the reef for more adventure? A museum or an early family dinner out? Or, do we keep things generally home-bound for the rest of the day?
Since I’m in charge of the ideal Summer day equation, I choose flexible dinner plans. Either 1) on a misty patio with a cool breeze and Mediterranean food, or 2) in our back yard, making from scratch pizzas in the Ooni with friends or family. *A not-to-be-ignored benefit of option 2 is that we can make backyard negronis and spritzs.
Side note on restaurants: Our screen-free kids do great at restaurants. I know this isn’t always the case, but my hot tip for anyone wondering if they can manage young kids in a restaurant setting is this:
Give your kids a full restaurant tour when you arrive. Really spend time looking at art, fountains, fans, whatever special features the restaurant has. Let them ask questions and point to stuff. I have noticed that when we don’t do a tour, our kids feel itchy and want to leave the table. When they’ve already inspected the space, on the other hand, they’re usually pretty happy to stick at the table and munch on bread ‘til their meal comes.
And, that’s it! A little praise for the simple joys of Summer, outings with our babes, and savoring the rare sweet moments when we can luxuriate and live at a slower pace.
I would LOVE to know how your perfect Summer day looks and feels. And please, don’t spare any detail.
-LJ
Thanks for reading! If you have thoughts or suggestions for me to improve the publication, please share them. And if you’d like to support Motherloud, the best ways to do that right now are below: