I just experienced a 3-day lockdown with kids due to a heatwave in Paris.
The house is a mess, their diet was made of 50 % watermelon 🍉, but hey. We're alive and even enjoyed some parts of it ! Like splashing around in the apartment block backyard's sprinkler at night.
That is such a win! As someone who white knuckled through a month-long polar vortex just a few months ago I totally know the feeling. Love that you took a genuinely hard situation and found fun in it!
You know. I've spent the last several nights looking at the LEGO bricks strewn about my living room floor and thought the same thing. It's good to know I'm not the only one.
This really resonated with me!! EVERY SINGLE ONE!! I think motherhood became so much lighter when I realized so much of my stress was coming from expectations I'd created for myself.
"I opted out of trying to make summer magical. Summer was already magical. I was just getting in its way." Yesssss, that line.
I love this so much and I am doing the same... opting out of overplanning, overdocumenting, and the feeling that I need to optimize every moment with my daughter. It turns out she's happiest when we're simply together. Thank you for this beautiful reminder that sometimes the magic appears when we stop trying so hard to manufacture it.
The expectations we create for ourselves are the biggest hurdle to our happiness, I swear. Once I learned how to lower the bar my life just got so much better. Your daughter is onto something--she's going to remember you being in whatever you're doing with her--really with her-- more often than she'll look at the photos you took.
So glad you're finding balance this summer. I feel like the pressure to create these magical summers are so social media driven. I don't think it's ever been this intense in the history of parenting to treat summer like this big production. Continue opting out mama lol
The summers on social media are such a wildly different experience than this summer and last summer, when I finally deleted it all.
I keep trying to figure out who I was trying to impress when I rarely posted anyway, but seeing all the happy, beautifully curated family moments puts this subconscious pressure on moms that they don't even realize!
So true. I really believe it all started with that "you only have 18 summers trend" not sure if you remember that but I feel like it put so much pressure on mother's to make every summer feel magical. I tried it for one summer and was beat! Summers have been less magical since then and my daughter is surviving lol
This is such a helpful perspective, Courtney! I went into this summer feeling anxious and overwhelmed at the thought of having my 6 kids home full time. I know this is a big piece of the recipe for less stress and more peace! I'm opting out of rigid routines even though I looove them! 😭 Summer demands flexibility and I'm finding that predictability can look a bit more fluid in this season. (Aka: car naps, quiet time whenever it works, meals and snacks in increments all day every day!) I'm opting out of cleaning by hiring a housecleaner. I'm opting out of expecting I will delight in every single second of the
summer with my 6 kids home 24/7! Yes, that's an actual expectation I held for myself! 🫣 Can I write about this, too? I'm feeling inspired...
I love this! The main thing I'm opting out of this summer is the feeling (illusion) that I need to control everything -- it's simply not possible, especially with a home renovation going on, so I'm letting it go and focusing on being present and taking things as they come.
"I opted out of rushing. I started asking myself one question whenever I feel that panic rise: what am I actually rushing to? So much of the sense of urgency in my mind is just…in my mind. I can let it go. 95% of the time there’s nowhere to actually rush to—you’re right where you’re supposed to be."
I love that mood !
Especially the hardest one for me: stop rushing.
And embracing dirt.
I just experienced a 3-day lockdown with kids due to a heatwave in Paris.
The house is a mess, their diet was made of 50 % watermelon 🍉, but hey. We're alive and even enjoyed some parts of it ! Like splashing around in the apartment block backyard's sprinkler at night.
That is such a win! As someone who white knuckled through a month-long polar vortex just a few months ago I totally know the feeling. Love that you took a genuinely hard situation and found fun in it!
Yes and Amen! Pure wisdom!
thank you!!
Opting out is one of the best things you can do for your well being!
It really is! I can't believe it took me like 34 years to figure that out 😂
You know. I've spent the last several nights looking at the LEGO bricks strewn about my living room floor and thought the same thing. It's good to know I'm not the only one.
Hahah yes! One day we will have the energy to clean up at night again. That day is not today or anytime soon and that is a-ok.
This really resonated with me!! EVERY SINGLE ONE!! I think motherhood became so much lighter when I realized so much of my stress was coming from expectations I'd created for myself.
"I opted out of trying to make summer magical. Summer was already magical. I was just getting in its way." Yesssss, that line.
I love this so much and I am doing the same... opting out of overplanning, overdocumenting, and the feeling that I need to optimize every moment with my daughter. It turns out she's happiest when we're simply together. Thank you for this beautiful reminder that sometimes the magic appears when we stop trying so hard to manufacture it.
The expectations we create for ourselves are the biggest hurdle to our happiness, I swear. Once I learned how to lower the bar my life just got so much better. Your daughter is onto something--she's going to remember you being in whatever you're doing with her--really with her-- more often than she'll look at the photos you took.
So glad you're finding balance this summer. I feel like the pressure to create these magical summers are so social media driven. I don't think it's ever been this intense in the history of parenting to treat summer like this big production. Continue opting out mama lol
The summers on social media are such a wildly different experience than this summer and last summer, when I finally deleted it all.
I keep trying to figure out who I was trying to impress when I rarely posted anyway, but seeing all the happy, beautifully curated family moments puts this subconscious pressure on moms that they don't even realize!
So true. I really believe it all started with that "you only have 18 summers trend" not sure if you remember that but I feel like it put so much pressure on mother's to make every summer feel magical. I tried it for one summer and was beat! Summers have been less magical since then and my daughter is surviving lol
This is such a helpful perspective, Courtney! I went into this summer feeling anxious and overwhelmed at the thought of having my 6 kids home full time. I know this is a big piece of the recipe for less stress and more peace! I'm opting out of rigid routines even though I looove them! 😭 Summer demands flexibility and I'm finding that predictability can look a bit more fluid in this season. (Aka: car naps, quiet time whenever it works, meals and snacks in increments all day every day!) I'm opting out of cleaning by hiring a housecleaner. I'm opting out of expecting I will delight in every single second of the
summer with my 6 kids home 24/7! Yes, that's an actual expectation I held for myself! 🫣 Can I write about this, too? I'm feeling inspired...
Some nights, I’m opting out of bath time and just planning to change the crib sheets the next day instead 😂 Loved all of these ideas
kudos to thinking more about you! at the end of the day, the kids are happy that you are there for them :)
I love this! The main thing I'm opting out of this summer is the feeling (illusion) that I need to control everything -- it's simply not possible, especially with a home renovation going on, so I'm letting it go and focusing on being present and taking things as they come.
"I opted out of rushing. I started asking myself one question whenever I feel that panic rise: what am I actually rushing to? So much of the sense of urgency in my mind is just…in my mind. I can let it go. 95% of the time there’s nowhere to actually rush to—you’re right where you’re supposed to be."
Yesss and amen. These are great.
私はダメな母親だ、という自己嫌悪を手放します。