I took the month of July off from writing.  Because once in a while it is okay to take a break, right?  I hope none of you noticed.  Not because I hope no one missed my ramblings, but because I hope you were all out – enjoying every minute of Summer with your family and friends.  That is what I was doing.  Mostly with my family and kids, but on a few delightful rare occasions I got to see my friends as well.

About this time every year I get the Summer regrets.  As I lay in bed trying to sleep, I am mad at myself for all the things I wanted to do and we never did.  And then August gets real full, real fast.

I am not sure why I do this.  I know my kids have great Summers every single year.  They have yet to live a Summer without some sort of vacation.  They spend nearly every single weekend doing cannong balls off the boat in Okoboji and sleeping in bunk beds with their cousins.  We go to plays, we visit splash parks, we play outside with chalk and bubbles.  We visit county fairs and hike and eat ice cream at picnic tables.  But it isn’t enough.

Or is it?  I think it might be more than enough.  I think we all might be more than enough.  I think I just needed to be validated – and turns out, I am making the decision to validate myself.  Even better, I am validating you.  Your kids had a great Summer.  They loved every minute of it.  They loved going to Summer daycare or preschool or whatever it is they do.  Or they loved staying home with you and playing in the backyard.  They loved watering the flowers with you.  They loved eating popsicles on the front drive.  They loved it all.  And more importantly – they love you.

As we wrap up this Summer, let’s not be so hard on ourselves.  Take a minute to think about and enjoy the things you did with your kids – don’t dwell on the things you didn’t do.  You’re amazing.