Are you struggling this summer?

[PrincessFiona]

I'm having a great summer .... we're all healthy, I feel happy...life is good.

But.

I have to steal seconds for myself. I feel like I'm constantly at soccer practice, driving a kid to work, sitting through violin lessons or trying to play catch up with laundry.

I have lost all contact with grown-up people. I don't get to talk on the phone, have a cup of coffee with someone ... nothing.

How are you guys handling it? Am I the only one struggling with this?

Kris

[SoonerTexan]

I'm forcing us to go on a date tonight even though I'm tired and DH will be too. We need the time together

[ladymoreta]

Last summer was so rough for me that I signed up to keep the kids on the same preschool schedule they were on during the school year. It's saved my sanity. I have MWF mornings kid-free.

[spaz]

I feel a little guilty because this summer has been so much better than the school year. My kids have been having a ton of camps and activities. I've had so much time to get stuff done. I've loved having adult interaction with the part time job. Life is good. If hubby were not still in a funk, it would be perfect.

[ides]

I've put O in a lot of camps this summer to give me a little bit of breathing room and to keep him busy. They are over now. Boo

[mommax3]

This summer has been pretty good, but I have been lonely. I do miss the interaction with other people in the summer when school is out, but the flip side is that I have had plenty of time to read and lots of blessed quiet! It seems impossible to find a happy medium...in a few short weeks I will be back in the thick of things and I will think longingly of these peaceful days!

[rainbabies]

I'm doing okay. The weeks when dh is gone to ND for work can get a little bit...stressful for me. He always thinks I overdo it with the kids camps. But when he's home he SEES how terrible they are when they're "bored" and at each other's throats. So...off to camps they go! Some camps they're all gone for the day, sometimes it's just my girls, some are just for ds.
Next week (rubs hands together and jumps for joy) they're all GONE to over night camp for the week!! Dh is gone too. Mwahahahaha!!!!! So far I'm having a sleep over with my girlfriend (all 9 seasons of will and grace will be watched. Lol) and a sangria night with another girlfriend. A couple breakfast dates with another and I'll be riding my horse of course! No, I'm not excited! Lol

[spotty_dog]

I didn't sign my kids up for almost any camps or activities, so in that sense summer has been low-key. But we're also ALWAYS on top of each other, and while we get along well as a family, I have really really been missing those snatches of time I used to get when DD was at preschool. My parents kept the kids for a couple of nights this week, so tonight I am ALONE in the house and it is TERRIFIC! And yeah, I also miss the adult interaction a little. We always had a little bit of camaraderie at pick-up or drop-off or working days, but I haven't even bumped into people I know at the weekly library events or summer playdates for almost a month. :\ I saw someone I know at the grocery store but was so exhausted from a MASSIVE grocery shop that I just said hi and ran.

[Pollyanna]

I miss summer. When our oldest kiddos were in elementary school, and even middle school, we relished summer. I refused to sign them up for anything that wasn't mandatory. We went to movies, stayed up late, slept in, made forts, ate waaay too much junk food, and just had fun. We had no where to be and no one to answer to. Those days were so much fun. While our summers now are slower than during the regular school year, they aren't the lazy days of the past. Right now I am in the car a minimum of four hours/day (yep, 4 flipping hours). Next week, dd12 has to get to her summer intensive which is about an hour away, ds14 starts two a days for football (4 hrs in the morning, 4 in the evening), that's two drop offs and two pick ups and the school is about 35-45 min away, dd5 has swim lessons in the opposite direction of her brother and sisters activities. It's like a puzzle making sure everyone gets to where they need to be. To be honest, the driving doesn't bother me, what bothers me is trying to find time to be together. Heck, dinner doesn't happen until 8 at the earliest and I'm rarely home to cook so we do a lot of take out. School starts in less than 3 weeks (how the heck did that happen) and I'm sad because I feel like we missed summer somehow.

[HouseofWool]

If I subtract out the stress related to my job, I feel like this is easily one of the better summers of my life. I have a great group of friends and we get together frequently, which is possible because the ex lives here now. I do yoga every week, I have Beer By Bike once a month. And we end up getting together in between too.


DS is struggling with a few things, but we will get them worked out eventually.

DD may end up in a boarding school if her attitude continues. I'm kidding, but she is driving me crazy. But again, it is fixable and she will learn.

[MrsK]

It's been easier than I expected. K1 dropped out of the camp he begged to do so he is with me all the time. He has OT 3x weekly which is at inconvenient times at an inconvenient place and doesn't last long enough to go anywhere. But I kind of enjoy hanging out with K2 and Lambie in the waiting room/play room while he's in OT. K2 is going to a day camp 3x weekly. It's nice to have a routine and I need a little time away from him and his 3yo defiance. Both boys have swimming 2x weekly out in the middle of nowhere. They are getting to be really good swimmers. Lambie is with me all the time. She even comes along for date night and moms night out. I'm hoping that soon she will be able to go to sleep before I go out and stay asleep. I'm tired of nursing through dinners. I have a sitter 2x weekly so I can get to the grocery store/dentist and the like. I have been keeping up with my book club and moms group for me though it is hard to make it to stuff. K1 likes a packed schedule and a structured day so its good. Just enough structure to keep us happy. I'm worried about the school year when I have two schools and swimming. I'm seriously thinking about not sending k1 to the morning school and spending that time driving him to OT and other things that are therapeutic like swimming and tae kwan do. Then I loose time alone with Lambie and I was hoping to do things like mommy & me with her in the fall so I don't know.

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[Ladybug]

We're moving. The only people I've talked to are at lowes and the storage unit. We close August 2, and I start working 2 weeks of summer camp on aug 11th. I agreed to work before I knew we were moving. It's going to take a while to unpack, but I hope everyone helps so I can get back into a routine. I'm ready for school to start. I'll have 2.5 hours a day without kids and can start exercising again. We didn't do any camps this summer due to moving expenses. I haven't exercised at all and it's showing physically and mentally. I'll be happy to put this particular summer behind me!

[peggyfromwastate]

My summer starts in 3 weeks. That's when we get to hawaii. It's been nonstop this year other than that. Camps--- lots. Still ongoing. Trips? Yep. Mostly move related. 18 year old going off to college-- yep. She's had friends over or has been find with friends every single day. Even on our trips. A friend goes along.

So... I have NO PLANS WHATSOEVER for school for the kids in the fall. It's strangely liberating to say, "I don't know what I'll do." Maybe I'm a cynic... But 8th grade, 5th, and 1st... The kids have all been in gunner schools their whole lives and will be ahead of the curve in hawaii. We bought another laptop and will have the twins do dome k12.com but my focus with the littles is to help ds10 with this transition and try to keep him from falling into depression like he did last move. If that means snorkeling instead of school... So be it.

[ladymoreta]

Peggy, I think that's a great plan! I hope the move goes as smoothly as possible.

[mommax3]

Peggy, I think that's a great plan! I hope the move goes as smoothly as possible.

I agree! It sounds great and must feel really liberating....you are due! I'm praying that all goes smoothly during the move!