Summer Burnout

Imagine long, lazy days at the beach or running through the sprinkler eating popsicles. No set wake up times or schedules. Swimming, reading, hanging out with friends. Summer is a time for fun, sun, relaxation and vacation. It’s perfect…if you are a kid. If you are a parent, it’s a whole different story.

Don’t get me wrong, I love summer as much as the next person. But the challenges parents face during summer are enormous. How do we fill our kids’ days? Should we fill our kids’ days? Do we send them to camp? How do we negotiate drop off and pick up if both parents work? Are they spending too much time on their devices? How many activities should I sign them up for? Is it ok to eat ice cream for dinner? And while we are focusing on our kids, ensuring that we are filling their ample free time, ours seems to disappear into thin air.

Whether you are a working or a stay at home parent, chances are you thrive on the predictability of a set schedule. You know when your pockets of free time exist and appointments, sports and social engagements have all been pre-negotiated and written out on the family calendar (at least at my house!) But then summer arrives and my neatly scheduled calendar gets blown out of the water.

I work part time for a large corporation. Three days a week, I am a working professional; Two days a week, I am a stay at home mom. Typically, I try to run my errands, schedule doctor’s appointments, grocery shop, meal prep and visit the gym on the mornings I don’t work and my kids are in school. My Friday mornings are reserved for my Imagine Float weekly infrared sauna and cryotherapy appointments. This leaves my nights and weekends free for uninterrupted family time, sports and activities.

Given last summer’s turmoil and this year’s uncertainty, I hesitated to book summer camps for my kids. And when I finally weighed all the options and decided to send them, everything was already booked up. At work, business as usual has ramped up as well as talks of returning to the workplace.