Every year, as summer draws to an end, moms like me start counting down the days until school starts.

It’s not because we don’t want to be with our kids. It’s because back-to-school means routine – not only for them, but also for us. It means time to get things done without the constant requests for snacks and finally putting an end to the endless question:

“What are we going to do today?”

WE ARE GOING TO GO TO SCHOOL.

I’ve seen the precious reminders online – you only have 18 summers with your kids, you know, so make them count. There are countless lists of activities made for making memories, but when you’re outnumbered by children and one of them is a baby, sometimes you just want to be home. And guess what? You can make memories there, too.

I used to struggle with summer. I felt the pull to be everywhere all at once, but I also needed rest and quiet, which don’t exist with little kids. I had more anxiety being out, especially around water, with a preschooler and an infant, than I did hanging out at home.

I know moms who feel more anxious at home, who prefer to be on the go, shuffling from one excursion to the next.

I know moms who love the ease of summer – not having to pull kids out of bed and get them out the door before the bell rings.

I know moms who work 9-to-5 and would love nothing more than the freedom to spend summer at the splash pad.

None of these feelings are wrong.

As mothers, it is possible to feel many different things at once. Loving your kids to pieces, while wishing there weren’t so many puzzle pieces on the floor. Knowing you would climb the highest mountain for them, but wishing they would stop climbing all over you. Trying not to burst into tears as you walk them into Kindergarten … then trying not to burst into song when you walk into your strangely peaceful, too-quiet house.

Stop feeling bad for the mom that you are.

Personally, I was ready for school to start. Whether or not you are ready, mama, know that they are.

Because of you … and the messy, magical way you love them.

This post was originally shared at FlightyMom.com and on Facebook.com/FlightyMom.