It's gonna be one messy summer.

I can picture it now:

Muddy feet Sandy bottoms Wet clothes Sticky hands and faces Stained shirts Wrinkled shorts Broken flip-flops

There will be:

Blisters
Calluses
Broken toenails
Scrapes
Nicks
Bumps
Bug bites
Sprained or broken bones
Sunburns
Boo-Boos of all kinds

All of which will cause:

Whining
Screaming
Yelling
Fighting
Teasing
Crying

Lots

and

lots

of crying.

And headaches, for Mommy, of course.

But, instead of dreading the end of the school year, and having my kids home more -- which undoubtedly requires me to be even more "on" than I typically am -- I'm freakin' pumped about it.

This past year has been transformative for me as a woman and mother, and I'm proud to say that I've pretty confidently ditched the desire to be picture-perfect, allowing for me to gleefully accept that my summer with three kids, ages seven and under, will be anything but.

And, I will be entirely okay with that.

It's not my job as a mother to make life easy for my kids.

But it's also not my job to be eternally exasperated with them.

It's not my job as a mother to have perfect looking children who behave appropriately at all times and in all situations.

But, it is my job to love my stress-inducing offspring with all my heart.

And, it is my job as my kids' mother to take the eighteen summers that I get to have with them and make them hella' fun.

Not every second.

Not every minute.

Not every hour.

And, not every day has to be some grandiose production of a trip to Disney, the beach, or a water park.

But, for many seconds, minutes, and hours the focus should be on creating and maintaining a safe, loving, and pleasurable environment for the parent and child to deepen their connection.

This isn't rocket science.

It's reading together.

It's playing ball in the yard.

It's doing a puzzle.

It's working on household chores together.

It's swimming.

It's going for walks.

It's creating with Play-doh.

It's playing dress-up.

It's drawing pictures and coloring.

It's painting pottery.

It's watching movies.

It's looking at pictures together.

It's going out for ice cream.

It's making homemade ice cream.

It's getting out of the house, and it's being at home.

The only thing that defines a great summer is spending it with the ones you love and who love you.

It's gonna be one messy summer, but as an eternal "hot mess," I think I'll fit in just fine.

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