Farewell to Summer

It took me a few days, but I’m here. Acceptance.

I’ve been working through some strong feelings during this first week of the school year.

I’ve felt annoyed by the demands of work, and home. I felt resentful of my responsibilities.

And it’s taken me most of the week to figure out why, but here we go.

I’ve been grieving the loss of my summer freedom.

The structure of the school year is in direct contrast to the casual pace of summer.

And my Summer ’22 has been oh so good. Really it was just so so so so very good.

I experienced a level of freedom that I have not experienced in a long time.

My three children spent a month with my mother in Florida.

I traveled with my family to the beach, then on a girls’ trip to Colombia, next on baecation to another beach, and when the children returned, we took another family trip to close out the season. During the summer, we went to Chuck E. Cheese, rode in a helicopter, slept in, stayed up late, took naps, binged shows, rode bikes, lingered in pools.

The long days were abundant.

Then, boom! We had to go back to school. Nothing eventful or stressful happened. Just like that we resumed the routines of bedtime, and schedules. I found myself preparing meals, and uniforms. Reading the deluge of emails from their schools and having my mind flooded again with the minutiae of motherhood.

I didn’t even realize I was grieving the loss of all that freedom until I took the time to write it out. And I went through all the stages of grief, too!

Denial

Bargaining

Anger

Depression

Acceptance

Now that I have processed my feels. I’m ready to get on with it. Identifying those emotions has helped me shake off the funk and now I’m ready.

I know I’m not alone in this. And maybe this will help someone else recognize a feeling and find some closure. If you, too have been grieving your freedom, just remember what Kendrick said: We gone be alright!

Very well, then.