As I write this I am enjoying the end of autumn, after fighting futilely to hold on to summer. Summer is the season that I resist the ending of. After all, we get only eighteen of these things before our children fly the nest.
When I realized how much I identify with this season, I gained a deeper understanding of myself. And I realized that how I see myself as a mom largely depends on how our summers go. If we’re making memories and having fun, then I feel like I’m doing a good job—simple as that. Â
Summer of 2020 looked different than the rest. It felt shorter. We didn’t take a vacation. We never went to the pool. This summer, I stopped seeing myself as the family fun cruise ship activities director.Â
Instead, I turned my focus to trying to instill in my daughter (and to cultivate in myself) an inner strength and a resilience, and a deep compassion for others. Â
I want to teach her how to successfully captain her ship through storms, while helping others to arrive safely at port. Â
We learned to rest more and to focus on our mental and physical health in this stormy summer. We learned to hunker down and find contentment in simple things, like putting a puzzle together at home.Â
As we continue to alter our course to navigate a pandemic as a family, amidst the unrest in our nation, I have stopped striving to create a life for our family that is comfortable and cozy, like a Pottery Barn catalog. Â
I now ask myself how I’m doing at equipping our daughter to endure the challenges that life will throw her way. Â