Jenna, I love your writing. It leaves me thinking long after I've finished. Change is always a bit hard and we have a lot of it on the list right now. Ironically, I get seasonal affective disorder in the summer. I find the lack of rain, endless heat and bright sun oppressive in my part of the country. When both kids were away at college my husband and I found a really easy pattern that was unexpectedly enjoyable. Some of the comments that made that made us laugh were....It's so easy to keep the house clean! Eating out is so inexpensive now! And now when they're home for the summer (which we love of course), we suddenly find ourselves having to readjust to the chaos.
It's funny, even without any of the parenting and family-dynamic aspects you mention, I very much relate to this feeling. You capture it so well: the sense that time is fleeting, regardless of where one is in life. The sense of not doing enough, or appreciating enough, while summer is in its heyday. The (perhaps a fallacy?) ease that we expect from this season but that, for whatever reason, hasn't yet come. Thank you for this well-timed and lovely piece
We are in the golden age of outings and I can feel it. The boys are almost 7 and 9. Old enough to mostly take care of themselves, young enough to still want to be with us. I find myself packing in every last adventure before the new year starts. You are right, August feels more like a new year than January. Beautiful words Jenna. Side note which brought me to your substack - we are going to Maine in two weeks ❤️
Midsummer's melancholy
Jenna, I love your writing. It leaves me thinking long after I've finished. Change is always a bit hard and we have a lot of it on the list right now. Ironically, I get seasonal affective disorder in the summer. I find the lack of rain, endless heat and bright sun oppressive in my part of the country. When both kids were away at college my husband and I found a really easy pattern that was unexpectedly enjoyable. Some of the comments that made that made us laugh were....It's so easy to keep the house clean! Eating out is so inexpensive now! And now when they're home for the summer (which we love of course), we suddenly find ourselves having to readjust to the chaos.
It's funny, even without any of the parenting and family-dynamic aspects you mention, I very much relate to this feeling. You capture it so well: the sense that time is fleeting, regardless of where one is in life. The sense of not doing enough, or appreciating enough, while summer is in its heyday. The (perhaps a fallacy?) ease that we expect from this season but that, for whatever reason, hasn't yet come. Thank you for this well-timed and lovely piece
We are in the golden age of outings and I can feel it. The boys are almost 7 and 9. Old enough to mostly take care of themselves, young enough to still want to be with us. I find myself packing in every last adventure before the new year starts. You are right, August feels more like a new year than January. Beautiful words Jenna. Side note which brought me to your substack - we are going to Maine in two weeks ❤️