A Different Summer

As my due date approaches, I find my priorities shifting. It’s no longer important to go many places, see many people, or do many exciting things. I find myself content to be at home with my kids and work on things around the house. My focus is shifting inward to my baby and how my body is feeling. I’m not at that impatient get out of my belly already, baby! stage yet, I’m just preparing for that day when baby does decide to come.

Instead of expecting myself to still be social and energetic, how good it feels to give myself permission to be at home. To allow these slower paced home days to fill me as much as my busier days from before. We are preparing for the birth of this baby, but also for those postpartum weeks to come. I know that I won’t want to do much besides sit on my couch and snuggle this baby, so I want to get as much ready for that as I can.

I wasn’t originally looking forward to having a baby due the end of June, because summer is a time for lots of fun and happenings. When you have a new baby, that just isn’t what life is like. I felt like I would be missing out on my summer.

This summer will simply look different. We will make our own little beach in our yard with the pool and the sandbox. I won’t have to worry about packing lunches and snacks and water bottles and toys and towels and the kitchen sink, because it will all be ten feet away. We will invite friends over to enjoy our private beach and I won’t have to stress about the long drive, traffic, or parking. We’ll find fun things to do at home or close by, things that easily accommodate a nursing newborn. It’s a matter of adjusting my expectations of myself and our days.

Yes, this will still be a good summer.