{"id":88,"date":"2014-06-14T15:34:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-14T15:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sarahdamm.com\/index.php\/2014\/06\/14\/summer-surviving-with-moms-sanity-intac\/"},"modified":"2015-06-03T22:48:54","modified_gmt":"2015-06-03T22:48:54","slug":"summer-surviving-with-moms-sanity-intac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sarahdamm.com\/index.php\/2014\/06\/14\/summer-surviving-with-moms-sanity-intac\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer: Surviving With Mom’s Sanity Intact"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nEach year, as summer vacation descends upon my family, I get
\na bit nervous about the next three months. I\u2019m the type of mom who appreciates
\nthe routine and predictability that the school year offers\u2014early mornings,
\nearly bedtimes and a chunk of time in-between to stay caught up on my
\nresponsibilities, while my children focus their attention on learning in their
\nclassrooms.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nFor some, the relaxed nature of summer is an opportunity to not<\/i> be too busy. The slower pace is a
\nwelcomed distraction and a nice break. But for others, like me, summer is
\nfilled with worry that routine, order and predictability will simply unravel
\nbefore their eyes.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nNow, please don\u2019t get me wrong! It is nice to have breaks
\nand enjoy needed rest. However, a three-month-long break causes all that I
\ncount on to get lost in the looseness of summer. There are days when I simply
\nfeel outnumbered by six children asking to do a million different things at
\nonce. And there are days when I feel completely overruled by going to bed and
\nsleeping in late, losing ground on good study habits that took nine months to
\nform, and hearing those inevitable words, \u201cI\u2019m bored,\u201d more and more as summer
\nprogresses.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nI love my children and am so blessed to be a mom, which is why
\nfeeling anxious about the summer also makes me feel extremely guilty. Why do I
\nfear having my six children home with me for three months? How can I worry more
\nabout the state of my home than the state of my family? Why am I not welcoming
\nthe lazy, hazy days of summer? Why am I so anxious about a lack of routine?
\nWhat is wrong with me?<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nLate this spring, as I again found myself struggling with
\nthe anxiety, wrestling with the guilt and feeling overwhelmed by both, I began searching
\nfor a solution. How could I reduce the anxiety? How could I maintain a
\npredictable (but looser) routine? And most importantly, how could I enjoy the
\nextra time I have with my children during the summer months?<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAfter much prayer, some research and plenty of conversations with my husband, I adopted a four-step approach to summer with the hope of decreasing my anxiety and increasing my enjoyment of summer.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nRead about those four steps over at CatholicMom.com.<\/a> AND join in the conversation here or there! I’d love to know how you balance getting things done with having fun, during the summer months!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year, as summer vacation descends upon my family, I get a bit nervous about the next three months. I\u2019m the type of mom who appreciates the routine and predictability that the school year offers\u2014early mornings, early bedtimes and a chunk of time in-between to stay caught up on my responsibilities, while my children focus their attention on learning in their classrooms. For some, the relaxed nature of summer is an opportunity to not be too busy. The slower pace…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[6,7],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-summer","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\nSummer: Surviving With Mom's Sanity Intact - Sarah Damm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/sarahdamm.com\/index.php\/2014\/06\/14\/summer-surviving-with-moms-sanity-intac\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Summer: Surviving With Mom's Sanity Intact - Sarah Damm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Each year, as summer vacation descends upon my family, I get a bit nervous about the next three months. 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