Mid-summer check-in!
It’s been a minute.
Hi hi hi! Haven’t blogged in more than a month of Sundays, as they say, but I’m here! I’m still here, and I hope you are too. Admittedly, I’ve been very family-focused in June and July with my kids home - and I have no regrets. We have just over a month of summer remaining, with school starting the week of August 18, so I thought I’d take a moment to take stock of how things are going, celebrate the wins, and think ahead to what’s still to come.
Wins and celebrations:
Swim team and day camps are complete!
I made it through several weeks of 7am swim practices, mid-day interruptions with drop-offs, pick-ups, killing time at Panera or a library, and managing changing logistics each week. And overall, the kids were happy with their experiences (new PRs in each event and classes on animal science and 3D sculpture).
Our family vacation (mostly) rocked!
We explored a new city and two national parks, giving us a great balance of culture and nature. Kids had no screen time for 12 days, except for one chill afternoon of television and a daily DuoLingo login to keep up a language-learning streak (eyeroll). We have new family inside jokes, shared experiences, and a deepened sense of wonder for the natural world, and the we were all MOSTLY nice to each other! No trip is without hiccups, including flight delays and time changes resulting in being awake for over 40 hours - aaaaand encounter with a bat, resulting in lots of conversations with health care providers and public health officials.
Systems are (generally) working!
We had a series conversations as a family at the beginning of the summer about how mom and dad still needed to work and how the kids could not 1) be on screens endlessly or 2) complain about boredom or stare at us while we worked. :) Everyone has been doing their (minimal) chores, getting creative and keeping themselves busy, and self-managing their screen time within our limits. Only occasional reminders and slip-ups.
Still to come:
Sleep away camp starts Monday (just for a week). We are packing and getting the crew ready.
Nana is here! Our dear Linda comes and spends time with us every summer, and we love having her and her little dog Frida as a part of our family.
I have some goals, bucket list items, and must dos, such as:
A day trip to a beach, since we didn’t do a beach vacation this year.
A day trip to Williamsburg to check out some new archaeology findings and eat Pierce’s Pitt Barbeque? Nana is the lead on this one.
A day at the Richmond Zoo to see Poppy the pygmy hippo (request from Nana).
Checking out the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the VMFA. I chaperoned a field trip with my oldest to see this, but I want to take the rest of the crew.
Dress shoe shopping for my oldest daughter and buying new sneakers for all 3.
Ideally a date day with each kid. Time alone, eating at their favorite place, maybe shop for a new outfit.
School supply shopping. I have money and sanity-saving tips here!
And in the professional space…
I’m nearing one full year in business! I’m going to take some time to reflect on what has gone well and what I might do differently in year two. Overall though, so appreciating both my personal freedom and meaningful work, supporting clients to live better.
Your turn! How’s it going?
How’s YOUR summer going so far? What’s working? What isn’t? If you have projects you’ve yet to tackle, systems that aren’t working for you — or even big wins, I’d love to hear about them and support you if you need me. Shoot me an email or set up a time to connect.
Let us know how we can support you — this summer or whenever you’re ready.
At Laura Kassner Consulting, our suite of Life Wife services reduce your mental load so you can pursue things that bring you joy. From planning a trip to a national park to developing a car pool schedule to managing a renovation or navigating big life decisions, we are here to support you.
