They say it takes a village...and after a living through a summer with both my girls I can conclude that yes it does. This post was really hard for me to write, that’s why its so late because I kept putting it off! SO here it goes…
In my last post, click here to read, I was just starting off the summer, and now that we are now within the last 80 days of the year, and my eldest is back in daycare, I’ve taken the time and many nights to reflect back on how this summer went.
Wow raising two kids is hard yo, and this summer was intense. I bow down to all stay at home mamas out there, you are amazing.
I have learnt a lot about myself this summer, some good and not so good things. I definitely thought I was a more patient person that’s for sure. But the biggest lesson I learnt was that it does take a village to raise a child(ren), it’s okay to ask for help and take help when it’s offered, and most importantly you need to take care of yourself in order to take care of others. I think the last one is the hardest for mothers to learn, or at least it was/is for me.
It took me many tears, low points, and friendly reminders to realize that I’m important in all of this as well, it’s not just about the kids. I’m very lucky that I have such a great support system around me.
I don’t mean to make the whole summer sound so depressing, it wasn’t. As hard as it was, I know that I will never get this time back with my kids, and yes we did create many great memories. For that I will always be thankful. BUT that doesn’t mean that it’s not hard work. I just want all the mamas that are out there, and possibly struggling, to know that it’s okay to have that glass of wine or it’s okay to go have a manicure or even it’s okay to tell your husband that you just need to leave for a few hours in order to be a better you. Or even better, call up a friend or other mama and both of you go out. It’s more than ok, it is a necessity.
Ok ok enough preaching about self care (i can write a whole other post on my favourite podcasts) but what did we actually get up to this summer… well part of my village is in Saskatoon and that meant making a trip back to Saskatoon for a month to visit with family and friends. Wow, I totally forgot how hot it can get in Saskatchewan during the summer. I felt like I was melting the whole time, but hey at least it kept the mosquitoes away :) We had such a great time with our family and friends with lots of visits to the park, BBQ’s, festivals, baseball games, late night smores just to name a few. And I can’t thank them all enough for their love and support. And oh my, we ate a lot of ice cream :)
Before we left Saskatoon, we had to get some family photos done. Hiring a local photographer for a quick family shoot is a great way to document your travel and family memories. And of course it helps that my bestie Juli Labrecque is an amazing photographer. We have to get in front of her lens whenever we are back. I can’t recommend her enough though, she’s the type of person that you want to be friends with as soon as you meet her.
We absolutely love how these turned out, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I am human, and I make mistakes, often! Please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors. These are my thoughts and I have only the best of intentions.