Barefoot & Undone

The Summer I Let It All Slide

Well, here we are. August 1st.

The Sunday scaries of the parenting calendar.

And honestly? I’ve never felt more exhausted, sunburned, overstimulated, and weirdly proud of myself.

Because this summer… I let it all slide.

The bedtime routine? Slid.

The daily screen time limit? Slid, so far, it’s somewhere at the bottom of a Goldfish bag under the couch.

The color-coded activity schedule I swore I’d stick to in June? I think it’s now being used as a popsicle stick craft base in my kid’s room.

And you know what?

It felt really, really good.

This summer was not about productivity or picture-perfect memories. It was messy. Sticky. Loud. Barefoot. And exactly what my kids and I needed.

I let them stay up too late chasing lightning bugs. I said yes to gas station slushies at 10 a.m. I laid in a pool chair and pretended not to hear the “Mom, watch this!” for the 57th time. I chose the nap over the dishes. I let them watch movies in their pajamas until lunchtime. And I did it all without a single mom guilt spiral (okay… maybe just a small one, but nothing a sassy wine spritzer and a deep breath couldn’t fix).

There’s something magical about allowing the wheels to come off a little—to realize that kids don’t need a perfectly structured day; they need your presence, your attention, and the freedom to just be.

What I Learned from Letting It All Slide:

• The house won’t fall apart without the perfect routine. (It might be sticky and loud, but it’s still full of love.)

• Some rules are seasonal. Summer me is way more “yes” than school-year me, and that’s okay.

• Memories are made in the margins. The unplanned ice cream run, the late-night dance parties, the sprinkler in the front yard at 8 p.m.—that’s the good stuff.

• Letting go doesn’t mean giving up. It means trusting that some of the most meaningful parenting moments happen when we stop trying to manage every second.

  
  

But Also… Here’s What I’m Glad to Get Back:

• Hot coffee that doesn’t get microwaved three times.

• A break from the phrase “I’m bored.”

• School routines that bring a little order back to the chaos.

• Time to think without being asked for a snack every 7 minutes.

• Wearing real pants (well… maybe not glad, but I’ll manage).

So if you’re feeling like you “wasted” summer because it didn’t look like a Pinterest board or a highlight reel, let me remind you: you showed up.

You made memories. You gave your kids a summer that wasn’t about perfection—it was about presence.

Here’s to the summer we let it all slide… and to maybe keeping that same energy, just a little, as we slide into fall.

XX, Kelleen