Summer is almost here. And I'm ready. So so ready.

We all may joke about the endless snacks and the sweaty, sticky children running through the house (and leaving the door open!), but we also know summer is what childhoods are made for.

So I have some plans. Not elaborate, stressful, expensive, Pinterest-worthy plans. Nope.

These are more like fun, soak-it-up, enjoy-what-we-have-and-where-we-are plans.

We will take walks together. And I'll say yes when they want to pick up sticks and rocks and bugs and frogs.

We will play in the pool. And I'll jump in with them and even get my hair wet.

We will eat popsicles and watermelon and jello and frozen blueberries. And it won't matter what time of day it is.

We will play in the rain showers that visit us almost every afternoon. And I'll let that count as their baths.

We will visit that park they love that takes a little longer to get to. And we'll stay until dark or the mosquitoes come out.

We will invite friends over to play. And I won't stress clean or worry about how messy our kitchen table is.

We will go to our museums and theaters and libraries when they have special kid-friendly events. And they can pick out their own books and their own path through the exhibits.

We will have some quiet, relaxed screen time. And I'll SIT WITH THEM and laugh at that ridiculous vine even if they've shown it to me 428 times.

We will take at least one trip to the beach. And we'll collect shells, and make sand castles, and play in the waves, and eat crunchy sandwiches that somehow always get sand in them no matter how we wrap them up.

We will have some one-on-one time. And I will close my eyes and kiss their heads and tell them I love them and breathe in that sweet memory.

Even if they are sweaty and sticky.

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