Birthday parties and the great outdoors – columnist Cat Hufton on the joys of the summer holidays
Last week, I was watching one of those sickly sweet Reels on Instagram. You know, the ones that tell you we only have 18 summers with our children so we must enjoy every single second. While I don’t entirely disagree with the sentiment of trying to enjoy our children as much as possible, I do think that’s an awful lot of pressure to put on parents. In fact, as the end of term quickly approaches, I’ve found myself with conflicting emotions.
Part of me is looking forward to leaving the structure of school behind for a while. Another part of me feels anxious at having six whole weeks to fill with two rambunctious little boys. Do we all just go completely feral and eschew any kind of routine, or do I keep the ship running tightly and schedule endless activities, days out and play dates?
There’s also the not-so-small issue of work (I’m freelance, and my husband is in a full-time salaried role), so we’ve had to bite the bullet and pay a small fortune for a few days of a local holiday club. The rest of the time, I’ll reduce my working days slightly to adjust, and maybe rope in the grandparents for the odd day here and there.
But with any luck, the sunshine will continue to grace us with its presence and we can spend as much time outside as possible. It’s amazing how much easier life feels when the kids can just play in the garden or spend a couple of hours in the woods collecting sticks and finding insects.
Last week, I let my sons blast each other with the hosepipe for as long as they wanted just so I could get dinner sorted. Today, they spent a good 30 minutes seeing how many washing pegs they could attach to each other in the garden. Carefree, silly and completely free – it’s what childhood summer memories are all about, isn’t it?
Both of my sons’ birthdays also fall in August – a week apart no less – and this year, I’ve decided to host my older child’s classmates at home with live animals. Yes, you read correctly dear parents. I actually did book a children’s entertainer with live animals to come to my own home. I may have been feeling unwell at the time or watched Motherland far too many times. I can already imagine the chaos that will ensue if one of the little critters escapes.
But, with slight trepidation and lots of positive thinking, I plan to not overthink or overengineer the summer break. When I’m not working, I’m going to put my phone in a cupboard, throw myself into the spirit of the season and not beat myself up if I don’t enjoy every moment. I will almost definitely be found hiding in the loo when it all gets too much.
About Cat
Cat Hufton is a freelance journalist and the creator of The Freelance Parent, a weekly newsletter that’s dedicated to thriving professionally and personally post-procreation. You can find her latest musings on Substack at cathufton.substack.com and follow her on Twitter@CatHufton
