Summer Break Got Me. Here's How I'm Getting Back.

On the 4th of July, I put my kids to bed at 7:30, skipped the BBQ I’d been looking forward to, and watched The Pitt on the couch instead of the fireworks.

I’m not ashamed. I’m reporting the facts.

We’d done a small-town parade, hours at the lake, and hosted what felt like half of Tahoe at our house the night before. By 7pm my four-year-old was running on fumes and my social battery was completely dead. So was everyone else’s. The fireworks could wait ‘til next year.

This is not the summer the internet told me I was supposed to be having.

You’ve seen it on Instagram: The pressure to make this the most magical summer of their childhood. The 90s summer: no screens, no schedules, just kids running barefoot and discovering creeks. The curated lake days and the s’mores and the “we were just so present.”

I love all of that. I am also a human person with a social battery and a four-year-old who today napped from 5 to 6pm because her body needed it after two weeks of camp with no naps.

Do I recommend a 5pm nap? No. Did it reset her entire system? Completely.

That’s the thing about summer. It’s not one long vacation. It’s a series of small disruptions that compound until your whole family needs a reset at the same time.

What actually helps: the family MVP

I’ve written a few times about the MVP (Minimum Viable Person), the idea that you don’t need a perfect day to feel like yourself. You need a small handful of non-negotiables that keep you functional. A walk. Hot coffee alone. One focused hour.

What I’ve learned since talking about this: your kids have MVPs too.

My seven-year-old needs to move his body right after breakfast or the whole day unravels. My four-year-old needs protein, her brother’s attention, and apparently more sleep than camp is giving her. When we protect those basics, everything else gets easier.

A reader named Hrishikesh took this beyond families. No kids, just roommates. Their MVP turned out to be one funny story with roommates at dinner each night. That small thing reset the mood of their whole house.

I’m not starting over. I’m resetting.

A restart means the last few weeks didn’t count. A reset means I know exactly what I need, I just drifted, and today I’m walking back.

My summer MVP right now: a 20-minute walk after I get the kids off to camp. That’s the whole thing. Not a workout. Not a routine. Just enough to feel like I showed up for myself before the day showed up for me.

Some mornings that’s enough to skip the BBQ without guilt and watch TV on the couch like a person who made a choice instead of a person who failed at summer.

You don’t need a perfect summer. You need to know what brings you back when it goes sideways.

What’s the one thing that, when you do it, makes everything else more manageable? Hit reply. I read every one.

P.S. Here are the books by women authors I’ve pre-ordered for some summer reading! Preorders matter a LOT - help them out by ordering today!

The Three Graces of Pearl Street, Elizabeth Wellington Rollins, - she did a great guest post back in March!

The Parisian Heist, Jo Piazza - Love her podcast and substack!