Summer days

I just saw friend and it reminded me of a blog that I've been wanting to write for a really long time. I told her I hadn't seen her in quite a while and she said she was off work today and said "I'm mom today".
Like me, she works but she also volunteers to does a lot of stuff with her kids. She's one of those moms that runs around like a crazy person doing stuff so that she can support her family but still spend time with them.
It made me start thinking of women who don't work outside the home. And it made me start thinking about how blessed they are if they get to spend time with their kids. As I read Facebook posts of people planning their summer activities, I envy them. I don't envy them so much as the freedom
that they have to do whatever they want to do. Now don't get me wrong I love having a job I love being able to support my children. I have an amazing boss and a wonderful working environment. But sometimes I wish I could just take a day and bring my kids somewhere. I wish I could make a summer bucket list or have the day off from work when they have the day off from school.
Sometimes, it's a really difficult thing when you have to work outside the home. In my 10 years as a mother I have been both a work at home mom, a stay at home mom and mom who worked outside the home. Sometimes, I get a bit frustrated by women who complain about how difficult their lives are. They don't go to work (yes, I know being a mom is a job, but you know what I mean); their kids are in school all day and yet they still complain. Or better yet the woman who doesn't go to work, the kids are in school and she either has a mother's helper, a nanny or a husband who does housework!
If you have a husband that cooks or cleans or does laundry or yardwork or takes care of the kids, you're lucky. If you have the time and money to get your hair done every six weeks and get mani/pedis, you're lucky. If you can go out for a girls night or have lunch out with a friend to catch up, you're lucky. Stop telling everyone how bad you have it.
I do applaud all moms no matter if they work outside the home or inside home because I know how hard it is to do both those jobs. I hope as summer creeps along,  you enjoy the time you get to spend with your kids. Be like my friend Patty or my friend Heidi who come up with a list of cool things they want to do over the summer - like a summer bucket list - or Marcia who makes a list of parks her kids need to visit before the end of the summer. Take your kids somewhere just because. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Think about the kids that don't get to do those "bucket" things - the kids that have to go to daycare all summer long and not spend time with their parents. Maybe go crazy and invite a working family's kids over to spend the day with you (I'm not asking for invitations). Bring someone without a bucket to the beach or the pool or the park. Isn't that the whole fun of summer anyway - not being scheduled or worrying about what to do? Unfortunately, we live in a culture where we are so scared to let our kids be free the way we were when we were little that we plan so many activities for them during the school year. Then, when summer comes around, we don't always know what to do. It's okay for kids to be a little bored sometimes - they will figure it out. That is your gift to them. And don't forget, when they're getting on your nerves, it won't be like this for long. You're going to miss this time. Enjoy it. I'm going to work.