Summer is here

With Memorial Day behind us, the unofficial start of summer is here. And with that, are the long, hot days and balmy nights. Over the weekend, our neighborhood pool opened up to accommodate everyone with a cool place of respite, and we took full advantage. Anaïs typically goes down to visit grandparents in Florida every summer for a couple of weeks, but this year, we’ve extended her stay to an entire month! Because both sides of the family are all there, they’ve all coordinated visits with one another so that she gets to see everyone, while getting to experience an adventurous visit. Because she will be gone for longer than we’ve done in the past, we wanted to make this past weekend extra special for her.
We got both kids down for early naps (yeah!) and I packed up our things for a day at the pool. Snacks, towels and sunscreen in tow, we were all ready to go once they woke up. Our neighborhood has an incredible community pool with a splash pad and shallow, wading pool for the kids. Surprisingly, it is never crowded, even on the hottest of days. True to form, we arrived about an hour after the pool opened with just a handful of families in sight. Anaïs was ecstatic and could hardly contain herself, while Akira was bewildered and in awe of water splashing everywhere. He loves being in water, so I was curious to see how he would do at the pool. He loved it!
As soon as I set him down on the ground and he saw water sprouting at the splash pad, he got on all fours and crawled as quickly as he could to get to them. He was laughing and trying to hit the sprinkles. When we put him in the pool, he couldn’t stop squealing and just seemed to be having the time of his life. He looked so cute in his rash guard and swim trunks, and with his sister to show him the way, he was as happy as he could be. Friends of ours joined us at the pool with their little girl, and after spending a couple of hours in the sun, we retreated back to their place for an impromptu barbecue. I’d say the weekend was a win!
On another note, I wanted to take this moment to thank all of you for reading my last post about my postpartum depression. It was a scary thing to come out and write, but I’ve never felt so supported in my admission. I was surprised to learn that so many other women out there feel and have felt the same way, and that my embarrassment isn’t unusual. I was also gently reminded that it isn’t something to be ashamed of, either. It’s a struggle that many women face and I’m happy to know that we all do our best to lift each other up instead of bring each other down, especially over something so sensitive. So, hats off to all of you for giving me confidence and hope that this, too, shall pass. It meant more to me than you could know!