Parents who are sharing custody of their kids this summer – I see you.
To the ones who are missing their kids because they are with their other parent, whether that’s across the country or across town, I know that you miss them. This tiny taste of what life will be like when they’re really gone can be tough to swallow.
Respect to the parents who are looking at the calendar of kids who they don’t have full-time with a pit in their stomachs.
If you’re trying to figure out how you’re going to fit in family time this summer amid the myriad activities that fill your kids’ schedules (whether that’s sports or jobs or summer assignments for the next academic year or camps or volunteering or jobs or college test prep/essay writing), you’re not alone.
Your heart may be full with pride at the life they are creating for themselves, but it’s not easy to see how little room is left for you.
Just because you wish for more time does not make less grateful for their opportunities.
You are not the only parent sharing custody who is painfully aware that you have fewer weekends to foster a strong, meaningful relationship while also preparing your child for the world.
To the parents who feel relief at the idea of time to themselves, whose batteries are on empty, who feel a glimmer of hope at the chance to recharge, you are in fine company. Take the time to yourself with a happy heart and know we celebrate you replenishing your reserves.
If you are a parent who buys a gift for your child to give a stepparent on their birthday, your act of kindness matters. You don’t have to have one of those seemingly perfect coparenting relationships that goes viral to set a good example.
In fact, you don’t have to have one of those seemingly perfect coparenting relationships that goes viral. Period. I’m pretty sure that even those people have their own inner struggles with coparenting. Ideally, we’re all doing the best we can in any given moment.
It’s not an easy scenario, in any circumstance.
If you share your kids and are feeling the struggle a little more in the summer, you are not alone. You are admired. You are seen.
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