As we head into June (and hopefully some more sunshine), more often than not, the sunshine brings with it the dreaded summer holiday anxiety.
This can come in several formats –
First, we have the classic “Oh my god, it’s only X number of weeks until we go away – what if I haven’t got on top of all my work? Created the perfect summer garden? Totally cleaned the house? Found the perfect summer wardrobe? Visited all the friends I promised to this summer? Lost weight? Toned up? Had pedicures/manicures/self-tanning?” And so the list goes on
Is it worth it?
You know the answer to that, no it’s not! Why then do we put unrealistic markers in the sand for ourselves (no pun intended?) Yes, it’s a great feeling to have your house in order before you go away but it’s not essential.
As for the perfect beach body – they don’t exist and anyway, do you really have the time or the energy to be stressing about that?
You know the drill –
- Make a list of the essentials that need doing before you go away and keep it realistic.
- If it helps, make a post-holiday list of the things that you’re worried about forgetting and then park it until you return.
- Focus on the moment. Appreciate that you are getting away, creating memories and having a break from the norm.
The second type of holiday anxiety is the parental dread of weeks on end of filling time!
I have covered this in several other blogs (link to them here?) but here are a few quick reminders:
- Just because people appear to be ticking every parenting box as far as summer holidays go on social media, it doesn’t mean it’s true. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID!
- Some days they just need to be bored. Learning how to cope with boredom is a life skill and if you fill every waking hour with an activity, how will they ever learn to cope?
- Where you can, plan in advance. The summer holidays come around every year at the same time for the same length of time. What worked previously? What do you need to avoid? Start planning what you can now to lessen the anxiety later.
A side note……
We spend a lot of time looking forward to summer, I suspect more so after this particularly long winter so make the most of the longer days and some sunshine when it appears. Manage your expectations. Living in the moment more, focusing on what is right in front of you and stressing less about the ‘should haves’, ‘could haves’ and ‘what if’s’ will make it a far more pleasurable time.
