Dear Tracy,

Being a military family unit means our extended family lives FAR AWAY. Sometimes, this is a good thing. But, when it comes to travel? Ugh. 

I have traveled a fair bit with the tiny human. (And most of that is solo.) 

3 weeks ago, we hauled our almost 4 year old cross country from the Midwest to the West Coast through the busiest travel season. 

And here are some lessons I learned: 

Dear Tracy,

As you know, pretend play is so important to early child development. 

(Here’s an article from Psychology Today if you’d like to learn the science behind it.)

As Mister Rogers always told us: 

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children, play is serious learning.”

But, I’m going to be honest: Some days Imaginary Play is not my strong suit.

I can’t be the only mom who feels this way, so I put together a list of some easy to play ideas and some of my favorite props to help foster imagination in our home. 

Dear Tracy, 

I’ve been thinking a lot on the themes of “best summer ever” and “self care” as the summer slowly slides into fall. 

As a kid, my mom would drag me back to her home town in the middle of nowhere Appalachia to experience a country summer. Summer days of riding bikes, picking blackberries, hiding in the apple orchard, being told don’t come back in until the street lamps come on, canning peppers, and soaking in the sunshine. 

One of the best parts of summer is the abundance of fruit in season. 

Strawberries are sweeter. Blueberries are bigger. Blackberries are sweeter. Peaches are the juiciest. 

One of the best parts of winter was my mom’s blueberry pancakes with summer berries she froze for that moment or my grandmother’s strawberry jam over fresh biscuits as I watched the snow come down in our Michigan home. If I want to give those same memories to my son, that means making jam now. 

It’s really a two-for-one activity. The best of summer fruits preserved in a fun summer afternoon with the tiny human -and- the self care of jam on scones in the months to come? Sign me up! 

Dear Tracy,

Do you remember growing up amidst the “perfection is the key” to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Perfect grades, perfect behavior, and perfect everything? 

What if it’s not? 

I know, it sounds crazy when measured up to the internal dialogue of “Perfect”, but hear me out:

Today, while cleaning the kitchen, I didn’t have time to do a perfect job. I didn’t have the time to scrub my sink clean or scour the stove top.

But, are my clean dishes put away and dirty dishes loaded into the dishwasher? Is dinner in the crockpot? Is the counter clean? Are the floors swept? Are there pots drying from being hand washed? Yes. And it’s enough, for now, to make the kitchen clean and functional for other’s to use, but it’s not perfect. I could scrub the sink, the stove top, apply some furniture polish to the cabinets, tidy up some art projects drying on the counter top, and tackle the microwave; but right now it’s good enough. Why can’t Good Enough actually be Enough?  

Dear Tracy, 

Today is Monday! A fresh start to the week. 

Speaking of fresh…I’d like to acknowledge the new moms this #MommyMuseMonday 

The moms just home from the hospital trying to recover from a major medical procedure while also keeping a tiny human alive.

The moms whose baby needs them every two hours, whose newborn only feels safe skin to skin, and the mom who hasn’t showered in three days. The mom who has every bodily fluid flung at them today and everyone has had 3 outfit changes because…that’s how it’s going to be today.  

We see you. 

It’s not going to be easy, but very soon your little one is going to look up at you and smile. And that smile? That smile will fill you with light and love and make you feel as if you could conquer mountains…or bedtime. 

Love,

Jess