We all know what it’s like, that feeling of barely making it across the finish line. Sometimes it’s those last few days before the deadline on an assignment, sometimes it’s those last few hours of an unbearably long day. In those last moments before it’s finally over, it feels like you’re barely hanging on — and that if you could just get to the other side of that finish line, everything would be perfect. That’s what the last few days of the school year often feel like, for both kids and their parents.
For both students and their families, the school year can feel like a marathon. Whether you’re the one studying and rushing from class to class, or you’re the caregiver desperately trying to stay sane and co-regulate while driving kids to and from endless activities, it can often feel like you just need to survive until summer. When the stress of grades melts away, and sleeping in past your alarm won’t mean truancy anymore… then, everything will be okay.
With this mindset, it’s not uncommon for people to feel slightly let down once summer actually arrives. The kid who was expecting their depression and anxiety to melt away often feels disappointed when those discomforts still linger. The parent who was hoping that their stress would dissolve feels frustrated with themselves for still being on edge. But the reality is, this is to be expected; the arrival of a date on a calendar is never a guarantee of life getting exponentially easier. Sure, we can always hope for and look forward to calmer waters ahead. But we can protect ourselves from disappointment by steering away from black-and-white thinking.
All seasons of life come with challenges. Some problems ebb and flow in coordination with the months of the year, but at the end of the day, there will always be problems there, waiting for us to manage them. The key is to trust in our ability to handle it. While it might be wishful thinking to hope for periods where nothing is wrong, it’s not wishful thinking to have confidence in your skills to navigate the constant challenges that life throws at us.
If this summer isn’t turning out to be as carefree as you thought it’d be, it’s not necessarily a sign that there’s something wrong with you, or with your life. It’s normal to have struggles during all months of the year. And while we wish you a summer that’s as easy as possible, we also applaud your efforts to cope with whatever it is life’s throwing at you! You’ve got this!
