June 10, 2017

Dear Baby,

There is no smell that makes me happier than the smell of you after a day in summer. It’s been a while since we have experienced that scent and having it back is pretty damn good. It’s funny because I have always hated the smell of sweaty kids. Like, when I worked at camp it would be this big adjustment every morning to the smells of kids in sunscreen running around and I would think how horrible it would be to have one of my own living in my home and stinking up the joint. Now I could bottle that shit up and wear it as perfume. But only your smell, just to be clear, not kids in general.

The culprit is summer which is has finally reared its hot head and come out to play with a vengeance. Being a mom, summer is fun because parks are super helpful when you want to both keep a kid entertained, engage them in nature and not have to have your house torn apart. Splash pads are even better. Summer is slightly less fun when you are carrying around some extra cushion and a whole human on your body and thus sweating from every pore you have but nonetheless.

Before you, I was not wholeheartedly a summer lover. Bring me fall with its moderate temperatures and crisp evenings and layers and better clothing and my favourite holidays and I am happy. Summer, to me has always been a time of dread. I hate being hot, I hate sleeping in hot, I hate sweat, I hate smelling like sweat, I hate hot rain, I hate hot dry, I hate wearing tank tops and I abhor shorts. I hate sunburns, I hate humidity, I hate iced coffee and I hate the pressure that a =nice day has on you to do something productive. Maybe I want to be inside all day – ok, sun???

But since you, summer has become far more enjoyable and dare I say, I can even list some loves. I love your smell in the summer, I love the way your tiny legs look in shorts, I love baby rompers and hats, I love your smile when you play in the water, I love your glee at parks, I love walking with you or pushing you along in your little car, I love the way you stop and literally smell the flowers when we are out together (and more on that to come), I love the way that nature amazes you, I love sitting on the porch just blowing bubbles and waiting for your dad to come home. I love feeding you fresh fruits and veggies, I love that we don’t need 8000 layers just to get into the car.

So all in all, what I’m saying is that you basically make everything better and even summer has a brighter shine with you around to share it with.

xo

Mom