Does anyone else feel like they’re spinning plates?
The summer holidays have only just begun, and already I feel like I’m spinning plates.
Running a business doesn’t stop because the schools break up. Emails still need answering. Portraits still need editing. Families are still counting down the days until they meet their new baby, celebrate a first birthday or finally gather everyone together for that long-promised family portrait.
At the same time, my own children are at home.
Like so many parents, I find myself constantly asking the same question…
Am I doing enough?
If I’m working, I feel guilty that I’m not making magical summer memories.
If I’m spending time with the children, I find myself thinking about everything waiting for me back at the studio.
It’s a feeling I know so many mums and dads carry around every single day.
The pressure to create the “perfect” summer
We scroll through social media and it feels as though everyone else is off on extravagant holidays, visiting theme parks every other day or creating Pinterest-worthy adventures.
Meanwhile, you’re trying to fit family life around work, washing, food shopping, housework and about a thousand other jobs that somehow still need doing.
It’s exhausting.
Sometimes the pressure we put on ourselves is far greater than anything our children expect from us.
Our little escape to Birmingham
At the beginning of this week, we decided to do something different.
We packed an overnight bag and sneaked away to Birmingham for a little mini break.
Nothing extravagant.
No expensive attractions.
No packed itinerary.
We wandered around the art gallery, explored streets we’d never walked before, and simply enjoyed being somewhere different together.
The children chose their favourite dinner…
Burgers and chips.
Everyone was happy.
It wasn’t the trip that mattered
That was it.
Simple.
But somehow it felt like we’d pressed a reset button.
Everyone relaxed.
Everyone chatted.
Nobody was rushing.
Nobody was asking what needed doing next.
For a little while, we were simply together.
By the time we drove home, I realised something had changed.
I felt lighter.
The children seemed happier.
Even the mountain of work waiting for me back at the studio didn’t feel quite so overwhelming anymore.
Children remember how you made them feel
It reminded me that children don’t usually remember whether you spent hundreds of pounds on a holiday.
They remember how you made them feel.
They remember laughing.
Holding your hand.
Finding somewhere new to explore.
Sharing chips.
Having your full attention, even if it’s only for a little while.
Those are the moments that stay with them.
We’ve booked in more little adventures
So Dan and I have already added a couple more tiny getaways into the diary over the rest of the summer.
Not because we’re trying to create the “perfect” school holiday.
But because we want everyone to feel like they really had a summer.
I’ve realised that sometimes it isn’t about having more time.
It’s about protecting the little bits of time we do have.
Those moments are surprisingly easy to lose if we don’t deliberately make space for them.
That’s why photographs matter so much
Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I love what I do.
Every family who walks through our studio doors arrives thinking they’re coming for photographs.
But really, they’re giving themselves permission to stop.
To put their phones away.
To cuddle.
To laugh.
To notice how tiny those little fingers still are.
To realise that another year has somehow disappeared.
Photographs become the reminder that, even in the busiest seasons of life, you did stop.
You did make time.
You were there.
Maybe you needed to hear this today
If you’re feeling that familiar summer guilt this week, please know you’re not alone.
Your children don’t need a perfect parent.
They don’t need six weeks filled with expensive adventures.
They simply need you.
Present.
Laughing.
Sharing burgers and chips.
Exploring somewhere new.
Making ordinary moments feel extraordinary.
Because one day, those ordinary little days become the memories everyone treasures most.
And perhaps that’s the real magic of summer after all.
PS. Summer wouldn’t be summer with out some wonderful outdoor photo shoots, so we’re currently hosting our Meadow Mini’s contest.
Win Your Meadow Mini Session
To celebrate the holidays, we’re giving THREE Meadow Mini Sessions away.
If you’d love to spend an evening making beautiful memories together, now’s the perfect time to enter.
You never know – one of those three sessions could be yours.
We’d absolutely love to see your family in the meadow this summer.
Because one day, without warning, they’ll let go of your hand.
And you’ll be so grateful you remembered what it felt like.