It’s a crappy time to be a parent, and in particular, to be a mom.

Hear me out.

We’ve been torn to pieces by the impossible challenges of the pandemic. SCOTUS and the Republican party have decimated women’s rights and are working on more misogynistic efforts. Now we have to live through Hot Girl Summer.

But wait, you say, wasn’t HGS supposed to be last year?

Yes, but that didn’t work out. Great news! It’s back for a reboot in 2022! Women, get ready to party! Balance work and childcare while school is out! Be tortured by young porn-filtered influencers who try to sell you the perfectly matched foundation, miraculous green drink powder, and too-short summer dresses (with pockets) that are maybe not a scam. Live your best life!

Pardon me if I don’t feel like celebrating.

Here’s an idea: Let’s ignore the idiocy that is Hot Girl Summer, and instead, let’s go for Happy Mom Summer.

Gather your fellow miserable, exhausted mother friends. Go to the park with your screen-blind children and let them run wild while you drink vodka seltzers from La Croix cans. Read trash novels instead of self-help books. Serve your kids ice cream for dinner as a surprise, and eat it with them without guilt. Find the fun in your summer and be truly present for it.

A few years ago, the hilarious and talented writer, Melissa Fenton (who happens to be a childhood friend), wrote a great article called ‘Get in the Pictures of Your Life.’ She wrote that Moms are so busy taking pictures of everyone else that we forget to get in the frame. The result is living a life on the periphery, a miserable bystander.

No more, moms.

This summer, take her and my advice. Figure what you need to do to find your joy. Being hot is overrated and temporary. Happy is way more important.

Let’s focus on doing whatever it takes to get out of this mom slump.

But also get that dress with the pockets.

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This essay also appeared in the July 2022 issue of FLM - Fete Lifestyle Magazine.