By this stage of the summer holidays many of us are wilting. The end of term enthusiasm for lazy mornings in pj's and quality time with the little folk has been replaced by credit card debt and rather a desperate cry for entertainment provided from elsewhere (e.g school). But when they go back we will shed tears at the classroom door and sigh about how they are rising through the school ranks far too quickly. When will we cease to feel so conflicted about our parenting?

Many of us will have seen the phrase doing the rounds on social media 'We only have 18 summers with our children'. If there was ever a line to give you a massive guilt trip these holidays, this is the one.  I am currently typing this whilst my children are watching some awful thing on YouTube, they are not gliding down sand dunes and making life long memories. With the inconveniences of work, budgets and exhaustion it is quite frankly impossible to have 42 days of Enid Blyton adventures.

When my children were little I was obsessed with not 'enjoying ' it all enough. That was before I worked out that it wasn't 'the all' it was the little moments that gave me joy. A soft cheek, a hilarious incident, a nighttime snuggle... certainly not the entire experience. And this my fellow weary parents is something to remember at this stage of the game. The ice cream on the park bench, a somersault on the lawn or perhaps a bedtime story, moments that make for happy summer holiday memories. So please don't worry if the tablets have come out and crisps have been eaten for breakfast, I'll be joining you for champagne on 3rd September after drop off.

Sophie x

PS - Poppy and Honesty will be launching an  Autumn Collection soon after the little darlings have gone back to school (approx Sept 10th).