Thursday, June 3, 2010

It's no vacation here!

Summer vacation is here. Why do they call it that? I'm thinking this summer is going to be in no way/shape/form a vacation for me.

I've listened to moms complain year after year about having their kids home for summer. I've never really understood what the big deal was all about. Unless you are a working parent, and have to worry about getting a babysitter, summer should be a piece of cake! Summer gives you plenty of time to bond with your kids. You can go swimming, hang out outside at the park or the zoo. Unless you have no planned activities, you can just go with the flow. Everyone should love summer, right? Oh how naive I was.

This is Ella's second "summer vacation." Last year, we traveled a lot. Grayson was still a little guy, only being 2, and just wanted to run around outside. He didn't care where we were, he just wanted to run. I made things easy by filling up the swimming pools and letting the kids loose in the backyard. I grilled hot dogs for lunch, and provided lots of Popsicles. Many times, I made up excuses as to why we couldn't go outside to play....on days when I was just not interested in being in the heat.

This summer is a whole new experience already, and it's only been a week! The kids are constantly fighting with each other. Grayson is older now, so he's talking back, and standing up for himself. They've been driving me crazy, and I've been yelling a lot more than usual.

Both kids are already asking to go places other than the backyard - the zoo, a museum, the mall (Ella's asking for this one), the park, a friend's house, the gym.....anywhere that's not here. As much as I love going places, it's not always possible. I've got chores to do at home. Sometimes I'm tired and just want to chill on the couch. Lately, it's been raining a lot. I could let them go outside and get muddy in the backyard, or at the park, but I really don't want to.

With luck, our pool will be finished in a couple weeks, and that might make things easier. But if I know my son, he'll want to be in it ALL THE TIME. Which means I'll have to be in it ALL THE TIME. Grayson doesn't understand that sometimes, Mommy has other things to do. As nice as it would be to lounge in the pool all day, it's not possible.

I'm working on setting up playdates for Ella...perhaps on a weekly schedule. I'll let a friend come over on a Wednesday, if Ella can go to their house on a Friday. My other mom-friends understand and are going through the same thing with their kids. We know that we need to stick together to make it through the next 3 months, or we'll all be medicated by the 4th of July!

I was hoping for a care-free, laid-back sort of summer. That's not going to happen. I need to make a plan, and follow through. Damn it!

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