Ask me how to strap a giant whale to my minivan and drive 1600 miles home with it! I'll tell you how. Ask me to define the word sharing. It's different than what you might expect. Ask me how to get your child to learn there's more to life than pb&j. Wait, don't ask me that. Ask me what it's like to have an autistic child. I'll try to help you understand. Ask me to show you my Mom of the Year award! Oops, usually I'm out of the running for that about 10 minutes after getting out of bed.
Yet, it's all good. Sure, the paycheck is lost in the mail but I still wouldn't trade this life, quirks and all. In my posts, I'm hoping you'll find humor and honesty and that you'll be able to relate to my humble acceptance of motherhood's ups, downs and in betweens.
Welcome to my world!
5 Up and 5 Down
Summer officially begins, what, is it June 20th? For my boys it begins in 5 days. While yes, on Monday, May 25th, I’ll wake up no longer the free woman that I am today, no, I’m not necessarily dreading it.
So without further introduction, here is a list of 5 things about summer vacation I’m looking forward to and 5 things I’m not…
Thumbs up: I get some counter space back! A 12 week break from the pile of random papers, reminders, camp fliers, pictures drawn at indoor recess, etc. I swear my kids’ school sheds more trees than a new subdivision. For 9 months, it’s a perpetual challenge to figure out what to do with all of it.
Thumbs down: The Ice Cream Man. I didn’t have such a thing which visited my neighborhood when I was growing up so it’s taken me a few years to even get used to the idea of strangers driving around in white vans offering ice cream to children. I mean, don’t we teach our kids to keep away from these kinds of things? OK, OK, I’ve yet to see one that I’d consider suspicious, but nonetheless, I’m not looking forward to hearing that God-awful music blaring through the streets and witnessing the Pied Piper-like following it induces. Not to mention I find it ridiculous how much money must be shelled out for oversized popsickles that usually melt before Ryan licks more than an ear off a frozen Ninja Turtle head.
Thumbs up: A reprieve from the drama of the weekday morning. Oh, the joy of waking up, coming downstairs, pouring some coffee and that’s about it for another hour. No worrying about who needs a lunch, who has a field trip today, no screaming to turn off the Wii because it is time to go, no last minute panic about the need to send in 10 paper towel rolls for the 2nd grade boat project…oh I could go on and on about the things that come up between 7 and 8 on a school morning.
Thumbs down: The fact that after I’ve appreciated my Hour of Power, I’ll spend the next 8 in constant desperation to fend off the “I’m hungry”, “When is it my turn to play Wii”, “No one is home”, “I can’t think of anything to do”, or my personal favorite, “When is Daddy going to be home?” (and it’s 9:30 in the morning).
Thumbs up: Hanging out with people I don’t see so much during the school year. Before our kids all went off to elementary school, I used to have regular playdates (for both my kids AND myself) with pals that I’ve known since college, high school and even longer than that. Summer gives me more opportunities to catch up with them and it’s fun how even our kids often pick up right where they left off from last year.
Thumbs down: I’ll never see the inside of a grocery store again during daylight hours. Not if I’m smart, anyway. Also, the bill goes up up up as the boys manage to consume just about everything in the pantry before 10 AM.
Thumbs up: The sound of my kids at play. A Parent Luxury I enjoy at this time in my life is that my kids have reached the age where they can just head out into the yard to hook up with their buddies and I don’t have to go with them. They are also fortunate that our neighborhood has lots of kids their age in the surrounding yards. When the weather is nice, I love to open the windows and just listen to the sound of good times being had by all.
Thumbs down: Somehow the arrival of summer vacation brings with it a creature I call the Sand Fairy. I imagine her floating through the air, dumping buckets of sand into my kids’ shoes, down their backs, into their pockets, all to be scattered around the inside of my house once they return home. I think I’ve said before, if there’s ever a shortage of sand in the world, I can help.
Thumbs up: The pool. My kids love the pool and I love lying beside it in a chair. Enough said.
Thumbs down: I hate ending on a negative, so I’ll make it a negative-positive. Logan’s birthday. My firstborn celebrates his birthday in the summer, which is a great time to have a birthday, by the way. The downside? My firstborn celebrates a birthday…each year reminding me how quickly the time is going by. This year he’ll be nine. Nine years he’s been in my house. Nine years from now he’ll most likely be preparing to leave it. Wow.
Also, he wants a hamster for his birthday (double thumbs down!)
HERE’S TO A GREAT SUMMER, EVERYONE!
Seriously- no ice cream man allowed in LQ? THAT’S what was wrong with you! It was a nightly ritual- and a great bribery tool for my folks, I now realize. And I hear we’re losing sand here on the beaches in SC. Can you pack some up and send it this way? ;) And yes, the time goes by WAY too quickly. I take some time on each birthday to write a letter to my kiddo about how she’s changed over the past year and it makes me cry every time. Hopefully she’ll appreciate it too someday!
Keep up the great stories- love ‘em!
Comment by Debbie — May 18, 2009 @ 7:18 pm