Some Summer Stuff

Summertime summertime sum sum summertime's almost here for me and my household.  And that means there will be two early risers around here just rarin' to take hold of some free timin' interactive fun.  I really love it when school is out and the schedule is ours again to do with what we will.  

But what will we do?  For some reason this year I don't seem to know.  There are SO MANY different options posted around for sport camps and workshops on anything from photography to pirating, swim lessons, teams or pool passes.  What about piano or guitar lessons and what's this brochure about church camp?  

 Jolly Roger the choices!

My boys are 5 and 10 now and they are both eligible for enrollment in this plethora of $50+ a pop classes, which together would equal more fun than I or my pocketbook could possibly shake a stick at.  

All of these options have caused me to struggle with my theory of busyness which goes something like "AVOID BUSYNESS AT ALL COSTS".  And it has worked up to this point in that we have not been terribly overachieving thus far in life.  But then the downside of that is that (you guessed it) we have not been terribly overachieving thus far...in life.  Wah wah.

I finally decided I'm OK with that still, and  recently chose to shake my stick at a one week day camp in Oklahoma City, because my kids were feeling for a "nature" experience this year(and it was the one camp I actually enjoyed in my youth-don't get me started).  This also sounded great to me because that meant I was able to enroll myself in a self taught "Advanced Bargain Browsing" class that will consist of me wandering around my hometown visiting all my favorite "big city" stores with my Mumsipoo.  Woot!  

The problem I've always had with being too busy is rooted in the fact that I think children need plenty of free time.  They need time to explore their world in curiosity.  Time to imagine, to read, to be alone, time to rest.  I don't want to always be rushing them feverishly from one scheduled event to the next.

 Nope, there's plenty of time in adulthood for that.  I actually egged my own house today in such a desperation to get in the door with some groceries.  I have no idea why I was even in a hurry.  It's entirely possible though that I might have had some repressed rebellion against my own busy week and felt the need to egg the lady responsible for it.  This certainly backs up my theory.

And then there's the fact that my youngest starling has begun acting up at preschool in a most unflattering way (gasp, the scandal of it all).  I feel fairly sure he was only head butting his teachers out of love though, and he saw a billy goat at the petting zoo once?.. (nervous laugh developing)...Then they must have mistaken a yawn for a right hook on that other occasion.  I'm almost certain. What? Hello.

Nah, I'm not one of those mother's who's precious Junior's behavior is all to be blamed on his teachers and caregivers.  I know his challenges were given to him by his first parents rotten choices.  And OUR challenge now is to try to keep the little guy seeking the right choices and controlling the wrong impulses to make his unique and  magnetic personality work in his favor.  He just needs time...and lots of attention.

 

I mention these recent behavioral issues because they are also changing our plans this summer.  We've decided maybe our Dandy should have another year under his belt before he starts kindergarten.  And since we were advised to keep him in school all summer to keep his momentum up for Kindy, we now think he should probably just take a break and do some of that resting and playing business his mother is so fond of.   All work and no play makes Dandy want to take a swing at somebody!  We appreciate our school system, but we want his thirteen years there to be good years if at all possible.  What better way is there to go about it than to have a long easy summer together to contemplate it all.  Ah, yes.  That'll do it.