Summer is almost over....or is it?
Pretty soon school starts....rather way too soon. I remember when school started at the end of August if not at the beginning of September. Now the kids go in the second week of the month....and summer is barely half-way through from a season-of-the-year standpoint. We should not call it summer vacation or summer break, but better to call it "brief-no-school-time" which should not be confused with spring break that actually occurs during its proper season....and subsequently winter break. Soooo when the teacher asks, "Timmy, what did you do this summer?" He should retort, "Well, I'll answer that in about five weeks when it's over...or do you not know that summer ends on Sept. 21st?" (Next stop, detention...or ISS as they say.) To be fair, school seems to end about a week earlier than when I was a kid (so there is still a two week disparity overall).
We are almost done with the flurry of getting ready for school....supplies, clothes, etc. More importantly, BEDTIME. The summer can take its toll on the parents. Often, the down-time is right after the kids are tucked in. During brief-no-school-time, the kids get to stay up later...often way too late. So who suffers but mom and dad? Yes, the extra opportunity/time to spend with the kids is fun, though it might be better suited for an established night for a movie or a game. The other evenings need to have an established bedtime which can be a little later than the school-week bedtime. A caviat to this could be to allow the kids to extend bedtime by reading in their rooms (better yet, their beds so they can drift off to sleep). Moms and dads need down-time especially during brief-no-school-time (likely moms more than dads) as the kids are underfoot all day long. Now that I have constructed a wonderful plan to maintain a bit of sanity, I need to remember to put it into action.....say in 4-1/2 months when winter break comes around.
Now the purpose of this down-time is for moms and dads to reconnect. Commiserate over their busy days, discuss news events, plan the next couple of days' activities, even sit quietly and enjoy each other's presence, maybe even hold hands. The long exhale before bedtime in anticipation of the stirrings of the next morning....breakfast, preparing lunch, watching for the bus, scurrying off to work....rewind, repeat, rewind, repeat. But for me, I cannot imagine getting through the routine without my wife. She is the glue that holds it all together....I have seen the job and I don't want it as Bill Cosby would say....but Kath rises to the challenge each day. I would also offer that she does not want the job either, but demonstrates grace under fire. What can possibly motivate her? Love is the answer. What she wouldn't do for each one of her kids. Math, actually....neither one of us understand how it is being taught these days....one word...calculator (but you have to say it like John Malchevick on SNL).
We are almost done with the flurry of getting ready for school....supplies, clothes, etc. More importantly, BEDTIME. The summer can take its toll on the parents. Often, the down-time is right after the kids are tucked in. During brief-no-school-time, the kids get to stay up later...often way too late. So who suffers but mom and dad? Yes, the extra opportunity/time to spend with the kids is fun, though it might be better suited for an established night for a movie or a game. The other evenings need to have an established bedtime which can be a little later than the school-week bedtime. A caviat to this could be to allow the kids to extend bedtime by reading in their rooms (better yet, their beds so they can drift off to sleep). Moms and dads need down-time especially during brief-no-school-time (likely moms more than dads) as the kids are underfoot all day long. Now that I have constructed a wonderful plan to maintain a bit of sanity, I need to remember to put it into action.....say in 4-1/2 months when winter break comes around.
Now the purpose of this down-time is for moms and dads to reconnect. Commiserate over their busy days, discuss news events, plan the next couple of days' activities, even sit quietly and enjoy each other's presence, maybe even hold hands. The long exhale before bedtime in anticipation of the stirrings of the next morning....breakfast, preparing lunch, watching for the bus, scurrying off to work....rewind, repeat, rewind, repeat. But for me, I cannot imagine getting through the routine without my wife. She is the glue that holds it all together....I have seen the job and I don't want it as Bill Cosby would say....but Kath rises to the challenge each day. I would also offer that she does not want the job either, but demonstrates grace under fire. What can possibly motivate her? Love is the answer. What she wouldn't do for each one of her kids. Math, actually....neither one of us understand how it is being taught these days....one word...calculator (but you have to say it like John Malchevick on SNL).
Comments