summer bliss
Today was the first day of school vacation. No more daily grind starting at 6:10. No more "Hurry! You'll miss the bus!" No more scrambling to find lunch money. No more morning chaos.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh.
Except.
The two youngest Lemons had a screaming argument over a waffle. They had a screaming argument over who Lemony Mutt loves most. They fought over Monopoly and Lego Star Wars. They followed me around the house whining about how bored they were. They protested when I suggested they go outside to play. They really protested when I suggested they do a few chores, like getting the laundry that's been sitting around for a few days actually put away.
"I thought you were bored," I said.
"We're not that bored," they replied.
They did eventually get the laundry put away (I can be very persuasive) but it involved a lot of whinging and moaning (theirs) and threats of NO POOL! (mine).
All this before 10:30 a.m.
By lunchtime, when none of my offerings were "good enough" or "what I want" and "gross!", something very frightening happened. I turned into my grandmother.
"When I was your age, I went outside right after breakfast and only went home for five minutes to eat the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich my grandmother flung out the door at me...and I was happy to HAVE IT! I mean, it's not like I had a CHOICE! I ate what I was TOLD! And then, after lunch, I went back outside and stayed outside until the streetlights came on! And I didn't have a pool, or a swingset, or a even a backyard! I rollerskated on the SIDEWALK that had giant BUMPS in it and I had to stop at the corner lest I get flattened by TRAFFIC! Do you even know what traffic is? Living here in idyllic Quiet Village with the wild turkeys? Huh? Do ya? No? So eat your gourmet cheese and herb sandwich and then get out of my kitchen! Go outside and swing, or kick the ball, or ride your bike, or rollerblade, or WHATEVER it is you DO out there, and don't come home until the streetlights come on!"
They stared at me. They blinked a few times. They frowned. They looked at each other. They looked back at me. Then, without another word, they picked up their sandwiches and started eating.
I didn't care that they thought I was crazy. I didn't care that they were probably right. It was quiet.
Then Lemony Brother put down his sandwich, frowned, and said, "But, Mum. We don't have streetlights."
And Lemony Child nearly killed herself choking on her soy cheese, fresh tomato, and basil sandwich on dairy-free bread when she started laughing like a loon.
We're off to a swimmingly good start.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh.
Except.
The two youngest Lemons had a screaming argument over a waffle. They had a screaming argument over who Lemony Mutt loves most. They fought over Monopoly and Lego Star Wars. They followed me around the house whining about how bored they were. They protested when I suggested they go outside to play. They really protested when I suggested they do a few chores, like getting the laundry that's been sitting around for a few days actually put away.
"I thought you were bored," I said.
"We're not that bored," they replied.
They did eventually get the laundry put away (I can be very persuasive) but it involved a lot of whinging and moaning (theirs) and threats of NO POOL! (mine).
All this before 10:30 a.m.
By lunchtime, when none of my offerings were "good enough" or "what I want" and "gross!", something very frightening happened. I turned into my grandmother.
"When I was your age, I went outside right after breakfast and only went home for five minutes to eat the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich my grandmother flung out the door at me...and I was happy to HAVE IT! I mean, it's not like I had a CHOICE! I ate what I was TOLD! And then, after lunch, I went back outside and stayed outside until the streetlights came on! And I didn't have a pool, or a swingset, or a even a backyard! I rollerskated on the SIDEWALK that had giant BUMPS in it and I had to stop at the corner lest I get flattened by TRAFFIC! Do you even know what traffic is? Living here in idyllic Quiet Village with the wild turkeys? Huh? Do ya? No? So eat your gourmet cheese and herb sandwich and then get out of my kitchen! Go outside and swing, or kick the ball, or ride your bike, or rollerblade, or WHATEVER it is you DO out there, and don't come home until the streetlights come on!"
They stared at me. They blinked a few times. They frowned. They looked at each other. They looked back at me. Then, without another word, they picked up their sandwiches and started eating.
I didn't care that they thought I was crazy. I didn't care that they were probably right. It was quiet.
Then Lemony Brother put down his sandwich, frowned, and said, "But, Mum. We don't have streetlights."
And Lemony Child nearly killed herself choking on her soy cheese, fresh tomato, and basil sandwich on dairy-free bread when she started laughing like a loon.
We're off to a swimmingly good start.
10 Comments:
I feel your pain.
The pool is my only salvation. I can send Kid L to the pool during the afternoon nap. It saves my sanity; at least for a few hours.
Plus, Nonami didn't get the summer time hours memo and still wakes up at 7:00.
Man if I had a pool I'd be in it all day long. Seriously. It's a dangerous thing, LOL. I feel your pain though- and I'm sad because one of our neighbors, whose little boy D always plays with, are moving soon. There are other kids she can play with though, so that is good but it's not the same.
One week left for us!
BTW, you have been Tagged!
"swimmingly"
This is an interesting word choice for a hydrophobe.
Ahhh the foreshadowing...
mwah mwah mwah count 'em down, baby.
xoxo
Why is everything boring to kids these days? Mine says cleaning his room is borning, it used to be a past time for me! Sheesh!
here's a mojito--now you won't care for a few hours ;)
hugs baby.
xo
Hee. The classic "We're not *that* bored" response!! Man, that brings back memories of driving my mom up the wall.
(((hugs)))
welcome to the next 60 days of your life! xo
I like cheese and basil...just sayin'.
Your kids, who live in affluency, will never have that kind of life you spoke of. I make sure mine know what it's like to go without. You can talk all day long about the life you led, but your posts reek of the snobbery of someone who can afford pools, vacation houses, and gourmet cheese. Don't expect that your kids will ever want to know how to entertain themselves with every luxury and amenity available to them.
Good to see you again, Anonymous in Baltimore. :-)
Normally I wouldn't do this, but, well...
1) My kid eats "gourmet" soy cheese because she has a life-threatening auto-immune disorder which causes her immune system treats dairy like a deadly toxin. I don't wish for my child to die because I fed her cow cheese, so soy it is. And I grew the basil myself. :-)
2) You're right. My kids will never know the kind of life I did when I was young and I thank every star in the sky every night for that.
3) My kids do have luxuries available to them that not every kid does. They also volunteer in a neighboring town's food pantry with me so they understand exactly how lucky they are.
4) I make no apologies for the life I'm blessed enough to live today. I live it thankfully and share as much of it as I can.
5) I'm sorry you're missing the point of my posts, which has more to do with making the mundane humorous than it does about snobbery. I obviously need to work more at this written communication thing.
Thanks for reading!
~xo
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