Friends, the Summer Break is almost upon us. Swimming pools, lazy mornings, popsicles, anytime cuddles, late breakfasts, and warm nights are just around the corner. And like an evil twin follows messy bedrooms, bored kids, days upon unscheduled days, and endless bickering. I am caught somewhere between counting down the minutes until we are free to do as we please and dreading the unceasing hours of nothingness which I, the mother/summer camp leader, am expected to magically fill. We need order, routine, and plans and we need them fast!
Last summer I gave my kids a list of responsibilities that had to be completed each morning. Along with simple household chores, everyone had to be fed, dressed, hair combed, and teeth brushed by 10:00a.m. Easy enough. The TV (or DS, computer, etc.) couldn’t go on before 10:00 even if everyone had their jobs done, and it went off at lunchtime. It worked well for us as a way to keep the house relatively clean, cut down on bickering since my kids tend to fight less the less they lay around doing nothing, and get us ready to leave the house if in fact there was an activity planned that day. It worked great… until school started. My plan to follow through with daily chores has ebbed and flowed, but mostly ebbed. I’ve been terribly inconsistent in my expectations and follow through and it shows in the messy spaces under the beds, finger prints on the windows, and kids who respond as though they’ve been sentenced to a labor camp every time they are asked to do something.
Beyond an organized house, we need an organized schedule of fun. I had grand plans last year of holding a cooking class with my kids once a week. You know, just the basics. Scrambled eggs, easy dinners, homemade bread, cookies, etc. I think we lasted one time. Four kids vying for a turn to measure and dump with one mom playing referee whilst trying to keep egg shells out of and ingredients in the bowl didn’t yield the Ensign/Disney Family Fun quality experience I had imagined it would. Having learned nothing, I am determined to try again this year.
And that’s it. That’s all I’ve got. Three more weeks until my kids’ endless appetite for entertainment and tireless ability to complain about work are unleashed on the ashes of the quiet alone time I have known and cherished for the last nine months.
Help a sister out!
What are your plans to avoid chaos and boredom this summer? Do you have a magical system for chores? Do you have consistent plans each week? Let the kids run wild? When you hear “Summer Break” do you shiver with excitement or shudder with fear? Both? Tell me your secrets for sanity, harmony, survival, and making memories you actually want to cherish.
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