MLM has been harping about pizzas for a few days now. My son, for all this faults, isn’t a junk food junkie. He loves chips as do most kids and has the KFC’s Popcorn chicken about twice a month. But barring that he’s rather negative on the burgers, cheesy nachos et al. But he asked for pizzas so often I had no option but to overrule my own judgement and order a pizza for him for his lunch today.
And that’s where it got interesting. He wanted his pizza to look like the image he saw in the standy at the pizzeria and wouldn’t you know it? That particular pizza was NOT on their menu. So I customized it for him with black olives, green bell peppers, onions, tomatoes…all the colors he asked for. Then he ran around, behind the counter and asked them at least 10 times when the pizza was arriving. And then it arrived. And he didn’t want it.
Don’t be fooled folks, moms and stay-at-home-moms especially are terrified of summer hols. The concept essentially is fine up to a point- for about 2 months there’s a drop in the madness that comes from trying to wake up a sleepy child to go to school, get them to brush their teeth, sit on the potty BEFORE heading out the door and of course managing to drop them at the school and make your escape for a few (sadly..VERY few) hours.
The vacation means that they can get up at 8:00 am instead of 7:30. It means you can delay the power struggle that comes with the brushing of teeth for up to half an hour. It means breakfast can be french toast, aaloo paratha instead of a glass of milk/ 1 piece of toast with jam or peanut butter. It also means that you get to actually drink your coffee instead of mainlining it or snorting it to save time and kickstart the caffeine rush.
It also means longer bath times (for the kid…NEVER for you), a bit more time in front of the telly and a bit more munching throughout the day. That the playtime gets extended is a given so am not listing it out elaborately.
But the scary, and I mean scary, part of vacations are- BOREDOM. MLM has already starting off with his plaintive, ” I want SUMPHING (something)” cry. Sumphing changes from hour to hour, minute to minute and stuff that you suggest to them comes with a variety of riders (for the kids, not you). And if you have a child who goes through his “sumphings” like a hot knife through butter then you can end up exhausting the entire week’s quota of activities right on DAY ONE and then be left twiddling your thumbs throughout the remainder of the weeks and gazing longingly at the calendar, waiting for the schools to reopen.
The thing is kids need routine more than we do. Adults need routine because we have a shitload of stuff going on in our lives and that needs to be prioritized and tackled ergo routines. But kids need routine to keep them from vegging out and not having enough stimulation to think and create. Even if the creation includes messes, mischief and mayhem.
But a bored kid is unresponsive and a mini-zombie and that’s NEVER desirable. They start channeling their curiosity in different directions, some quite undesirable, and all in all; it’s a non-productive endeavor.
Enter Summer Camps ( fanfare, trumpets and confetti in the background)…they don’t have the rigor of schools, keep little minds and hands (AND LEGS) busy and give you enough time away from the little monsters…erm darlings to actually start missing them or girding up to roll with their antics.
Now that I’m faced with an impending summer vacation I have to say I’m looking at a bunch of resources to help occupy MLM’s time and mine so we get through the next 2 months without needing a strait jacket (for him) and actually having a good time throughout the entire duration.
Hang on…how about a summer vacation for moms? Away from the home and hearth? Kids? Husbands? Days full of spas, jazzerobics, Zumba, good cuisine…?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Sorry. Got lost in the beauty of the idea.
Till then…it’s back to taking care of the troops and trying to keep a tight hold on my sanity.
