Summer life is about to get interesting. We have a myriad of personalities living at this address, and I'm getting stretched from stem to stern in an effort to keep the world harmonious. Little Chic is an on-the-go kind of girl, needing some type of project, activity or schedule to look forward to in order to avoid the depths of despair induced by boredom. Brainy Boy is the quintessential homebody, having the dream of staying home absolutely every day, not leaving the house (or at least the yard) for any reason whatsoever, and going to bed at night without ever setting foot off the property lines. I am somewhere in the middle, going a bit stir crazy without some variety, but needing some time at home base to keep life organized and running like a fine-tuned instrument.
In an attempt to keep things as balanced as possible, I've lined up a variety of free or low-cost activities for Little Chic. Brainy Boy won't have to enroll in any summer camps or team sports, but he will have to endure the ride(s) to and fro in order to deliver and retrieve Little Chic to the various activities. One dilemma is that for some reason, many of those free/low-cost activities we've selected run on the same weeks, giving some weeks 2 or 3 lovely choices and leaving other weeks with nothing to do. In pure Little Chic fashion, choice is not in her vocabulary--she wants to do all of them since one does seem to end before the next one begins.
For instance, tomorrow, we can arrive at softball camp at 10am, leave at noon for a bite to eat and some errands before running to soccer camp which goes from 3-6 each day. Ditto for Tuesday, but throw in a haircut for Brainy Boy and myself. Wednesday tells the same story, but add in a 10:30 appointment, a 12:30 playdate and a 6:30 parenting class. Thursday brings a long-awaited Mother/Daughter book club at 7pm and Friday hails with a 9:30 appointment (which can be paused for the 10:00 delivery to softball). The only saving grace is that Friday concludes with a monthly girls dinner out for Yours Truely.
Dilemma #1 - Choosing--do we choose 1 activity and not the others? If so, what penalty to put on the complaints of boredom? And do I really want Little Chic 'helping' me with all my chores that I could buzz through alone if she were at all the activities? And they are practically FREE.
Dilemma #2 - Convincing Brainy Boy that transporting Little Chic back and forth does indeed constitute "staying home." What difference does it make if you read lying on the couch or sitting in the van?
Dilemma #3 - Not becoming the unpaid "Activities Director" filling up absolutely every moment of every day of everybody else's exisitence in order for the world to be an okay place. But busy means tired at the end of the day. And that means early bedtime. Or maybe just lots of whining.
In an attempt to keep things as balanced as possible, I've lined up a variety of free or low-cost activities for Little Chic. Brainy Boy won't have to enroll in any summer camps or team sports, but he will have to endure the ride(s) to and fro in order to deliver and retrieve Little Chic to the various activities. One dilemma is that for some reason, many of those free/low-cost activities we've selected run on the same weeks, giving some weeks 2 or 3 lovely choices and leaving other weeks with nothing to do. In pure Little Chic fashion, choice is not in her vocabulary--she wants to do all of them since one does seem to end before the next one begins.
For instance, tomorrow, we can arrive at softball camp at 10am, leave at noon for a bite to eat and some errands before running to soccer camp which goes from 3-6 each day. Ditto for Tuesday, but throw in a haircut for Brainy Boy and myself. Wednesday tells the same story, but add in a 10:30 appointment, a 12:30 playdate and a 6:30 parenting class. Thursday brings a long-awaited Mother/Daughter book club at 7pm and Friday hails with a 9:30 appointment (which can be paused for the 10:00 delivery to softball). The only saving grace is that Friday concludes with a monthly girls dinner out for Yours Truely.
Dilemma #1 - Choosing--do we choose 1 activity and not the others? If so, what penalty to put on the complaints of boredom? And do I really want Little Chic 'helping' me with all my chores that I could buzz through alone if she were at all the activities? And they are practically FREE.
Dilemma #2 - Convincing Brainy Boy that transporting Little Chic back and forth does indeed constitute "staying home." What difference does it make if you read lying on the couch or sitting in the van?
Dilemma #3 - Not becoming the unpaid "Activities Director" filling up absolutely every moment of every day of everybody else's exisitence in order for the world to be an okay place. But busy means tired at the end of the day. And that means early bedtime. Or maybe just lots of whining.
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