As a mother of three, I feel like I live in my car. If you saw the inside, you would probably agree. My kids aren’t the tidiest creatures, which is evidenced by the state of my vehicle. I am always running them to basketball, soccer, football or swimming. Then there’s the doctors appointments [orthodontist, dentist, eye doctor, general physician, dermatologist], grocery store and other miscellaneous errands. Basically, I do live in my car. Luckily, it’s quite comfortable although the gas mileage could be better. I have been known to eat in my car on many occasions. But there is always the time when you are out rushing around from place to place and you forget to eat a snack or a meal before leaving the house. You are driving on auto-pilot from destination to destination all the while growing hungrier. You have exhausted your supply of cough drops and sugar free gum and you a wanting some real food. The left over water bottle, from your early morning visit to the gym, satisfies you temporarily but you must have REAL food soon, or else. Then your mind wonders at a red light, what if the kids left a few crumbs in their snack bag from earlier or maybe they dropped a french fry on the floor last night after soccer practice. When, during your moment of weakness you gave in to their pleas to eat fast food. You will immediately invoke the 5 second rule, even though it would have been hours since the food has hit the floor of your car. You hope against all hope that some morsel of food was left in the car before you start eying the guy in the car next to you whose munching on a serious burger. You must have food or you will DIE!!! Finally, the light turns green and you are rehearsing your speech that you will give the officer who pulls you over for speeding. You are explaining to him how your blood sugar drops drastically and if you don’t eat soon someone WILL get hurt. But, at last, you make it home from running your endless errands to find the Holy Grail–or what’s commonly referred to as PB&J.
I parent, therfore I sit October 26, 2008
My daughter is on the swim team. This inevitably means you have to go to swim meets [at least once a month]. There is definitely a different atmosphere at swim meets than most other sports. You sit there for 5+ hours, just to see your child compete for less than 10 minutes. The climate inside the swimming pool area is very humid and that, in and of itself, could put you to sleep. I also tend to swell, when sitting for long periods of time, and the humidity adds to the water retention experience. There’s really nothing like a swimming pool induced hot flash and good old fashioned pool sweats.
People arrive early to reserve seating [mark their territory] in the most desirable places. They set down large towels or blankets that you will eventually be tripping over whenever you decide to leave your Holy Seat for a snack, a stretch or to use “the facilities”. Be careful, when leaving your seat. Inevitably, when you return you will have been moved or at the very least condensed to accommodate another swim meet attendee.
Swim meets, in a way, are like road trips. I want to snack non-stop while I’m waiting for my daughter’s 10 minutes of competition. They have incredibly tempting snack bars too. They are filled with licorice, chips, muffins, candy, soda and usually nachos, burgers, hot dogs or another fun-filled entree.
I make the most of the meets and bring books, magazines, a journal to write in and an iPod. My mantra of “I shop therefore I am” has been replaced with “I parent, therefore I sit”. I have concluded that there are certain sacrifices that are worth it. Especially when you see your child beat their previous time or come in first in their heat.
I know what you did last summer! June 16, 2008
It’s that time of year again. School is drawing to a close [although the rest of the country is already out of school--and we aren't] and it’s time for us to organize our summer and figure out what we are going to do to entertain the kids. I have a love/hate relationship with summer. I love the fact that every moment of our day isn’t scheduled away with school, after school activities and athletics. The kids on the other hand are so used to the regimen that having free time can often become the cause of the sudden and frequent outbursts “I’m bored!” I have a rule in my house. If you say “I’m bored” you are given a chore to do. My kids have almost eliminated that from their vocabularies. Every once in a while it will sneak out and I am there with a chore for them to do. It’s what I call “motivation” to get them to be creative with their time. Now I know what my parents went through when they would tell me, “We can’t entertain you every hour of every day”. It is so true! Last year I came up with the activity tub idea. It worked wonders! Each time they would be approaching boredom I could send them to the activity tubs and they would find something to do. I have declared this summer activity, day camp and sports camp-free. It costs way too much money and it’s time for a break. Summer doesn’t last very long here in the great NW and we need to enjoy the sun when it comes for a visit. So if you are tempted like me to stress over how to entertain the kids this summer, take a deep breath, and remember that this too shall pass. Grab your water guns, lawn chairs and playground balls and head outside for water gun fights and some serious foursquare. I will leave you with the immortal words of the original Fresh Prince of Bel Air –Will Smith himself– Summer, Summer, Summertime-Time to sit back and unwind.
