Lazy Summer vs. Boring Summer

Just wanted to give an update...an update to nothing, I suppose. There's nothing happening.

This is, I suppose, a good thing. Nobody is sick. Nothing monumental is happening, other than my own internal crises about which nobody needs to hear. As we begin the slow build-up back into the school year, we're just whiling away the days.

Gosh, that sounds nice, doesn't it? Whiling away...

Some would call it boring, and I suppose it is. But sometimes boring is a good thing. I read somewhere that we should let our kids get bored, because it's through boredom that their imagination and creativity are allowed to flow. And I fully subscribe to this theory. I just can't believe that kids really enjoy having such full schedules, and I can't help but opine that it hinders their ability to figure out how the heck to entertain themselves.

I'm definitely not one to orchestrate every week of their summer to maximize their summer learning experiences. In fact, I don't understand those people at all. Over-scheduling the kids is punishment for me. Rushing from this lesson... to that camp... to that practice... to that playdate is just torture . No, thank you. I just hate those days when we're crazy-busy.

Of course, I can't escape the second thoughts about this stance. I can't help thinking about all the opportunities my kids are missing. They could have participated in the community play. They could have gone to science camp. They could have played baseball. They could have taken tae kwon do lessons. Repeat ad infinatum...

And someday, they might look back at these days and judge me harshly for all the missed opportunities. But then again, the kids of those super-moms might look back and wish they'd had twenty free minutes in a row that weren't spent in the car between engagements.

Neither of us is going to win.






And the significance of this video? I first heard it several years ago, during a particularly dark period in my life. Silly as it may sound, something about the lyrics helped me to hang on until I could see my way through to the sunshine on other side.