School schedules have made hubby and me little difference for well over a decade. Our four children have been beyond school age and on their own for almost thirteen years.
This year, however, we have two
sons (both returning college students) and one grandson (13) living with us. A
7-year-old grandson is also with us every day while his mother works. So the
education system’s summer schedule has made a huge difference in our normally quiet lives.
Noise is probably the biggest
change. We’re accustomed to a pretty quiet existence most of the time. Those
loud, happy family gatherings one attends expecting
lots of noise and chaos…that’s everyday life in our house now. And I now
understand why I heard my mother and grandmother often make the statement, “I
know why God gives us our babies when we’re young.”
The local YMCA is a lifesaver,
especially since the weather is so hot. The boys love splashing around in the
pool at the Y. Here at the house, they spend more time than I approve of
playing video games, but unfortunately, I don’t have enough “oomph” to make
something more active happen—especially when the temperatures are so hot
outside that not even the bugs want to go out and play. Thank God my grandsons’
parents “do things” with them on evenings and weekends.
So with school break having just
started, I’m wondering how all you wonderful mothers out there keep your teens
and pre-teens occupied. Surely I’m not the only inquiring mind that wants to
know… :)
Please, please…let’s talk about it!
Delia,
ReplyDeleteMy solution to summer fun is in my backyard. I have a pool, a fort to swing on, to slide on and a look out to watch the neigbor's big dogs. Underneath is a sand box. I keep a supply of sidewalk chalk, bubbles and buckets for sudsy doll baby baths. I also have a supply of water guns for impromptu shoot-outs. Of course, we have all kinds of balls and Nerf light sabers for epic battles. Summer in Grandma's backyard is an adventure waiting to happen! The big kids (aka the daddys) are stuck with the video games...unless we decide to let them play with us!
I have a small child. However, teens and preteens are a different ball of wax, aren't they? ;) I just wanted to wish you good luck! I don't have advice, just good wishes. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, Tanya, I want to come play! LOL And Patty, good wishes are always welcomed and accepted wholeheartedly. :D
ReplyDeleteI'm at the opposite end of the spectrum - my 17 year old is off to work this summer and hardly homw, so quiet is more the rule for me. My best friend however, has her son (just back from the marines, wife, their 2 kids, dog, 2 cats, and fish...hmmm...I'll take silence thanks! She's going a bit crazy!
ReplyDeleteMy "babies" are grown and gone now---summer becomes bittersweet because that's when we'd spend long days together going to northern Michigan for some camping adventures and plowing through the waves of Lake Huron. We still get together and make the effort to do fun things during the summer, but more and more, I'm looking forward to seasons to come when we'll revisit those times with (gulp!) grandkids! :-) xo and God's blessings!!!!
ReplyDeleteThose revisited times with grandbabies will be an even greater blessing, Marianne!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of us are at a "transition" time in our lives. Transitions have an innate tendency to be difficult. But they don't last forever...thank God!
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