I miss school vacations. Just lounging around and playing computer games, going to the library or bookstore, or traveling someplace fun takes the stress of homework and school social events away. Other than helping my parents with chores I can do almost anything I want.
Now being a parent of two boys, one of them currently at school and about to have his summer vacation, the tables have turned. My older son is the one having fun while I have to do the chores, errands, and parental duties. And I’m still getting used to it.
But the great thing about being a parent is giving my sons the opportunities to have plenty of adventures. Whether it’s traveling to the aquarium, zoo, beach, grocery shopping, participating in play dates, running in the library, or just chilling at the park, it’s great for them to take advantage of their free time.
Of course, the main downside is if they’re at home with you all day, all the time, it will drive you crazy. And without the routine of school you have to find a way to keep them educated so they don’t regress.
My younger son had his allergy test a few weeks ago. Older son keeps rubbing his eyes and sneezes despite having multiple air purifiers and humidifiers in the house. Wifey and I are also sneezing. My eyes are always red (on top of my asthma and sinus issues) and my handkerchiefs are constantly wet from all the nose blowing.
This year has been terrible when it comes to allergies. Allergy medicine helps a bit but the only thing all of us can do is deal with it. The price to pay to having a good spring and summer in California.
When I used to work and had to go out of town I’d get a motel room, call Domino’s Pizza from the number printed on the motel key, pick up the pizza, and turn on the TV. Usually, I’ll choose the Food Channel to watch endless episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives or Forensic Files on HLN. It’s a great way to enjoy myself after a long day of driving and investigating.
Two weekends ago, my family and I went to Sacramento for a friend’s kid’s birthday party at an indoor playground. Before we arrived at the birthday party we checked into a nice hotel and rested after a long two hour plus drive. The only time we turned on the TV was watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I wanted to watch Forensic Files, but didn’t want to risk having uncensored footages of dead people scaring my children.
Whenever my wife and I have some alone time together at home or in a hotel room we would watch either of those two channels. It’s nice that we have that in common, among other things. I also leave Forensic Files on whenever I’m alone to write. Although hearing the word, diatoms, a bunch of times does get distracting. When my children get older and more mature I’ll introduce the show to them.
Maybe they’ll work in forensics. Hopefully, they won’t learn the wrong lesson of not getting caught.
Last weekend was a bit stressful as both my kids threw up all over the couch cushions, bathroom floor, and on me. They’re okay now, thank God. While they got it out of their system they had to eat again so they don’t go hungry. Always be super careful of what ingredients are in your food before feeding your children.
My older son loves looking at family photos and videos on my phone. Of course I’m there supervising his time. My wife and I also limit his TV time to one hour a day. There’s always the temptation of giving our son our phones just to calm him down so we try not to do that.
As an experiment my wife bought a custom family photo book from Shutterfly to see if he’ll look at the photos there instead on my phone. It was a failure. But a good thing about it is my younger son loves it. I see him always looking towards the photo book and gets sad if we don’t sit and look at it.
While not ideal it sure beats letting them play mindless games and looking at Cocomelon videos. If you have the chance buy a photo book and include that in your children’s collection of books to look at. Hopefully it gets used well.
During my longhand writing on this post I have my six-month old son in my left arm while my 4 year old son is playing with a rolling bumblebee toy. My younger son is crying for me to stop writing while the other is always running up to me to get my attention. There are writers with children who say to set a specific time to write so your family won’t disturb you.
Another tip writers tell you is to write when everyone goes to sleep or an hour before they wake up. But that hasn’t worked. I’m tired. Once I’m in bed, I sleep so I have energy to take care of my family the next day.
Maybe these two tips will work when my sons are older and more understanding of my need to write. But what do I do in the meantime? Well, since I thrive more in unpredictable settings the best time for me to write is during those few precious seconds in between the chaos.
Writing while using the bathroom is a good place as long as you lock the door. Another is while feeding my older son while holding onto my younger one but the writing doesn’t last long. A few minutes in the car at the school parking lot before dropping off my older son is usually the only place and time to write anything. Finally, I’ll write while cooking dinner although that can get messy.
In the end, these strategies work for me. How about you, especially with young children? What’s your best strategy or strategies? Let me know.