We are adjusting to our new summer routines around here. So far we have gone on three outings:
- To the zoo with friends
- On a short hike at a new nature preserve we had never been to before
- To our local pool
I am slowly remembering how to do this summer parenting gig. The first day, on the trip to the zoo, I informed the children that they needed to pack their own water bottles because I wasn’t going to pack water, but that ended up biting me in the ass when the drinking fountains weren’t as plentiful or functional as I had hoped they would be. I ended up buying three $4 water bottles for us and I will not make that mistake again.
I also only packed sunscreen for 2/3 of us that day, and completely forgot to pack snacks. (Some people might argue that snacks are not necessary for kids, and I will tell you that snacks are necessary for ME.)
I did better on the hiking day: water, bug spray, snacks, sunscreen for all! Did I forget to specify that the kids needed to wear shoes and they ended up–yet again–hiking in Crocs? Yes. Oops.
Today we went to the pool, and I was all proud of myself for efficiently getting everything we needed into the big blue IKEA bag, including the diving rings! So many kinds of sunscreen! A book for me because I have graduated to Book Mom at the Pool status after so many years of being In the Pool Closely Supervising Mom!
You know what I forgot to bring? A friend. They’re at that stage where the pool won’t hold their interest for long unless they have a friend in tow. They were both clamoring to go home at around the hour mark, and I was a little annoyed at the lack of respect for the $27 I paid to get us all into the pool.
I had also forgotten about how children want to buy something every damn day that they leave the house. Especially snacks and food. I get it! I love snacks and food too! I especially love snacks and food that I don’t have to prepare! But I am standing firm that we should not be in the habit of getting a treat every time we leave the house. Am I already eagerly anticipating our trip downtown to visit my husband and to do a tour of the best donut shops in the area? Yes. Do we also need to get a slushie at the pool? Absolutely not.
I am instituting something new in our summer routine this year: At Home Day.
Let me back up. I have been warning the kids for months about the theme for this summer: Active. We need to be more active, and that doesn’t mean we’re running three miles every day and obsessing over our resting heart rates. No, we just need to get out of the house and do stuff that doesn’t have us sitting for hours on end. The pool is active. The zoo is active. A hike is active.
But, I am not a naturally active person. My very favorite thing to do is nothing, and left to my worst instincts I would absolutely sit at home every day all summer long and just play the hell out of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Maybe that’s what my summers will look like when the kids are out of the house, but for now I need to concern myself with their mental and physical health and so WE ARE LEAVING THE HOUSE EVERY DAY DAMNIT.
Except on At Home Day, and this is something we are all already looking forward to. Every week there will be one At Home Day where I may invite the children to ride along on an errand or to accompany me on a walk, but they do not have to leave the house if they don’t want to. There will be no outings planned. In theory this will also allow me to get stuff done around the house and complete some of the more annoying errands on my plate. And even better: I won’t have to remember sunscreen!
I am also hoping this makes them more amenable to outings during the rest of the week, knowing that they will always have one day of sitting on their butts with no pressure to do anything.
We will see.
Last summer was a failure. It seems to have disappeared into the black hole of moving, and I am excited to have a real summer with a more manageable to do list and better uses of our time.