Summer time means a whole new thing to me as a Mom...oh how I long for the meaning that it used to hold as a child. Back then it used to mean playing outside all day, hanging out in my tree house, catching swallowtail butterflies, long bike rides, beach trips, swimming until I was all pruney and homemade ice cream for BBQs. As an adult, this summer has left my brain completely zapped. I mean, I am mentally just worn out from trying to keep my daughters occupied this summer.
This summer's dilemma is simply getting them to agree on an activity, part of it fitting activities into the budget and part getting the time to break away from working at home (I draft construction plans) and still meeting the demands of everyday housework. My desire for a large backyard for them to go play and be occupied all day has grown by leaps and bounds. Living in an apartment with a small patio and a neighborhood of trash throwing kids makes that desire grow every day. Does no one teach their children to pick-up their trash and respect anything anymore? Or is it just the kids that live here who have absolutely no respect for anyone's property or the playground where they spend their time? It makes me crazy. It makes me want to leash each one of them and walk them around the grounds picking up the garbage.
Fortunately for us, there is a man-made lake, or pond depending on your view of it, that has become the favorite morning and evening activity. A trek around that duck, goose and sea gull filled lake has become a very welcomed deterrent to playing video games. It's also a great way to keep our doggie socialized since there are all types of dogs out for walks there every day.
This morning's walk started of with a new addition of tons of tadpoles and some very large frogs...or toads. I'm not sure which is actually the correct label for them, but they were large enough that they could become some pretty thick frog plates on a Cajun plate.
Lately my little Rose has been on a mission to pet a duck. That mission has failed every trip to the lake that we have made. This morning it could have been a success...she was very stealthy. The geese nearby have apparently make a pact with the ducks to be their security team. As soon as she got within 20 feet of those quackers, the geese perked up and started waddling straight to her. Rose ran screaming, "AGH! GEESE!!!" She's seen enough of America's Funniest Videos to know that geese pose a real threat.
Now if I could only get our little Cocoa to start walking instead of trying to constantly sprint his way around the lake, everything would be nice and smooth instead of a battle of the leash. I'm telling ya, Ceasar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) is my chow of choice right now. I've got to break this pup before I just buy a treadmill and hook him up to it instead.
I think we'll be making a blanket fort today...it's not too demanding and they still enjoy it enough to swallow up a few hours of the day. Yes, it's totally worth all of the folding that will come when they're all done with it.
How has your summer time gone? Am I the only one who is SO ready for the kiddles to head back to school?
OH I WISH I COULD GO BACK TO THOSE SUMMER DAYS I HATED IT WHEN MY DTR HAD TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL. THEN WHEN SHE GOT OLDER TO SPEND WEEKS WITH HER GRANDPARENTS IN WISCONSIN GETTING TO KNOW THE ELDERS OF THE FAMILY. IT WAS WONDERFUL. I DID IT AS A CHILD ALSO ON THE STREETS OF CHICAGO BUT WE ALWAYS FOUND SOMETHING TO DO & PLAY WITH. IT WAS A TREAT WHEN SOMEONE WOULD TAKE US TO A LAKE. WE RODE OUR BIKES & PLAYED AT THE SCHOOL PLAYGROUND & MY MOTHER ALSO HATED FOR SUMMER TO END SHE LOVED HAVING US HOME. WE WOULD PLAY WITH CRAYONS & PLASTIC BARN SETS & PLAY ROLLER COASTER WITH OUR WAGONS. WE MADE OUR OWN FUN. WE NEED TO LET OUR CHILDREN LEARN THAT AGAIN. MY 34 YR OLD DTR COULD STILL MAKE UP THINGS WHEN SHE WAS LITTLE SO ITS NOT IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!
ReplyDelete