This is the latest guest post from Snoqualmie resident, author and mom, Tess Thompson. So what’s your mom instinct on the last day of school? Tess explores. Me? Vacation from all my ‘taxi driving’ across the Snoqualmie Valley for school drop-offs and pickups… think Ridge to Truck Town twice daily. You can find out more about Tess at TessWrites.com.
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The last day of school. Depending on your current path in life, those words can bring either excitement, dread or fear.
From that list I’m sure our kids would choose the word excitement. I know mine would, and in fact, did, as they bounced out of the house this morning. They imagine sleeping in late, swimming, backyard barbeques, playing with friends and maybe even a fun family vacation.
But for both stay-at-home and working mothers, it might be more a combination of fear and dread. An entire summer full of empty days, without structure or deadlines? What will we do to fill all these days, we think, as our stomachs turn over and our heads begin to pound in perfect rhythm of tiny feet running up and down the stairs.
Of course we all love to spend time with our children. Most of the time. When I imagine the sweet days of summer ahead I think of all the lovely moments in the sun and water, road trips to the beach, visits with extended family.
But then reality sets in. First, there’s the fighting. Then, complaints of boredom. “I’m so bored, Mom! Why can’t I watch more television or play on my computer?” And there’s all that sunscreen. Layers and layers of it stuck to skin and scalp. After a week or so, many parents and children are wondering when school starts. Or maybe that’s just me?
Regardless, just in case it’s not just me, I decided to pass along this list of summer activities I found on Pinterest. I love Pinterest. Recipes, inspirational quotes, crafty ideas – you know, all the ‘how to be a perfect’ mother stuff. But somehow all those pins I pin never come to fruition out here in the real world.
I make the same five recipes because those are what the kids will eat. I post the inspirational quotes on my Facebook page hoping it will somehow stick with me for more than the moment it took to cut and paste and the reality of life rears its ugly head. And my craft projects? Well, they somehow look more like my nine-year-old’s art projects than the photograph CraftySuperMom.com pinned in her “Easy Craft Project” board. I just made CraftySuperMom up, like I do my characters, but as they say, truth is stranger than fiction.
So if you’re my kind of mom – the one barely keeping it together who can’t make a successful craft to save your life – you may or may not find this list helpful. These ideas were compiled and made into this lovely chart by thecraftingchicks.com. Yes, this is a real site. Summer vacation hasn’t even started and the writer of said blog is probably on number 9 already – Wash Car in Swimsuits.
If you do any of the items on this list, we’d love to hear from you. Please write a note on the Living Snoqualmie Facebook page with pictures and tell us all about it!
Happy summer everyone! Enjoy the moments, both great and not-so-great with your children. We all know the time goes too fast, even on the tedious days. Wishing you all more great moments than the other kind, from one weary parent to the other.
