Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun

I haven't written much as I have gotten buried under a pile of work and home things. Summer is here! You can tell because Target is bringing out the school supplies... yikes!

This is the transition week. The kids are fully off from school and hanging around a lot. J. and I must do the balancing act of trying to work, keep the kids busy and not go crazy. She will work in her summer office more- aka the kitchen or living room (thank you, wireless technology)-- and I will be in and out a lot.

The kids are pretty self-sufficient, but they don't want to hang around in the office all day. They are both artists, so they can paint, draw, build, create, construct for a while- but that isn't going to last all day. Either J. or I will take them out for a portion of the day: park, cheap movie, walk, waterfront, running errands, etc. Last year we had a friend-teacher-nanny situation and that worked great. This year we are 'winging it' with mixed results, but not so bad so far (3 days in...).

I remember when my Mom worked on Saturdays as the bookkeeper at the Colonial Court Motel on Niagara Falls Blvd. and she would begrudgingly drag me and my brother along with her many times. We would play in the hotel lobby with our GI Joe or Matchbox cars, or explore in back where there was a bit of woods, have lunch and generally hang around. I think we managed pretty well..

Owning a family business puts the kids around more that not during the Summer. We try and keep them away from the TV and the convenient babysitter computer as much as possible. But even the educational programs (PBS kids, StarFall, etc.) still render them starting at the TV or monitor and I don't think that is really doing them that much good.

I am trying to teach my kids to be self-entertaining and, so far, I think they are really good at it. And if I have to take them out more-- good! An occasional trip to the park, to push someone on a swing is very therapeutic for me as well. It is calming, it is good to get away from this here computer and I think in the long run, the time spend with my kids is building a strong bond that will last forever... or until they become parent-loathing teenagers. I guess we'll see.