This weekend, my husband was gone, mountain biking in Albuquerque. I wasn’t looking forward to doing it all “alone” this weekend, as I was feeling a little depleted.
I knew I would need to keep my son and me busy. I had all sorts of things in mind. We could go to Target! (The Go-To Activity when it is cold outside.) We needed to go to the grocery store. I could ask my friend if she wanted to do a play date. We could go to the movies and see Megamind. There was a list of places I had in mind to pass the time.
Well, as EVERY parent knows, the best laid plans…
You never REALLY get to choose what it is you would like to do, right? Right.
Yesterday, Parker, uncharacteristically, did not want to go anywhere. Every time I mentioned anything, “We could go to the movies! We can eat popcorn and get candy!” I shouted, thinking for sure this would work.
“NO! Stay home! Stay home and play!” Parker would shout.
Ok, I thought. Whatever, we’ll stay home and play.
I decided to totally participate because I think there is nothing worse than sitting around for HOURS while your child plays, and you are bored out of your mind.
Boy, did we play. Wow. WE PLAYED ALL DAY! I did not try to tell him, “No, Mommy needs a rest.” I did not tell him, “You play by yourself,” or, “Let’s put a movie on.” I just kind of went with it.
We painted, we played in the sink, we played the Wii, we pretended to be Lion King and Scar and wrestled around growling on the floor, we played cars, we played robots, we played catch (in the house!), we threw a stuffed chicken up and down at each other across stairwells, we made cookies, on and on and on.
Is anyone tired yet? Can you imagine how I felt? It was a lot of playing. It really was great, but man, when bedtime came last night, did I feel like I had EARNED some ME time? Oh, yeah. I stayed up until midnight, watching TV and reading, simultaneously worrying that I would be so tired in the morning when the maniac woke at 7:00 am, ready for more.
Today? We went to Target and the grocery store. The maniac is napping now. When he wakes up? I think we’ll watch a movie.
