There is a moment, hours before the last day of the semester, when your kids become unmanageable. The excitement of nearing freedom, the promise of summer adventure, the enticement of everlasting video games… All of this adds up to a very rough day. I had that day and then I had another and another on into sunday night where we are now. In my boys’ defense, I’m very distracted. I have some writing that needs to get done and 3 classes to prepare by tuesday. It isn’t an excuse for their behavior or mine, but it is me being aware of the obstacles to a happy summer.
My kids want to have fun. For them that means 100% go hard until they fall unconscious watching cartoons on hand held devices. When they get bored of doing A they expect B to be ready and C after that. This is the result of being in school where 8-2:30 is scripted. Without a script the kids aren’t alright.
My wife and I are in a debate over this point (not to mention the standing debate over tackle football). She feels the kids should be able to find their own fun and we should sit back and let that happen. I agree that they should be able to find their own fun, but I recognize that going from total structure to nothing can be painful, and I want to ease that transition. I need to ease that transition, because I’m the one who is home with them watching them tear the house apart in their bored insanity.
Some Thoughts:
- I’m learning more and more about the beer culture. There are two cultures at work here. There is the culture of beer connoisseurs, people who enjoy the taste of beer and understand it. The other culture is the casual drinker culture, those who feel that beer is what you’re ‘supposed’ to drink as part of the social script. I’ve been falling into that second category. That ought to stop.