Sharing Saturday
"Only a bore is bored!" So went my father's hallowed phrase whenever I tried to whine that I was bored when I was a kid. It didn't mean a lot to me at the time, but those words have stuck in my memory bank. I try to put them to good use whenever I can, but my kids are generally as irritated by them as I was, if not more so.
As i write this mid-week, we are in Day 6 of winter break (actually Day 7 for the 9-year-old, who got a special Mommy day the day before the break actually started.) It is a sloooooow break for us, as my husband had scheduled surgery on Monday, and I knew a long time ago that I would not be able to make any plans for this week. He has to stay home and stay still for the duration.
This has made for challenging parenting, not to mention trying to get some paid work in as well.
Over the weekend, we were happily quiet, spending our usual Jewish Christmas at the movies and eating Chinese food with friends. No one had yet complained of cabin fever, and we were spared the enormous snow storm that crippled most of the rest of the East Coast (thank goodness, as the last thing we needed was my husband trying to maneuver crutches in the snow. Or me trying to maneuver a car in the snow.)
But we are now in the thick of a week with no schedule and no plans, and it's starting to wear thin all around. My husband's surgery went well, but he is, indeed, sitting still and doing nothing, and will continue to be in this state until next week.
My teen has shown a remarkable and heretofore untapped ability to make plans with friends that require little intervention from me, and has spent several days and nights with friends and in other homes. He seems happy and pleased to be independent, and I am delighted that he is taking care of himself.
But my 11 and 9-year olds still need chauffeuring, and assistance in figuring out what to do. The Wii is off limits for the week, as my husband is using the television space for his recuperation. Not a tragedy – my youngest son can play for days on end, and I'm actually pleased to have a reason to wrench him away for a while.
Needless to say, this has led to more whining that I can tolerate. "Only a bore is bored" I keep intoning, and it lands on deaf ears. I tell them to go find something to do in their rooms – not a suggestion that's met with much enthusiasm. Since I don't have avid readers, they really have to search for something to keep them occupied when we don't have play dates arranged.
But surprise, surprise, they can figure it out. A little music on their iPods. A puzzle. Shooting some hoops (since the temperature finally rose above 40 degrees today for the first time in a month.) The cool White House Legos project the youngest got for Chanukah. Some arts and crafts.
It's possible to find some pleasure in the apparent boredom. It's a good lesson for them to learn. Although I have never meant to be a parent who makes sure that every waking moment is accounted for in my kids' lives, there is a certain pattern to our days, and there's not usually a lot left over for free play.
I see their boredom this week as a blessing. They are learning to be a little more self sufficient. They are helping their dad by getting him breakfast and lunch. They are spending quiet time in their rooms, and rolling around like bear cubs with each other when they get a little too frisky. We've even played some Scrabble and Bananagrams.
And we have found that a family night of Jeopardy, followed by an old Star Trek repeat, cuddled with me and their dad on the couch after a long, boring day, is just the tonic they need to go to bed and start all over again tomorrow.
Photo by Ella's Dad via Flickr
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