Being a homeschooling mom, I basically spend 24/7 with my now 9 and soon to be 11 year old sons. I love their company, but it can really start to make you a bit crazy somewhere around October. Having no other people that homeschool within a 50 mile radius also makes it difficult to have adult conversations and for the boys to socialize. Although, they still keep up and hangout with their former classmates. So, because of this, my husband and I decided to put them in Summer Camp.We figured they would be excited to embark on this new experience, weekly field trips, new friends, arts and crafts, learning how to swim, etc..... Their initial reaction was not quite what I expected. You would have thought we sentenced them to 6 weeks of hard labor the way our 10 year old reacted. There were many days of tears where he asked were we just trying to get rid of them. Our 9 year old, Ky was much more optimistic. He actually was a bit excited. As the days grew closer to Summer Camp, I wondered if I had done the right thing. My rational mind, knew that I had. But the part of my brain that had been scrubbed clean by a growing overload of mommy guilt was questioning my motives for actually wanting to spend a whole 6 hours away from my precious boys Monday-Friday.
The first day of camp arrived and I have to admit it tugged a bit at my heart. It had been well over a year since I had entrusted my sons to strangers for the day. I kissed and hugged them and told them they would have a wonderful time. I had almost made a clean break before my youngest asked me if I could stay and watch them play. Darn, my over-emotional self! I smiled at him, choked back the giant lump forming in my throat and made my way to the door. I got in my van, and decided to drown my sorrows in a shopping trip to Target.
It felt weird at first, walking around the store without the sound of my boys arguing or asking for this or that. But, as a glanced at the other childless women in the store, a peace fell over me. I relaxed and started filling my cart with all sorts of stuff I would never have had time to even consider buying when shopping the boys. 2 hours and $80 later, I decided I had better get out of the store. I came home to a quiet house for the 1st times in a long time. My husband was at work and my older sons were still asleep. I had time read a few emails, figure out dinner for the evening and before I knew it, it was time to pick them up again.
The reviews from the first day were mixed. Ky was excited and ready for more. MJ looked as though he would have rather spent the day doing yard work or getting a blood test at the doctor's office. Since that day, there have been good days and days where they have both begged me to stay home. I must admit, I did cave in once. We all went to the movies, out to lunch and had a great time.
There are 20 days of camp left. At 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, that is 120 hours of potential "me time".
A girl could get used to this.
The first day of camp arrived and I have to admit it tugged a bit at my heart. It had been well over a year since I had entrusted my sons to strangers for the day. I kissed and hugged them and told them they would have a wonderful time. I had almost made a clean break before my youngest asked me if I could stay and watch them play. Darn, my over-emotional self! I smiled at him, choked back the giant lump forming in my throat and made my way to the door. I got in my van, and decided to drown my sorrows in a shopping trip to Target.
It felt weird at first, walking around the store without the sound of my boys arguing or asking for this or that. But, as a glanced at the other childless women in the store, a peace fell over me. I relaxed and started filling my cart with all sorts of stuff I would never have had time to even consider buying when shopping the boys. 2 hours and $80 later, I decided I had better get out of the store. I came home to a quiet house for the 1st times in a long time. My husband was at work and my older sons were still asleep. I had time read a few emails, figure out dinner for the evening and before I knew it, it was time to pick them up again.
The reviews from the first day were mixed. Ky was excited and ready for more. MJ looked as though he would have rather spent the day doing yard work or getting a blood test at the doctor's office. Since that day, there have been good days and days where they have both begged me to stay home. I must admit, I did cave in once. We all went to the movies, out to lunch and had a great time.
There are 20 days of camp left. At 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, that is 120 hours of potential "me time".
A girl could get used to this.
