Pack your bags...we're going on a Guilt Trip!

Summer vacation - the two words my 7 year old lives for.  And as luck would have it, tomorrow is his last day of school until the fun begins.  This is a day filled with mixed emotions for me because it's the annual "present mom with a passport for our guilt trip" day.  My son, God bless him, has this ideology that he should get the summer off.  Off from what is the question.  He's enrolled in the B.A.S.E. Program at his school (before & after school enrichment), which has very little to do with any enriching during the summer months.  It's just shy of a 50 kid free for all if you ask me.  They go on three field trips a week, and I'm talking GOOD field trips; the zoo, the amusement park, the water park, the movies, etc.  Apparently, beloved child of mine thinks if I don't work, we can just have our own free for all all summer long!  [God bless 7 year old economics]  I've been delicately explaining to him the ways of household budgets.  Yeah, it's not working.

I think the problem isn't really his fault though.  I truly believe he's wired with the belief that I exist solely to entertain him...all day every day.  Super fun in theory, but not super realistic.  Work, school, household...you know the drill.  He doesn't.  "Mommmmmm-uh....come puh-layyyy with me, PLEASE!" or "You'll probably say no, but do you wanna play with me?"  Really?  Where did he learn these skills?

With all due respect to my parental units - I cannot remember one time I played with them as a child.  We did awesome things like camp all summer long and I had a really fun childhood.  But it was fun that I invented, I created, and I was responsible for.  We hung out as a family, but I knew the boundaries...they were not set upon this earth to entertain me 24/7.  So I did what all children of the 80's did....I played outside with my friends.  The rules were simple: don't go in and out and in and out and in and out, because that drives Mom nuts, be home by dark, and the whole, "I woulda been home on time but the chain fell off my bike" excuse really only works once - despite the well placed grease marks on thy fingers [oh yeah, I was that good!].  But most importantly, never - ever say "I'm bored!"  That was a sure recipe for disaster, and my Mom's Que to provide me with something to do!  [CHORES]

I guess it all comes down to a change in culture, and a change in expectations.  It was safe for me to disappear on my bike for hours on end with my friends and I didn't expect my parents to be my source of entertainment.  Cole has lots of friends and he does play outside, but I feel like I need to be out there with him, and in reality I do.  I cannot just let him run amok in the hood with his peeps...

While I would LOVE to hang out and play with him all the time, the whole adult obligations and responsibility thing gets in the way.  Or does it?  Maybe I'm just not the fun playing type.  Oh-Em-Gee...I think I'm not a fun Mom!

But seriously, how do you fit it all in?  The job, the homework (mine and his!), household chores and being a one-woman three ring circus.  I mean, clearly I know how to juggle - but that's the extent of my circus trickery!  He's always asking to go bowling, the movies, skating, swimming or my wallet's worst nightmare-Boondocks (for those of you who aren't familiar, it's one of those overpriced arcades with tickets that you exchange for a $1.25 prize after hours of diligent effort at collecting as many as possible). 

Or maybe it's the expectations I put on myself and the guilt of not being home to just hang out and play with him that's bothering me.  Maybe he's fine with it all - and he just has typical kid whiny behavior about being bored.  Short of installing Disneyland in my back yard....I mean the kid is in sports all the time.  And I mean HOCKEY - ice hockey.  The four day a week commitment at 7 years old hockey.  And baseball.....2 times per week - and swimming.  Yeesh!

I'm Catholic - guilt is in my DNA, so I'm going to wrap this up by just saying thanks for another session of free therapy...and maybe I'll see you all at the movies, the pool, bowling or Boondocks in the near future!