Father’s day was very low key. T slept in (as much as it is possible to sleep in with two small yet loud kids). We then took him to breakfast at a local diner. As you may know, diners define New Jersey but New Jersey did not create diners. Rather, they revived this phenomenon of casual dining. Small digression.
I then took the kids out of the house so T can spend time in any way he wished. It was his day after all. He is a maker and a YouTuber so he needs time to create. Came back, and had a barbecue with neighbors. Our next door neighbors have twins of L’s age and a two-year-old toddler, the nicest people!
I think it’s fair to say that in the summer, I only have one job: a mom. At the end of August, I resume having two jobs: a teacher and a parent. This week I’ve been solo parenting since T is traveling. L is still in school this week (last day is today), R is home, me – also home. These three days when L was in school and R was home, I had plentiful time with my son. Every day we went to a different playground, a café, a library, a grocery store, and even got a hair cut for our upcoming Portugal-Spain trip. He went with me to my MD follow-up appointment. Of course, plentiful time playing outside (R) and gardening (me).
I don’t have brain space for themed days such as Wet Wednesday or Maker Monday or Sparking Saturday or whatever else. Rather, I have a wish list of summer activities that we decide on a weekly basis (much depends on NJ weather). For instance, it will be raining/drizzling for the next three days in New Jersey so we will probably go to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City on one day and Aircraft Carrier Intrepid in NYC on another.
Self. My mood has been peaceful and think it’s because, as much as I love teaching, only having ONE job is much easier. My job to keep the kids fed, clean, and safe. Plus I want to keep them learning. All other stuff really is just an add-on.
I have meditated, did yoga three times (yoga with Adriene on YouTube), and journaled my morning pages. Also, been slowly planning the rest of the year and first few months of 2024. For example, I know that next year, my kids’ spring break and my spring break coincide. AND, it happens to be a long spring break- 10 full days! So I want to take advantage of that and book a Morocco trip.
I honestly don’t even know where I was going with this post so I will just press publish and leave it at that.
Mom of Children 