Sunday 24 July 2016

Been There Done That.............Summer Hell

Its here........................................Todays the day.........................The first day of that thing called THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS.


I can hear the cries of despair all over the country as thousands of Mums/Dads and Carers of the small humans let out that first day sigh and say to themselves "What the hell am I going to do with them for 6 weeks"....................................................I've been there, but those of us who have the grown up variety of small humans might look slightly smug (I must admit I do), we are those Mums who have stood in line at a variety of crap days out, those bloody get togethers where we would rather be anywhere else than sitting on a scratchy blanket fighting wasps, listening to how advanced "Little Johnny" is whilst watching our little ones kick a ball around the park and just wishing we were drinking Gin instead of warm Orange Squash.

I've done the whole baking before 6am and building indoor tents when its pissing down outside only to find that after creating a 5 * house out of chairs and sheets they are playing with a box that the new hoover came in.

We've been to petting farms, mazes, the beach, the park, story time at the Library and the worst of all things related with the Summer Holidays................ swimming at the local pool......................Squeezing myself into an unflattering costume whilst trying to get a 5 year old and a 2 year old ready in the communal changing areas were amongst my worst nightmares. Only closely followed by the smell of poo as my 2 year old crapped in his swim nappy just as we walked onto pool side...................And all this was witnessed by what I love to call "The Perfect Mummys", you know the ones I mean. Those fabulous creatures who looked like they had stepped out of a magazine with their sodding perfect children and their handsome husbands who has taken the whole of summer off just because he can....................I've swam side by side with these ladies only to cringe when my kid announces that she might of just accidentally done a wee in the pool only to feel the warmth of the proclaimed wee sweeping over me and seeing the look of horror on Perfect Mummys face as she too feels it.

I remember having to smile nicely as my kids introduced me to "Bunty" or "Tarquin" who they had literally just met but were now their "Best Friend" apparently..................."Can she come for tea Mummy......Or a sleepover...........Or live with us forever" ............................................................
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OF COURSE SHE BLOODY CANT YOU HAVE ONLY JUST MET HER.

Why, why, why I used to ask myself......................................................................................

At the time I thought I was the best mum ever and actually doing something every single day was something to be applauded and commended but do you know what........................There is nothing wrong with your kids be bored, nothing at all, in fact I truly think being bored is what evokes an imagination in children. 

My 2 humans are 19 and 15 now and to be honest I'm lucky if they are up before 1pm these days but I love the fact that they did have days where we didn't do anything except watch movies in our PJ's and eat crap all day. There is nothing wrong with opening the back door and telling them to just go and play.......................One of the best activities I ever did was to give them a pack of chalk and let them draw to their hearts content on our patio, even better was the paintbrushes and tub of water afterwards to wash it all off...........................They spent all day quite happily and I had hardly spent anything.

Don't get sucked in to the whole "Perfect Mummy" cult and remember as long as they are safe, fed, watered and happy they really don't need anything else. 

Have a great Summer.........................................I'm certainly going to in a non smug way...........................Honest.

Lots of Love
Me
xx


1 comment:

  1. Fab post as always! I think I must have been a very unperfect mum because I can't for the life of me remember doing very much with my boys who are now 25 and 23 in the summer holidays. As we lived down the end of a lane in a hamlet I think I just opened the back door, shoved them out and told them to play! Outings were to the playing field park where there was a swing, a seesaw and a slide that was really high and if you fell off, you would most likely crack your head open on the concrete underneath! An adventure meant a trip to Clarkes in Tonbridge Wells for new school shoes. If it rained,which of course it often did,there was always the telly to watch! We did venture to Hastings on a bus once, but I had raging toothache and spent most of the time spaced out on potentially lethal doses of paracetemol!
    Neither of my boys suffered from being left to their own devices and we didn't end up bankrupt come the start of the new term dure to forking out a fortune on keeping them entertained for six weeks. Considering I have worked with children since the boys were tiny, you would think I would have been more of a "hands on" mum organising crafty days, trips out and activity days at the local leisure centre, but to be honest,I needed a break from kids and I hate to say it, but that included my offspring too!

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