Summer!!!

Ok, so I know as a homeschooling family, summer is not quite the same as when the kids were in public school and suddenly had 3 months of nothing to do once school let out.  But we do loosen up on lessons during the summer.  We love going to the local water park and participating in summer reading programs/groups.  But overall, there's not a huge change to our days, since during the 180 days of the year that their friends are in school, my kids are at home with me.

I saw something this morning that disturbed me a little bit.  A blogger that I follow on fb posted a blog all about how much she dreads summer and the time when her kids are not at school.  So many other mothers were commenting on her post, agreeing with everything she said.  How they are already counting down the days until school is back in session and they feel like summer vacation shouldn't include the word vacation because it's certainly not enjoyable.

What bothers me the most is that we are living in a society where everyone is so focused on making sure no child has their feelings hurt, every child gets a trophy just for showing up to the games, bullying is being advocated against at every turn (even though I've noticed a lot of the same mothers who are so against bullying are the first to turn into a bully online, but that's another post) but it's ok for mothers to talk about how horrible it is to spend time with their children during the summer.  How does that help a child's self esteem?  I only hope that these mothers aren't voicing their feelings in front of their children, but what happens when those children grow up and get online, only to see the constant complaining that their parents are putting out there for the world to see?

Just to clear things up, I'm not a perfect mother, I do get frustrated with my children, I enjoy the few times a year that my children go spend a week with Nana and Grandpa.  I think that adult time is very important for parents to keep their sanity.  We try to make sure that we have a date night every so often, because our relationship with each other is just as important as our relationship with our children.  I usually feel relieved when I check on them at night and they're both asleep, especially if it's a Sunday night and that means that Hubs and I can watch Game of Thrones.

Is this what being a mother has become?  Taking care of children for their first 5 years and then happily letting someone else take over?  Dreading extended periods of time that you have to spend with your children?  Why don't we get back to enjoying our children?

Let's start a movement among us to bring back family time.  Turn off the computer, TV and cell phone.  Load up the kids and head to the park (don't forget the sunscreen) and make memories!  Did you know that kids who spend quality time with their families are less likely to get in trouble with the law or become underage parents?  Isn't that what we want for our children?  A future where they are less likely to end up in jail or a parent before they are even old enough to legally buy a lottery ticket?