Tuesday
6/21/04
Nostalgia, Boys and Blogging. Or, a Brief Exercise in Narcissism.
As I’ve noted before, I’m not really a big fan of nostalgia. On the other hand I’m not a great fan of sweets, and yet time and time again I find myself standing in the kitchen at two a.m. wallowing up to my nostrils in a box of Mallomars… so there you go. A model of self-restraint I’m not.
And, rather like a box of Mallomars, this morning I found myself wading around in a bit of nostalgia when I realized that I’ve been blogging just over a year now. I hadn’t looked at any of the old stuff before, and when I did it was really rather a surprise to see what I was doing and thinking. Goddamn, I'm fascinating!
In any case, as the lads are now down to the last few schooldays before the Rapture that is Summer Vacation arrives, I thought I might throw myself a little birthday party of monumental vanity and re-post this early entry about my boys and their impending liberation:
(Again, damn, I’m interesting!)
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Nostalgia, Boys and Blogging. Or, a Brief Exercise in Narcissism.
As I’ve noted before, I’m not really a big fan of nostalgia. On the other hand I’m not a great fan of sweets, and yet time and time again I find myself standing in the kitchen at two a.m. wallowing up to my nostrils in a box of Mallomars… so there you go. A model of self-restraint I’m not.
And, rather like a box of Mallomars, this morning I found myself wading around in a bit of nostalgia when I realized that I’ve been blogging just over a year now. I hadn’t looked at any of the old stuff before, and when I did it was really rather a surprise to see what I was doing and thinking. Goddamn, I'm fascinating!
In any case, as the lads are now down to the last few schooldays before the Rapture that is Summer Vacation arrives, I thought I might throw myself a little birthday party of monumental vanity and re-post this early entry about my boys and their impending liberation:
June 21, 2003:
Sunday already… and we’re looking at the last two half days of school before (breathe slowly) summer vacation. Before I know it, my two boys, six and seven years old respectively, will be freed from the yoke of oppression known as routine. No more seven o’clock breakfast, seven twenty dressing, seven forty socks and shoes, seven fifty bus, etc. etc. etc.
I remember the sensation of the beginning of summer vacation as a nearly intoxicating sense of freedom. Endless mornings spent lying in bed imagining the possibilities. Hang out with friends in the stream that runs through the back yard? Wander over to the park to see who’s playing baseball? Maybe just hang out in the cool darkness of my parent’s bedroom and watch TV until I feel nauseous?
All good plans, but of course these days we’ll have none of that. Nope, in the twenty-first century (not to mention the last couple decades) we’ve decided that empty time is wasted time. Activities and routine reign supreme… Well, yes, much has been made of the fact that we commonly push our children too hard with too many activities and overloaded schedules, all leading to stressed out kids and harried carpooling parents. All true, we’ve all seen it.
I’ve found though, that as with everything in life, there has to be a middle ground. My experience tells me that my younger son does fine without any structure. He wanders from activity to activity spending the day in a sort of a pleasant state of mind. My experience also teaches me that my older son needs routine and activities. Left to his own devices, he will zone out in front of the TV or Game Boy for hours at a time, only to end up a wangy, over-tired, bored mess. Middle ground. Just the right mix of activities on a reasonably flexible schedule.
But, more on that later… The sun is actually peeking out and I’m off to a high school graduation.
(Again, damn, I’m interesting!)
