“What do you do with your kids for five days straight?”
This was a question asked of me last week outside Moose’s school when I was waiting for him to be dismissed. It was a question obviously referencing the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday…a five-day long weekend.
Had the question been asked with the purpose of actually getting some ideas for fun activities, I might have answered it. But you could just tell from the mom’s tone that she’s dreading her son being home from school, and having to (gasp!) interact with him.
Of course, my first inclination when I heard this question was to laugh. With the exception of Moose, I’m with my children all day, every day, and I wish Moose could be here, too. I mean, sure, they have their own activities, but for the most part, we’re always together. So it’s a ridiculous question to ask me, or any other homeschooler, because it’s not “what do you do with your kids for five days?” but “what do you do with your kids every day?”
As it was, all I did was kind of chuckle in that awkward way you do when you have no idea what to say. I could have said that our days will look pretty much like any other, with a lot more cooking and eating thrown it. There will be stories read, pictures drawn, holiday shows watched, Lego sets built, dolls played with, games played, local festivities attended, church, etc., etc., etc. Children will argue, parents will get annoyed, and we’ll all have a lot of fun. Because that’s just what we do.
But, this mother didn’t really want to know all that. She just wanted to express her annoyance that her child was going to be home, and, I’m willing to bet, try to justify what she told me next: “It’s OK, I guess. He has every video game system there is, so that’s what he’ll do the whole time.”
I hope she was exaggerating; I really do. But, unfortunately, I doubt it. Because it seems like a lot of parents would rather plunk their child down in front of a screen, and let the game entertain him, than actually get down on the floor and spend some quality time interacting with their own child.
What are your family plans for the holiday weekend?