Thursday, August 30, 2007

Dueling Guilts equal Lousy Vacation

My kids have been going to daycamp all summer except for our 10 days of vacation in late June. They've liked it okay, but I've been feeling guilty that they haven't been able to have any of the good, old fashioned, summer-vacation-nuthin'-to-do but watch-junk-TV-and-ride-bikes time like I did every summer growing up. So I decided to take this last week before school starts as vacation.

But--this is also the final week of ramp-up-for-Sunday-school, Presbtery-is-meeting-here-in-ten-days craziness--so I also felt guilty for not being at work, so I told everyone I would be around, could be reached by phone and e-mail, and would come in for staff meeting.

So--I've been resentfully taking way too many phone calls and responding to way too many e-mails. Meanwhile my kids have been whining that they are B-O-R-E-D and why didn't I sign them up for the last week of daycamp where actual FUN is being had?

Definetly the worst of both worlds. Don't try this at home.

3 comments:

Rev.Dulce said...

My daughter had five different camps this summer. Away from home kind of camps. My family really gave me a guilt trip about "what summer is supposed to be" (laying in front of the television kind of stuff).

I remember desperately wanting summer to end so that I could get away from the perpetual boredom. Maybe we remember summers as these endless adventures because that's what we want as adults, not what they really were.

I have decided that I will feel no guilt over my child keeping busy during the summer months. Might be wrong, but no guilt. We do the best we can.

Sorry for the long comment but that it really touched a nerve.

Anitra said...

My parents were both school teachers in a small town. I remember riding my bike a lot, dropping in randomly on friends, hanging out, drawing with chalk in the street, and so on. We had a TV but three channels. And folks just weren't afraid as much as it seems now. I had a huge amount of freedom. Now I look back and think - what were my folks thinking? Is it worse now or are we more afraid?

spookyrach said...

What Anitra said.