This summer, I promised myself I would take more time out to stop and smell the roses.
After all, this columnist is not getting any younger. I have to relish the time, sow my oats, enjoy today, and live in the moment.
So, I told our four sons that we would be doing less “go here, go there” this summer and doing more “sit down, fix a puzzle, read a book, take a walk.”
They all stared at me blankly with their mouths hanging open. Then, one of them spoke.
Finally, I thought, as he started to speak, someone who feels my pain, hears my heart, understands my plight.
“Mom, you want us to do that stuff with you? That is sooo BORING!!”
So much for camaraderie.
At that point, they all started to hand me their “summer schedules.”
Son number one has one weekday practice and one weekend practice with his summer basketball team. He also has to travel several weekends out of the month with them. And, then, of course, he has skills camps, conferences and maybe a shoot-out or two or five!
Son number two has practice with his summer basketball team, twice a week and two games a week when they are not practicing. He also wants to go swimming at least once a week.
Son number three has friends to visit, a camp or two to attend and, oh, by the way, wants to know if he can join a bowling league.
Son number three has not mastered writing all of his words yet, so he used stick pictures made out of crayon to get his point across.
From what I could make out, there was a lady in car, presumably me, driving down the street, and she made frequent stops at Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, the movie theater and the pet shop. He advised me that this summer would be a great summer to get a dog.
I left that meeting feeling a bit deflated.
Instead of buying some new books, I’ve already ordered a Palm Pilot!
Thanks for sharing.