I empathize - sm
Posted By: mdlfcrs on 2007-12-28
In Reply to: Not a good year or Christmas... - Lucy
After years without a significant other Christmas is a double edged sword especially if you cannot afford to treat yourself. One thing about this profession is that I don't sit here long without seeing a transcription about someone who has it far worse off than I do. Gifts are so shallow most of the time - not well thought out and money not well spent. I have spent years working 2-3 jobs to keep close to ahead and now we all wonder if we will have the rug yanked out from under us at any moment. I always said if I felt sorry for myself during the holidays I would go and help serve people in a homeless shelter to remind myself of what I do have. It's hard - but think positive. You have more than you probably realize.
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I can empathize with that -- but
it sounds like (and I may be off here) that you're criticizing the mothers who don't work because they don't have to be so structured. Is it possible that the other mothers do have things for their kids to do, but theyjust don't have to have it set in stone because they don't work? Is it also possible that they can't afford to do some of the things you've mentioned because they don't work?
Even though I work from home, I'm fortunate enough not to have a set schedule, which makes me available for spontaneous playdates, etc. While I have no set plans for my kids this summer (we already vacationed this past spring), I do have some activities in mind to keep them active and their minds working. We'll probably spend a rainy day or 2 at the library and some hot days at my parents' pool. I also got them a slip-n-slide for those days we don't feel like driving to my parents' house (about 15 minutes away). In addition, our community offers a wonderful FREE day program for the kids. We don't usually get up in time for the morning session, but they do enjoy the afternoon session (from 1 to 3). We also have a lake about 45 minutes away and an amusement park about the same distance. We'll probably check each of them out a couple of times this summer, money permitting. My brother and his wife will probably take my kids camping for a weekend with theirs, so my husband and I can do something fun. Then we'll take his kids for a weekend to give him and his wife a break. Then there's all the BBQs we'll have with the kids' friends over. My kids might also play in a FREE summer baseball tournament league.
But when asked by other mothers what I have scheduled for my kids this summer or what classes they're signed up for -- my answer is nada! The only event scheduled for my kids this summer is the demolition derby night at our local county fair. They absolutely love it and I buy them reserved seats so they don't have to worry about whether or not it will sell out before we get there.
My point is that summer activities don't have to cost money and don't have to be scheduled. I get the feeling that your gripe isn't that they don't have something scheduled, but rather that you have to and the other mothers don't understand that. That's one of the downsides to a career at home. There will always be someone who thinks it isn't work if you don't have to leave your house. But those of us who work from home already know this. So, if you need to schedule your kids activities so that you can work from home, then do it and don't worry about the other mothers and what they think.
I still love the LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER -- sleeping in, having my kids run on my schedule and not theirs!
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