This week our topic is about "back to school."
This past weekend, a friend said she hates all of the media posts about...
"101 Super Fun Things To Do With Your Kids This Summer!"
or
"Do These 25 Things With The Kids Before The Sun Sets Each Day Between June And August!"
and
"You're Not Even Close To Being A Good Mom If You Don't Hit Every Splash Pad In A 25 Mile Radius Every Single Day This Summer!"
or
"Enjoy The Summer Before It's Too Late And Your Kids Hate You!"
So.
Much.
Pressure.
And then before you know it you see the media posts about...
"Sick Of Your Kids Yet? Back To School Is Coming Up Soon!"
or
"17 Things To Do To Your Child's Lunch To Make Him/Her The Coolest Kid In The Cafeteria!"
and
"66 Homemade Gifts To Give The Teacher To Become A Brown Noser!"
Okay, she didn't say all of these things.
But there is a lot of pressure.
And there are media posts that we see about all of the fun things we are supposed to do with our kids during the summer.
And then they seem to be quickly followed by posts about back to school and how we are all so over having our kids all summer long.
It's ridiculous.
Summer days and school days used to be easy going seasons.
Laissez-faire events.
In the summer you had unplanned, carefree days.
Swimming in the creek, playing Atari, eating apples from your grandma's backyard tree.
Or you hopped in the car for a fantastic road trip to see Mark Twain Cave or to splash in ocean waves at a beach on the coast.
And then it was back to school time.
New corduroys, a magenta Trapper Keeper, and one box of crayons.
That was it.
It all seemed easier.
Or was it because I was the kid and not the parent?
No, I think it just was easier.
There were no meddling posts online and zero talk shows with 60 second pieces on being better than the next person.
No one telling us how to be a better parent to our children.
How to make memories that, once we read about them, make us feel dumb because we hadn't thought of them on our own.
Mothers weren't in a silent competition with every other mother in the classroom.
There was no Pinterest with quirky teacher gifts telling us to make a homemade tag stating "You Are An Egg-Celent Teacher!" and to attach it to a certificate for a weeks worth of culinary classes.
For a preschool teacher.
That your kid sees for 2 hours a day.
Maybe.
Because some days you don't feel like taking said kid to school because you want to go to a Target and get a new scarf.
Anyway, it's complicated.
And it shouldn't be.
It should be about being young and spirited in the summer.
It should be about suntans and zoo visits and mowing the grass with the push mower.
While back to school should be about the excitement of knowing who your teacher is going to be this year.
And seeing who grew their hair out.
And the smell of pencil erasers and hot lunch in the cafeteria.
Simple.
We all need to take it back to simple.
And we need to, as moms, to cut ourselves some slack.
It's hard enough raising our kids to be the best that THEY can be.
We are already good enough.
Love that about your mom role and go buy new jeans...for yourself.
Excellent point!
ReplyDeleteI don't want to buy myself new jeans (although I really need to, I really want to buy myself lunch box treats)
OK, you weren't old enough to have to listen to Sigmund Freud theories, or the best way to watch Romper Room so that your child learned the most while you were reading Julia Child and drinking the wine that was supposed to go into the dish. We were entranced by Capt. Kangaroo, Green Acres, and Gilligan's Island when it was too bad to get sent outside for the day. There were days when we played outside for hours and never heard our parents holler for us. Street lights meant you should be home because they didn't want to hear you complain about the mosquito bites. Shoot child psychology was only invented in the 1960s so the bad parents weren't invented until then. TVs weren't in every home and forget about computers. We had animals to play with, baseball bats and gloves and green apples to knock into the neighbor's yard until he called the police. Parents dropped you off with your 'older' friends at the skating rink from the time you were old enough to lace your own skates until you learned how to drive your own car. We rode bicycles all over the mid-state, walked when we couldn't get a ride, and rode the school bus 10 miles. My parents never dreamed of driving us to school. The last time my mother drove an airplane left treadmarks on the windshield. I understand the pressure of parenting these days. Geez, what with all the brand names? We had K-Mart and Applebaums. There were Levis. The hard decision was 501 or 505. We had Converse or PF Flyers. Gym was required and you had to dress in ugly uniforms, but at least I got to wear pants to school. Girls didn't dye their hair like the rainbow, and neither did boys. Tats weren't allowed for minors so we never had to decide which one. Man, the decisions of today's parents were so much harder than my parents. I don't know how we turned out as good as we did without all that psychology.
ReplyDeleteI like simple as well! Strive for the simple!
ReplyDelete