week 23 // you are my wild

There is a point in every summer when a new sort of hell has taken the place of the early morning school day hell, which already seems like such a thing of the past.

Two words that have made centuries of moms mad, "I'm bored."

My first summer tactic (also my most patient tactic) is inspiration.  We dig through cabinets to find long lost board games.  I dust off the croquet set from the garage.  We pack poolside picnics.  They each pick out one book from the book store.  I throw cardboard boxes and markers at them and lock them out of the house.  Whatever it takes to avoid hearing those two awful words.

My second summer tactic is threats of putting them to work.  "You can't find something to do?  Here.", as I hand them rubber gloves and a toilet brush.  It is the oldest trick in the Mom Handbook.  I recall my own childhood, the first time of the summer that I made the mistake, landing myself on the front porch shucking what I remember being enough corn to feed an entire Mexican village.  "Whyyyyy do we have so much corrrrrrrrrn???", I'd whine to my mother who couldn't hear me anyway from inside the locked airconditioned house.

My third summer tactic is researching sleep away camps.  Terry usually shuts that one down before I make it to the online registration page.

And lastly, a new tactic, made only more enjoyable for myself, is the Polaroid tactic.  If you can't beat 'em, make your days look dreamy and lovely through dusty old Polaroids.