Thursday, July 9, 2009

Summer Catch-Up

I wonder how many times it is considered kosher to say you are still "catching up" to summertime and its endless ability to make mush out of a previously scheduled life.

It is nearly criminal for me to complain at the moment, however, as it is a lovely 83 degrees here in northern Virginia, and it is sunny and not all too humid. Furthermore, I'm sitting on my screened-in porch, with two children outside playing and two elder children inside playing (Xbox, anyone?), and it is the first semblance of peace I have had all day.

I get limited feedback to my blog, but I hope to someday gain insight as to how other parents feel about certain issues. I find myself wound pretty tight about very few things, but boy, the ones that get me going are ones I cannot get over. Some issues I question:

1. Use of candy in school as motivation and/or reward. I don't consider myself an antique, but I can say that candy was never distributed by a teacher in any of the schools I went to. I have to be frank and say that I do "get" why teachers might rely on candy, but I don't have any appreciation for it.

2. Are sports camps now a requirement for a kiddo to be considered a "serious" athlete? Summer is just one specialty sport camp after another for some kids I know, and I have no problem admitting that I don't get it.

3. If my eldest (14 y/o) is to be believed, I am in a class by myself in not permitting him to see "R" movies without heavy parental involvement (as in I or my husband see the movie first or view it with him). Honestly, this has come up at least 4 times already this summer, and I know he is being factual about some of his pals, but c'mon - explain why any 14 y/o should be allowed to see "Bruno" or "The Hangover"?

I've seen "The Hangover", and its level of raunch made me regretful of the $$$ spent to see it!

I'll stop there - feedback would be greatly appreciated, though. Those are things I find myself thinking about, and they are nuts I just can't crack.

Final note for today: stumbled upon an old fave candy at Cracker Barrel this weekend: Tootsie Pop Drops. Anyone else remember these? "The Tootsie Pop Without The Stick". Can't tell you the last time I found these - a small thing that made me extraordinarily happy.