Just Homework

When I was a teacher, I remember thinking that the parents who made sure their kids were doing their homework were on the ball.  Then, as a mom, I always made sure they were doing their homework…but that didn’t feel like nearly enough. I felt it was our job as parents to fill their cups with love and encouragement, with stories from my childhood and Dave’s, to create fun traditions and carry on traditions with meaning.  Nights like this one where the ‘highlight’ of the day was getting the homework done did not feel like a win.

But really, I think I was being too hard on myself.  Every night can’t have a special event. Even if just for everyone’s mental health, sometimes you need a low-key night. And, when you compare all we do for our kids to the way we were raised, you might even say we do too much now.  

I went for a run at a local community center the other day and had to step off the jogging path onto the playground surface (two women were walking with strollers next to each other and I didn’t want to interrupt their conversation). The entire surface was padded.  Don’t get me wrong, I think this is an excellent innovation.  But this image was the first thing that came to my mind.

We had this agent of chaos, throwing kids off in all directions. The slide was a screaming hot metal death trap that barely had guardrails at the top or the sides. We had see-saws that were way too high and probably gave us lasting back problems, but certainly left splinters in our little butts. The surface underneath us was concrete and our play structures for climbing were domes of rusted metal.   It is a miracle any of us made it to adulthood.

And all we remember was the fun!

Don’t stress too much. Love them up! Try to make sure they get their homework done, but even if you can’t, it will all work out okay.