It is almost 10 am here. I seem to be the only person awake. Even the dogs are still asleep.
As a parent and a blogger, I did the “winter” break all wrong and will be punished for it come Monday morning.
I have seen all the images of families doing something somewhere throughout the break. Walks, Christmas experiences, tubing, skiing. We did not do any of that, unless you count a couple of trips to the mall. Before Christmas we did manage a trip to Queen Elizabeth Park for the Bloedell Christmas display….ONE Instagram worthy trip memorialized in cyber space accomplished.
So….I failed as a parent to provide fun and excitement for my kids during their vacation. I failed as a social media “maven” by not Instagramming everything….my food, shopping purchases, and other family traditions we sort of did.
I have totally failed as a parent because what I did do was let all the veneer of civilization vanish for the last two weeks. They are all asleep. They are all asleep because we have stayed up LATE a lot. Can you imagine how this will work come Monday morning? The oldest has to be up by 7:15 at the latest. Hahahaha.
Ahem.
I have said yes to questionable food choices because I was in the middle of binge-watching Jessica Jones. I think ice cream and After Eights might have been a meal for the 6-year-old and the 13-year-old on more than one occasion.
The kids have played too many video games over the holidays. Though I have put together toys and built lego (we were going to ‘make’ candy with the Sour Candy Factory until we discovered that it does not ANY of the ingredients needed). Still…not enough according to my parent guilt meter.
I just couldn’t. I just wasn’t ‘there’ enough to give more of ME. I really enjoyed just being quiet and indulging myself in being totally lazy. The husband said the same thing. We both just wanted to switch our brains off and just be.
Even our New Years sort of sucked. Me on the couch. Kids drifting round listlessly…..resembling the zombies that Caity and I kept watching thanks to the Walking Dead marathon.
But it doesn’t stop the guilt and the horror that Monday will be. I now have today and tomorrow to get everyone moving and motivated…..house cleaned and Christmas stuff put away.
The kids DID walk the dogs yesterday..but now I need to walk myself…..into some real food that isn’t carbs or chocolate.
So really my goals so far for 2016 are move a bit more. Read non digital stuff more and be more organized. That last one will be the biggie.
This is just a breath of fresh air Kerry! Love your honesty and simply wonderful account of real life for the majority. You are real Kerry and I can relate wishing you and yours a great 2016 Jane @MushypeaJane
Let the real New Years start now!!
I half dreaded the school return this morning and was also half excited for it. It brings back some kind of routine and makes me get out of my pajamas. We did a mix of doing things and lazing around eating too much chocolate.
What Im really dreading is my husbands return to the grind. It was seriously nice having 2 parents on duty for 2 weeks. Loved it.