I have two favourite things about ‘Family Fondue Night’. One, is the chocolate fondue for dessert – which we’ll get to in just a bit. But the other – and perhaps the best, even better than chocolate – is the time we spend as a family.
I open my eyes slightly while I stretch…still warmly buried under the covers. It’s dark…but I hear birds chirping outside so I know it’s morning. I check the clock. 6:15am. In about 15 short minutes, my youngest will climb out of his bed, go to the bathroom, then go back to his room to check his clock. He will see that it’s not 7 yet and get back in his bed. He knows he’s not allowed to get up until 7. So, he lays in his bed…singing, snapping, clapping, playing. One would think at 6:30 in the morning I would be annoyed. But I’m not. I lay there and listen to him…and I smile.
I don’t know if it’s the hot summer air, the kids running wild on the old-school play equipment, or the ridiculous amounts of yummy snacks we bring with us, but there is just something special about going to a drive-in movie. Not only is it a fun twist on family movie night, but for me…it’s full of nostalgia! It feels like a scene out of a feel-good 80’s movie. It just feels so relaxed, easy…carefree.
Is it just me, or has there been A LOT of rain this summer? I live in Southern Ontario, and it feels like every time I look outside or check my weather app… RAIN! I swear, even when the forecast calls for a mainly sunny day and I finally think we can get some good outside time, I look up and these dark clouds start moving in and ruin our plans.
When you envision summer vacation with your kids, I bet it involves beach days, backyard picnics, family bike rides, sprinklers, parks and splash pads. And while all these things may very well happen, in reality… most kids will spend WAY more time then we’d like with a screen in their face this summer. My kids included.
It started young. The picky eating. He would look at certain foods we put in front of him and just look at us like we were absolutely crazy for even suggesting it was food. There were A LOT of battles. There still are. I’m sure this sounds familiar for many reading this, but as a parent of a “picky eater”, I’m here to tell you…it’s not your fault, and it DOES get better.
Remember those summer weekends when you were a kid? You know, the ones where you would spend your afternoons drinking from the garden hose, chasing down the ice cream man, exploring the neighbourhood on your bike, and playing hide and go seek until the street lights came on and you had to go home. Those were some of the BEST days, weren’t they? No strict rules, no screens…no schedule.
It’s that dreaded question. It might be casually asked in the morning before work and quickly brushed off. It might be that mid-afternoon text you’re not sure how to answer. Or it might come from your 7-year-old right when he wakes up because he likes to know what his entire day has in store for him and whether he needs to complain or not. (No? Just me?)
As a mother of two boys, I’m always amazed at how incredibly different two kids can be. They are both sweet, kind, hilarious, intelligent and thoughtful young men, but when it comes to self-esteem and confidence…they are polar opposites!