For the first time in more years than I care to acknowledge (okay, seven) I have both children home for the summer. Harrison officially tired of his overnight camp halfway through last summer. After earning his Life Guard certification earlier this summer he is now doing, um, not much of anything. George is in an academic program from 9-12 noon everyday. That is it. As I am sure you can imagine, this set up has its pros and cons, each of which I have delineated below.
1. Babysitting
The good: I have it pretty well built in and it is “free”. (If you don’t count the cost of raising Harrison, the snarky response to “are you able to babysit” which we all know really means, “you are babysitting” and the inevitable phone call from George complaining about the babysitter. See “the ugly”)
The bad: I have to compete with Harrison’s nocturnal tendencies (which translate to 12 noon wake up times) as well as his afternoon and evening social calendar.
The ugly: Harrison is George’s last choice as a babysitter.
2. Expense
The good: No camp = no camp dues. Last year, that total was nearly $10K. (Really, $10K and Harrison’s camp, at least, was among the cheapest around. Georgie’s not so much, but, still, $10K! Really!?!?).
The bad: Any monies we’d have spent on camp seem to either be otherwise spoken for or AWOL.
The ugly: It’ll suck next summer if we have to chalk up $10K again.
3. Privacy
The good: Less pressure in the day = calmer kids = self entertaining.
The bad: No children are exhausted enough from the day to go to bed before 10 pm (the G man) and 2 am (the H man)
The ugly: See “the bad”
4. Communication
The good: Children are either with me or just a call or text away. Plus, we don’t have to scribe clever, information filled letters when, in reality, there is nothing going on worth writing about. (C’mon, you all know that those letters are hell on earth. Seriously, what are you doing here that can possibly be of any interest to a kid at camp?)
The bad: Children are either with me or just a call or text away.
The ugly: See “the good”and, for that matter, “the bad”. Add: all the time. Every day.
5. Food shopping
The good: Everyone can have what they want, pretty much when they want.
The bad: Everyone seems to exercise that option.
The ugly: I am the only one who can (and will) go to one of the five different markets which seem necessary to satisfy everyone’s desires. But I’m not bitter. Or resentful.
6. Television Viewing
The good: We have four televisions.
The bad: Only three are hi-def, only two have DVR and only one seems available to me. That one happens to be in my bedroom which is fine if I am readying for bed, but not so much at 8pm when I don’t want to be in bed but wind up there and then fall asleep too early so I wake up too early the next morning. It is just a vicious cycle. (I know, I know….a good solution would be to read a friggin’ book!)
The ugly: If it were up to all the guys in the house there would be four stations: The Military Channel, The History Channel, Nickelodeon and Disney. My station of choice, (duh, Bravo) doesn’t rank among my housemates. (Although, George will watch “Cake Boss” with me anytime!)
7. Personal Maintenance
The good: I manage to get to the gym most mornings. My fingers and toes are being appropriately maintained as is my mental health (sort of). Admittedly my haircut and color was about two weeks later than it should have been, but it is all good now.
The bad: With the exception of Tuesdays, when I have a “real” babysitter (all due respect to Harrison), if I don’t get everything done between 9 and 11:30, I’m outta luck. And on Tuesdays, I am out $60.
The ugly: Okay, I was really closer to a month behind on the hair. Trust me, it was ugly.
8. Marriage
The good: With the built-in babysitting (sort of) and the less pressured children, the house is less pressured. (It is all relative, though, as my house’s “less pressured” is equivalent to the most hellish day imaginable at other (most) homes.)
The bad: There is an intense and ongoing battle over who is more exhausted at the end of the day: he with the paying job or she with the children all day, every day.
The ugly: What, “the bad” wasn’t enough for you?
9. The House
The good: It has central air.
The bad: It is completely and utterly impossible to keep neat. The place is constantly trashed. George, in particular, insists on leaving throw blankets everywhere (see “the good”). He assumes the position in front of one of his preferred stations (hint: it is neither Military nor History), then stands up leaving them wherever they fall. Repeatedly. Despite being asked (in every tone imaginable) not to.
The ugly: My cleaning folks come every other week.
10. Emotional Health
The good: Lots and lots and lots (and lots) of quality time together. (There is some quality even if the t.v. happens to be on. Right?) That and all those requiring therapy are able to find the time to have it.
The bad: See “the good”. (Including the therapy part)
The ugly: So much together time is certainly adding to the “stuff to talk to the therapist about” pile.
o onward I go in the summer of 2010. It, like the winter, spring and fall has its share of the good, the bad and the ugly. That said, I am keenly aware that it is only July.
And to those of you (and your numbers are many) who have at least one (if not two or three) children away for the summer (or any portion of it)? Please bite me.
