Down Days

According to science, our kids need down days to recuperate and optimize learning. In our house a down day usually involves a lot of television and computer time, though divided between four kids it's not quite so bad. They pulled out Bella Dancerella Cheerleader and, after watching the video, practiced cheers on the front lawn.

As unproductive as I feel, we actually got a few big things crossed off the to do list. Particularly, getting all our exhibit entry forms filled out for the county fair and then entering as many pre-fair contests as we are eligible for. My twelve year old is determined to get her hands on some money for an iPad and spent the bulk of the day working on her sticker contest drawing. I hate to discourage her, but this is the most entered contest, so the odds aren't good.

It's the end of the day now, and I feel that I can't let two whole days go by without a post. That would be far too lazy of me. A line must be drawn somewhere. I have half a dozen new ideas to write. Instead, I'm curled up in bed with my iPad, not really wanting to sleep, or think. I want to finish watching the last 20 episodes of Numb3rs and drift like this through the rest of the summer. Not a healthy desire for the long term, but a down day here and there is a lovely thing.

When my oldest was a baby, I would cuddle her and doze while she napped. It didn't take long for my life to fill up to a degree that sleeping with my babies was no longer an option. Today, I cuddled my children by turns. They found me on the couch with a blanket and just snuggled in of their own accord to recharge their little love cells. I found my own charged up in return.

So many people have their kids lives scheduled to capacity. As mentioned in an earlier post, I like a full calendar, but mostly so I can have options. I prefer to limit scheduled obligations. It's good to be open to down time when it's needed. Quantity time is still better than the much promoted "quality time" whenever possible.

I wish you many summer days of leisure and baby snuggles to lift your heart and carry you through the crazy busy days of fun and chaos.