Summer Holidays – Week 2
Don’t worry, I’ve pinched myself, checked my pulse, and fake coughed to make sure I’m still here, alive and breathing. I am here to report that I survived week 2 of the summer holidays. Insert the cheer of the stadium of parents here.
I need to give myself the highest accolades because I didn’t just survive week 2, but I also survived an aeroplane journey with just me and three kids 5 and under. Insert the cheer of the world here.
Let me tell you how I survived…
I started the week with the world’s best solution to surviving summer for parents: summer camp! I was aware of my limits, and I preferred to wake up early and pack lunches and snacks with bags, footballs, and racquets than hear the squeaks of the trampoline (don’t get me wrong, I am still in love with the idea of the trampoline; I just know that there is a time for everything!). The twin boys who are 4 years old went to football camp, whilst my daughter, who is 5, went to tennis club.
The first hour of dropping them all off, I’d just sit in the car and literally catch my breath, absorb the silence to realign my brain cells before rushing to get everything I needed to get done before our trip to London that was later in the week.
Deep down, I do love the summer holidays. Whilst growing up, because both my parents were working full time, my brother, Adam, and I were always (and I mean always) in holiday camp… and we loved it!!
We learnt to ice-skate, rollerblade, play badminton and tennis, make new friends, hone in on our sporting talents, and speak Portuguese (don’t ask me to now though—now that I am a parent myself, I understand the goal may have not been to learn Portuguese; ,it could have just been the camp with the longest hours for child care!). I now call this wise parenting!
Let me pause for the cause to remind parents who may not have the time for huge self-made activities each week or Taco Tuesdays with the kids through the summer and need to put their children in summer camp that it’s completely FINE. At camp children get to make new friends from different backgrounds and try new activities without parents present, which builds self-reliance. Many camps emphasise outdoor play, sports, swimming, and hiking, and this helps reduce screen time and promotes healthy movement habits. It also encourages kids to try new physical activities.
I love that many camps offer specialised themes (coding, cooking, music, robotics, etc.). And it’s a time where children can pick up new hobbies and passions and discover their talents! Most importantly, the kids are engaged, which means YOU, as a parent, get to do other things! Shouts from the parent stadium erupt.
Also read: The Summer Holiday Takeover Week 1
Anyway, back to my summer takeover.
The time that the kids were in camp was sacred to me. I walked very slowly to the pickup line because I knew that once they spotted me and came running, screaming ‘Mummy,’ it would also be the sound of my freedom ending!
However, I managed to pack for a 2.5-week trip to London with just me and the kids. No need to read it again … I’ll say it again for you: a 2.5-week trip to London with just me and the kids. I had help from my darling friend the night before, which felt like a race of survival. The 6:35am flight was not missed…and the only vim I had that early was that my parents will be on the other end, ready to receive the free throw of my kids that was coming!
The kids cooperated. I’d brought out the super gadgets and Hot Wheels toys that I only ever bring out in situations of dire desperation for less mess and engagement, such as long journeys and barber shop trips for the twins. However, halfway through the flight everyone fell asleep, and let me tell you, it was a task to get them all to wake up and be on their feet off the aircraft, but remember, the goal was in sight.
Between landing and the children running to hug Grandma and Grandpa, it was all a blur! The smell of home-cooked food as I walked into the house and the legal permission to leave my children in the care of my parents made me confidently head to my old room and sleep. BLISS!
Where are you now, Alice? on the 9th cloud for parents.
Who are you now, Alice? A rested parent writing this blog with a cup of tea!
I now have a higher survival rate for week 3.
Until then! Stay strong and hydrated, parents!
-Alice
