Permit me a run down memory lane?
When I was young my dad was a school teacher, and several times a year he had parent/teacher conferences. This meant that he didn't get home until about 7 or 8 o'clock at night.
I LOVED parent/teacher conference nights--because my mom made them into something fun. We would have a supper that included foods that were very untypical in our diet. "Fun food" was what I called them--in reality it was just things like frozen dinners from the grocery store, or hot dogs.
These were meals that my mom knew my dad was not fond of, and she purposely chose them for us because we thought they were "fun." It made the whole evening seem like an adventure.
Now that I have a family of my own I do something similar. My husband drives truck, and he often works long hours during the summer. I often try to have my house-work done by about 5 o'clock and plan a "fun" evening with the children. We have our own version of "fun" food and we play games.
Sometimes we get take out food, drive out to the lake, and eat supper while watching the seagulls. It makes the long evenings pass quickly, and before we know it daddy is home.
My children act like I've handed them the world when we do these simple things. Which is my point--it really doesn't take much effort or money to be a fun mom. A child's definition of fun mostly just involves doing something together.
What are some ways that you have fun with your children?
My son thinks the best time in the world is to go to the pizza place and have pizza and loaded fries. Not the healthiest of meals but done once in a while doesn't hurt.
ReplyDeleteRecently, for dinner I served chocolate chip pancakes, cinnamon/sugar eggs, and strawberries. Then we ate dinner at the coffee table while we watched tv (which never happens). It was a treat for the kids and it was a nice relaxing evening for me. I love little things like that because I know that it is the little things that kids remember so fondly.
ReplyDeleteI try to make evenings without Daddy a little bit special--it happens every two weeks, though, and I can't keep up! Last night, I let them watch part of a movie, The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (bedtime came before they got through it. Sometimes we'll make a special yummy treat, or read extra stories.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the good ideas. I have been challenged by several ladies to make my husband's minister meeting nights special for our children. It starts with changing my own attitude. Tonight was one of them, we made soft pretzels. Though the night wasn't perfect, we managed to have some fun memories. I don't want my children to remember me moping about missing dad in the evening. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGina