A Day of Play

I know it's not official, but to me today is the first real day of summer. The kids got out of school on Friday but the weekend is still just a weekend. And yesterday my son had an all-day play date. Today is the first day the three of us have spent all day at home with nothing scheduled to do.

Remember how I said my kids get along so well. Well, they do. But every kid has a breaking point. Eight hours of free play with your sibling without much direction from mom eventually leads to tears. Blows, and then tears.

It also leads to your son wearing Pretty, Pretty, Princess jewelry, but that's a whole other blog post.

I lectured the kids just last night. It's something they hear from me a lot. I always tell them that they will always be in each other's lives. I tell them that your sibling is the one friend you will always have. I wish I could explain to them that your sibling will be the only person who understands when you parents are feeble. I wish I could tell them that they need to stay close so that when we are gone, they'll have each other to hold onto.

But that is beyond their understanding now, I think.

I don't ever want to force my kids' relationship, but there are certain behaviors I won't tolerate. I refuse to constantly be arbitrating between them. They are old enough to work their conflicts out on their own. They have become masters at Rock, Paper, Scissors.

But I must admit that the summer is looming ahead of me; long, hot, and...long. It's time to break out my calender and plans some weekends at Grandma and Grandpa's house.