Transitioning to Summer: The Life of Teacher Mamma

Sun for a couple hours two weeks ago... Bubble tea on the Ave is the clear answer.

 

It is Tuesday.  It is raining (duh, this is Seattle) and not only is the Seattle Gymnastics Academy not holding its regular drop-in open play time for most of the summer, but also the Northgate Community Center changed its summer "Wear 'Em Out" program to fewer hours and less toys (only bouncy houses...WTF).  So, I am finding already that I am going to need to be creative.  Today we walked across the street to the mall after being disillusioned (well, terrified in H's case) by the inflatable trampolines, and entertained ourselves with the Fiat on display, with the different music playing in each store, and with the dressing room mirrors.  We also had chicken teriyaki at the food court and were entertained by a dozen TV screens showing music videos; so much entertainment, in fact, that we could hardly hear ourselves as I attempted to read "Pinta ratones" (Mouse Paint) at the food court table.  WTF again.

On the up side, during naps I have been diving into books, calling my sister on the phone, and writing.  And it's only Tuesday.  That is such a good feeling. It feels great to have no schedule, to let little H Guy stare at ceiling fans through store windows as long as he wants until he's ready to say "adiós". 

I read an article in a recent Parent Map magazine  about "shared parenting" and it fit in well with a conversation I was having with my sister the other day about how mystical yet important it is that we are "still" having conversations about how much a mom should do and how much a dad should do in the house, out of the house, with the kids, without the kids.  It´s unnerving how radical some writing can make it sound that families have a structure like ours:  stay-at-home dad during the school year while teacher mamma works, reverse program in the summer while dad works on other projects (music, consulting, whatever it may be).  But it shouldn't be radical.  Parents do whatever works for them, it's the 21st century.  It's gonna be hard work no matter how you structure it, no matter how "equal" you think everything is.  So you might as well do something that feels right for you.

The summer is a great opportunity for me to reconnect, spend long hours playing and teaching new words, and I can also proudly say that I am our "family breadwinner".  Okay, maybe there's some exhaustion in my voice but there's also joy in both our voices when Ben and I say that we have found a way for our son to be in the care of his very own parents for the first two years of his life, and probably next year too, without daycare, early preschool, or nannies.  A bit of grandparents and babysitting for good measure, of course.