My mother never, not even once, arranged a play-date.
My mother never lined up outside of a sporting facility waiting for “sign ups”.
My mother never hovered her finger over a keyboard ready to click, just to make sure I made it into an activity.
My mother never booked a venue for a birthday party.
My mother never once talked of having it all, or finding a balance.
My mother never came on a field trip, decorated a class room door, or organized a class party with a menu list for other parents to adhere to.
My mother often ignored me.
“Go outside”
“Go and practice shooting goals.”
“Go and ride your bike.”
“Only boring people get bored.”
::
My mother umpired and coached hundreds of netball games.
My mother drove a car filled with girls to sporting facilities.
My mother held a stopwatch at swimming carnivals.
My mother often studied at night.
My mother attempted to learn to macramé and sew in a spectacularly unsuccessful way at night classes. She topped the class in Accounting. She still wishes she could sew.
My mother never organized a play-date, went on a field trip, or organized a class party.
And it all worked out okay.
My Mum sounds like your Mum. I’m an advocate for this “older’ style of parenting too. I really hate the word “playdate” and don’t organise them either. A friend will come over for a coffee and her kids will muck about with my kids and vice versa but this business of booking in a time for the kids to play with another kid for precisely 2 hours and then dropping them off and then picking them up again while something is simmering away on the stove is something I thankfully left behind in Sydney. Great post! Mel x
Too right it did. Your mother sounds like my mother, except that she was a brilliant sewer (evened out by being a shocker of a cook), studied in her thirties and topped the class in English and Biology. Oh and she never read to me either, but was a netball umpire for thirty years, starred in many local musicals, helped at Meals on Wheels/School Canteen/Resthaven and read for the blind. She personifies the Aussie endearment of being a good old stick.
Play-date may be my least favourite word 🙂
Closely followed by panties, and discharge. Ewwwwww.
Sounds like my mother. Stress-free parenting (which it probably wasn’t, though, was it?) Didn’t we turn out all right 🙂
Sounds like our mothers were all woven from the same cloth. I’m going to have to use the “Only boring people get bored ” line on my sons tomorrow.
This comment has been removed by the author.
My mother read aloud to us every night, was a cub scout leader, and a church camp counselor one week each summer. She and Dad also took us family camping in the summer.
The summer I was 14 my best friend and I ran a backyard playschool for my neighborhood kids, That required her Dad to bring her to my house and pick her up again at regular times. Was that a play date?
Goodness, neither did my mother! She did however grow all our food, made her own yogurt and tofu, looked after our health, worked (and still does) as a naturopath and loved us to bits 🙂
Mine too.
Every mom needs tor read this. Especially first time or working moms like me, who go on endless guilt trips. Thank you I’m going to share 🙂
Fantastic post! I also detest the word play date! As a first time mum to a 9 month old this is a Fantastic reminder… we r moving to acreage for a simpler life 🙂
Wenn Sie möchten, wow gold dass genug bekommen Halterung Währung Fischerei ist definitiv eine andere effektive Technik. Besondere Spieler können Arten von Fischen gut verkaufen im Auktionshaus für viele wow gold von World of Warcraft und die Fische sind sehr beliebt. Was die Spieler tun, ist nur zu einigen wow gold oder einige Aufgaben im Spiel, aber nicht das Denken oder wagen es nicht, in die übergeordnete Spiel zu bekommen. game card wow Für viele der Spieler sie haben Angst vor ihm und hatte nicht das Vertrauen oder nicht wissen, wie man in die Schlacht zu gewinnen. PVP ist so anders, dass man nicht auf die Idee von dem, was dein Gegner gerade denkt. Einige Spieler denken vielleicht, dass es schwierig ist, im PvP gewinnen, auch wenn sie spielen in dem Spiel für eine lange Zeit oder sogar einige Jahre, aber einige von ihnen sogar nie haben wow items kaufen die PvP im Spiel nach langer Zeit zu spielen.
Hello, I think commenting always gives a way to discuss on Childcare Sydney topic and discussion always gives a solution. Thanks.