Previous Story
Can Pesticide Residue Up ADHD Risk?
Next Story
Fed Up Fridays! I've Had Enough Of The Mommy Wars?
I don’t do Saturday morning activities. And neither should you.
A family needs one day to sleep late, which is exactly what I told my son’s teacher.
For a few years my son tortured me every weekend by being on a soccer team.
It was awful.
Practice started at 7a.m and went until ten. We arrived promptly at seven the very first time. It was the last time. I usually aimed for 8a.m. The majority of people seemed to show up between 7:30 and 8. But 8:30 soon became the norm. When Jake decided that he wanted to switch from soccer to Tae Kwon Do, I did what any good parent would do: I checked to see if I'd like the schedule better. Tae Kwon Do started at 11. I could've done a cartwheel.
I sing in a choir on Sundays. Saturdays are our chance as a family to take it easy, laze around in bed, and have a nice big brunch together without having to get anywhere early. It's my favorite day. I protect my Saturday mornings like a lioness protects her cubs—her lazy, pancake-loving cubs.
So when I got a call from my son’s teacher asking if Jake could come to a 9 a.m. class on Saturdays, I said no. The teacher pressed. I was firm. I was also honest. I didn't make up an excuse about being busy, or Jake having no interest. Actually, he would love to take the class, but he's completely on board with me about the Saturday morning thing. I’m not surprised: he’s practically a carbon copy of me, right down to his ability to eat pasta by the pound.
No, I told this teacher – whom I love and hate to disappoint, by the way – that having to get up early on Saturday ruins my weekend. That having to set an alarm and rush the kids out the door on a Saturday is worse than going to the dentist. I think she thought I was crazy, and that wanting to sleep in was a sorry excuse not to do something educational. But I don’t care.
Everything is so rush-rush during the week, it is not too much to ask to have one day where the kids and I can stay in our pajamas well past lunch. It’s thinking like this that practically guarantees I will never get an ulcer. You might want to try it.
Do you have your own weekend rules? How well do you stick to them?
Leave a Comment
Leave a Comment
Follow Us
More from iVillage
Our Experts
-
Becca Ludlum
Becca Ludlum was born and raised in upstate New York and currently lives in Arizona with her sons... -
Melissa Chapman
Melissa Chapman blogs about her marriage and everything in between at marriedmysugardaddy.com, and... -
Sherry Davey
Sherry Davey is a mom and professional comedian and writer. She has two daughters aged 8 & 14...
I love this, and I completely agree. My kids wrestle during the week, and I'm the only Mom there not pushing my kids to wrestle in tournaments on Saturday mornings :)
Becca @ Our Crazy Boys
I agree that this is a very healthy idea and perspective on life. Imagine, resting after a long week that for so many mothers, even those who stay at home has meant more hours invested into everything and everyone else than people (our spouses, our children and even ourselves) really realize.
Whew! To even put it into a sentence means using all known punctuation to make it work. It is no suprize that statistical divorce rates are as high as they are, I believe is is due to overworked, overstressed, overanalyzed, underestimated and underappreciated women who are merely trying to raise healthy children, keep a house and nurture a marriage/relationship while remaining authentic to themselves and maintaining a boundary that is both nurturing and responsible More often she is doing all this without recieving enough, if any outside understanding, respect or support that provides the very necessary encouragement and stress reduction she needs to balance and maintain healthy psychological function. I really understand from personal experience how far a restful night sleep, or a simple non-goal-oriented morning/afternoon can reach especially for the superwomen behind the scenes.
Amen! You should be given a bullhorn and a license to stand in the middle of intersections preaching this message to all mothers. I guarantee this idea could make you a living legend, and thank you for it because this may just save me one less broken heart.
Here, here! It is wonderful to see others agree with the direction my family has been trying to go! Our society is so bent on "achieve, more, go, go ,go!" We rarely do ANYTHING on a Saturday morning, even Sunday morning, for that matter. Those are sacred times that we protect as a family, for relaxing, sleeping in, and just existing without the hectic pace and stress of the week. I even purposely chose where my 9 year old son would play basketball this year, based on the fact that they have Sunday games at 4:00 pm!!!