So sings Gogoosh, the much-liked Iranian popstar. She was describing a weekend afternoon. “On Friday afternoons, the clouds drop blood instead of rain…”
Yes. Indeed. Iran, Canada, England, Scotland, Fridays or Sundays, weekends are bloody.
No matter how many activities we plan, there are still yawning chasms of grey time when the children seem to be crawling up our pants and in our hair, and the hours just won’t move on.
I used to think I was the only one who couldn’t wait for weekends to be over. A secret breed of guilty mommies, we can’t stand weekends and the long hours full of kids and cooking. We count the minutes to blissful Monday morning, when, smiling joyfully, we can remove the kids from our noses and ship them off to schools and daycares, and spend eight glorious hours in quiet child-free existence, working, reading, eating, drinking, and generally breathing.
So I was a bit miffed when I discovered, this Sunday morning, that I am not the only one whom the prospect of weekends fills with dread and despair. We were at the breakfast table, the golden boy eating fried egg, and I orange marmalade on pita bread.
-Are we getting ready daycare?
-No darling. Daycare is closed today.
<disappointed tone> -Why is daycare closed everyday?
-It’s not every day! Just two days- Saturday and Sunday.
-Why? Why is daycare closed Saturday and Sunday?
-Well, because families can spend some time together (bad idea!), so they can rest (Not!), so that the daycare teachers can rest (closer to the truth)…Do you want to go to daycare?
-YES!
Ok, I got the point. I will not even attempt to compete with daycare teachers and daycare friends in terms of popularity and amusement potential. My son and I bore the socks off each other. If I prefer dull grey offices with lots of fast internet to his company, then it is only obvious and fair that he should prefer the bright smiles of his daycare companions to mine. Why am I so hurt?
Tags: bored, children, families, family relationships, parenting, weekends, working mommies
