We have at least for now decided NOT to get a guinea pig. (The comments on that post were amusingly spread out: “Guinea pigs are THE BEST!!” followed by “Guinea pigs are A NIGHTMARE!!”) The main sticking point for me is Where to Put the Cage: I walked around and around the house looking for a place, and there isn’t one. If we were to wait for all our fish to die of old age and then get rid of the aquarium, we could use that place. Or we could put it smack in the middle of the dining room table. That’s about it.
In the meantime, we are considering a third cat. But it seems like with indoor-only cats, that’s getting a little risky, territory-sharing-wise.
********
Elizabeth’s camp sent out a survey asking for feedback. I practically rubbed my hands together with glee. I hadn’t wanted to write a letter of complaint, especially since Elizabeth had such a great time—but MY experience was NOT good, and they were asking me specifically to tell them what my experience was. So I did. It was very satisfying. Except that given their previously demonstrated lack of paperwork skillz, I’m certain they’ll misplace the results.
********
Summer continues to be pretty awful. I would say it is the worst summer of my child-bearing years so far. I keep having to play self-therapist: I’ll think “I hate my life” and then have to respond soothingly/reasonably with “No, no, you don’t hate your WHOLE LIFE, you just hate PARTS of THIS SUMMER. It’s going to be FINE.” I saw them setting up the back-to-school aisles at Target and nearly CRIED with happiness. (What do you mean, “What about next summer?” SHHHHHHHHHHH.)
perhaps send them ALL to sleepaway camp next summer?
I have difficulty with summers, too, for the opposite reason I loved them as a kid. Then I had fewer people making annoying demands on me in the summer and I had more time to read; now I have more people making annoying demands and less time to read. I find it gets better as the kids get older, though. What’s different this year for you this year? It is that the kids are in more activities?
Yes, mostly I think it’s just that there’s More Stuff. And the particular stuff we signed up for happens to mesh particularly poorly: two kids needing to be on opposite ends of town at the same time, for example, or 10 minutes between one activity and the next (with a change of clothes needed).
Oh, and I think there’s another thing: it’s that I THOUGHT, when I was setting it all up, that it was going to mean LOTS of peaceful time in the house. And then it has instead meant I spent huge chunks of day (1) driving or (2) watching the clock because I have to leave in twenty minutes to do more driving. So I think I feel ripped off, except I ripped MYSELF off: not only did _I_ set this all up, but ALSO it all COSTS ACTUAL MONEY.
Oh! I am immeasurably relieved that the guinea pig is a no-go. I wanted to be supportive, but the SMELL. Rodent-y, all the time, no matter how often the cage is cleaned. Ewwww.
Oh Swistle, I feel like I’m spending my summer in a mini-van that smells of McDonald’s french fries and despair. This has to be one of those child raising phases where it gets harder for a while and then much easier, right?
I’m sorry it’s an awful summer but I love that you said it out loud. I totally feel you. While we’ve had some nice vacation time and I don’t have to shuttle kids everywhere, I do feel like our non-vacation weeks have all been TOO BUSY for summer. One week, it was prepping for vacation. The next, it was prepping for a kid’s birthday. The next, it was doctor’s appointments. This week, it’s feeling pressure to buy school supplies right now. Argh.
Thank you for this, Swistle.
When a person has a baby, everyone always says it will get easier. However, nothing could have been easier than when my first baby was a newborn. The eating, sleeping, dressing and entertainment issues could not have been simpler. Now I would need a computer spreadsheet to keep track of everyone’s needs, wants, must-haves, and schedules. It is far beyond what I could have imagined.
I am not suited to being a mother of older kids and I am mourning that I will never have a baby again. You are the only person who speaks of these things and it helps to know that somewhere in the world Swistle is feeling similar “I hate my life” feelings. I never say it but that thought rolls around in my head a lot lately. I can’t look forward to school starting because, this year, it will just complicate things. Perhaps next year or the year after that……..
Once again, I agree with the commenters who share your pain and thank you for documenting this. I legit LOL’d at “a minivan [smelling] of french fries and despair.” In the spirit of that post-partum blog entry that listed a bunch of things that are SOMETIMES true for SOME people…MAYBE you will find comfort in knowing that, now that you’ve all been through one summer like this, there are all kinds of things within your control that you can do to make NEXT summer better. You have at least gathered tons of data points to assist with next year’s planning! ;)
I like to sing “I hate my life! I hate my life!” to the tune of “We want the Funk! We gotta have the Funk!” and it cheers me greatly.
If you live in/near a college town, you might consider hiring a child development major next summer as a part-time nanny. Of course you’d want references and so forth, and perhaps a few ride-alongs, but that person could ferry the children back and forth and assist with entertainment during home-time. I had a student (child studies major) who got hired to do that. I think the mom of the family who hired her went along on the first couple of pick ups/deliveries to help her with locations, etc. (and no doubt to observe her driving skills and her ability to concentrate on driving with kids in the car). My student LOVED the job. Just a thought…
I love how my brother put it when all our kids were this age. “we’re just rolling ATMs this summer, driving them around and handing out money”