Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summer 1980 called and said it's not making a comeback.

Look OP time moves on and things change. Not everything is going to be exactly the same as when you were a kid.

So now kids go to camp and aftershool activites. Are you going to just whine about your kid having no one to play with or anything to do or are you going to fix it?

And on the parties, sorry, but as a WOHM I wouldn't help you either. Why should I? You are at home all day and have a 10 yr old. I think planning a get together shouldn't tax your time. (but I would contribute monetarily or food wise)

Wow, not the OP but you are a mean selfish person that is what is all wrong with society today. She said she tried this years ago so her daughter must not have been 10 then and she obviously has younger ones too. You wouldn't help for a neighborhood event because you work? You think just because you work, you can must throw some money to the poor bored SAHM's and make them do everything, because obviously they just sit around all day? Please lady - SAHM work their asses off 24hrs a day for no money. And just because you decided to work, doesn't mean you can sit there and demean moms who don't make the same choice as you. I have worked and stayed at home and for me personally, staying at home was a lot harder and with 4 kids, I most certainly wouldn't have been able to plan, shop, set up and run an entire neighborhood party all on my own. Lugging 4 kids under 7 to the grocery store alone sucks. For you to say that, is unbelievable and is shows everything that is wrong with America. "Not my problem, someone else will do it."

So get off your snobby anti-social high horse and be a little nicer in your responses or don't say anything at all. People can come here and vent. This area does suck for kids. They are pushed around and structured like mini robots by their overachieving parents. DC Metro kids dont have their own minds and have zero street smarts. That is not the case in most of American and no where in Europe. It isn't 1900 people are looking for. That is such a cop out for driven feminist women. I am not particularly fond of the neighborhood I live in either so I can totally relate. I have lived here for 12 years and it has only gotten worse. Now that I work, I understand how tough it is to even have good neighbors, get involved at my older child's school and be around a lot, but I try to make that time and I would love the opportunity to help someone who is trying to get my neighborhood closer and friendlier. I refuse to ever say "Well I work, so you do it."

Look bitter SAHM, yeah, I do expect a SAHM with one child, a 10 yr old, to have the time to organize a simple get together in the neighborhood. I work 40+ hours a week, volunteer at school and scouts and organize get together for friends on occasion so if I can mange to do it I think a SAHM who is complaining about the unneighborly feel of her neighborhood should stop bitching and do something about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in AU park and know all of our neighbors extremely well to the degree that we have vacationed with some. We have block parties and bbqs and play dates.

However, most if not all of the kids are HIGHLY scheduled with sports and extracurriculars. My kids are 5 and 7 and all of their friends (with 2 working parents or 1) are in camp all summer long (except for the weeks when they'll be out of town on vacation). There is very little spontaneous play or just hanging out. The kids are too busy.

I makes me sort of sad. We've joined in with the camp rotation this summer because I didn't want my kids to be alone all summer long. I wish there were more kids around during the day.

This exactly us except we live in Chevy chase dc near the metro. After a few years of fighting the tide and trying to have "old fashioned" summers that are spontaneous, I gave up. My kids were -always- alone.

The school year is just as (pointlessly) structured around here. The striving parents won't admit it this way, but much of the enrichment scheduling is aimed at resume building. ie, unathletic indifferent kids playing 3 sports and playing two instruments.

Plus tutoring on Monday just because. No deficiency, mind you. Just getting that edge in math.

Anonymous wrote:We live in AU park and know all of our neighbors extremely well to the degree that we have vacationed with some. We have block parties and bbqs and play dates.

However, most if not all of the kids are HIGHLY scheduled with sports and extracurriculars. My kids are 5 and 7 and all of their friends (with 2 working parents or 1) are in camp all summer long (except for the weeks when they'll be out of town on vacation). There is very little spontaneous play or just hanging out. The kids are too busy.

I makes me sort of sad. We've joined in with the camp rotation this summer because I didn't want my kids to be alone all summer long. I wish there were more kids around during the day.

Anonymous wrote:We live in AU park and know all of our neighbors extremely well to the degree that we have vacationed with some. We have block parties and bbqs and play dates.

However, most if not all of the kids are HIGHLY scheduled with sports and extracurriculars. My kids are 5 and 7 and all of their friends (with 2 working parents or 1) are in camp all summer long (except for the weeks when they'll be out of town on vacation). There is very little spontaneous play or just hanging out. The kids are too busy.

I makes me sort of sad. We've joined in with the camp rotation this summer because I didn't want my kids to be alone all summer long. I wish there were more kids around during the day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summer 1980 called and said it's not making a comeback.

Look OP time moves on and things change. Not everything is going to be exactly the same as when you were a kid.

So now kids go to camp and aftershool activites. Are you going to just whine about your kid having no one to play with or anything to do or are you going to fix it?

And on the parties, sorry, but as a WOHM I wouldn't help you either. Why should I? You are at home all day and have a 10 yr old. I think planning a get together shouldn't tax your time. (but I would contribute monetarily or food wise)

Wow, not the OP but you are a mean selfish person that is what is all wrong with society today. She said she tried this years ago so her daughter must not have been 10 then and she obviously has younger ones too. You wouldn't help for a neighborhood event because you work? You think just because you work, you can must throw some money to the poor bored SAHM's and make them do everything, because obviously they just sit around all day? Please lady - SAHM work their asses off 24hrs a day for no money. And just because you decided to work, doesn't mean you can sit there and demean moms who don't make the same choice as you. I have worked and stayed at home and for me personally, staying at home was a lot harder and with 4 kids, I most certainly wouldn't have been able to plan, shop, set up and run an entire neighborhood party all on my own. Lugging 4 kids under 7 to the grocery store alone sucks. For you to say that, is unbelievable and is shows everything that is wrong with America. "Not my problem, someone else will do it."

So get off your snobby anti-social high horse and be a little nicer in your responses or don't say anything at all. People can come here and vent. This area does suck for kids. They are pushed around and structured like mini robots by their overachieving parents. DC Metro kids dont have their own minds and have zero street smarts. That is not the case in most of American and no where in Europe. It isn't 1900 people are looking for. That is such a cop out for driven feminist women. I am not particularly fond of the neighborhood I live in either so I can totally relate. I have lived here for 12 years and it has only gotten worse. Now that I work, I understand how tough it is to even have good neighbors, get involved at my older child's school and be around a lot, but I try to make that time and I would love the opportunity to help someone who is trying to get my neighborhood closer and friendlier. I refuse to ever say "Well I work, so you do it."

Look bitter SAHM, yeah, I do expect a SAHM with one child, a 10 yr old, to have the time to organize a simple get together in the neighborhood. I work 40+ hours a week, volunteer at school and scouts and organize get together for friends on occasion so if I can mange to do it I think a SAHM who is complaining about the unneighborly feel of her neighborhood should stop bitching and do something about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summer 1980 called and said it's not making a comeback.

Look OP time moves on and things change. Not everything is going to be exactly the same as when you were a kid.

So now kids go to camp and aftershool activites. Are you going to just whine about your kid having no one to play with or anything to do or are you going to fix it?

And on the parties, sorry, but as a WOHM I wouldn't help you either. Why should I? You are at home all day and have a 10 yr old. I think planning a get together shouldn't tax your time. (but I would contribute monetarily or food wise)

Wow, not the OP but you are a mean selfish person that is what is all wrong with society today. She said she tried this years ago so her daughter must not have been 10 then and she obviously has younger ones too. You wouldn't help for a neighborhood event because you work? You think just because you work, you can must throw some money to the poor bored SAHM's and make them do everything, because obviously they just sit around all day? Please lady - SAHM work their asses off 24hrs a day for no money. And just because you decided to work, doesn't mean you can sit there and demean moms who don't make the same choice as you. I have worked and stayed at home and for me personally, staying at home was a lot harder and with 4 kids, I most certainly wouldn't have been able to plan, shop, set up and run an entire neighborhood party all on my own. Lugging 4 kids under 7 to the grocery store alone sucks. For you to say that, is unbelievable and is shows everything that is wrong with America. "Not my problem, someone else will do it."

So get off your snobby anti-social high horse and be a little nicer in your responses or don't say anything at all. People can come here and vent. This area does suck for kids. They are pushed around and structured like mini robots by their overachieving parents. DC Metro kids dont have their own minds and have zero street smarts. That is not the case in most of American and no where in Europe. It isn't 1900 people are looking for. That is such a cop out for driven feminist women. I am not particularly fond of the neighborhood I live in either so I can totally relate. I have lived here for 12 years and it has only gotten worse. Now that I work, I understand how tough it is to even have good neighbors, get involved at my older child's school and be around a lot, but I try to make that time and I would love the opportunity to help someone who is trying to get my neighborhood closer and friendlier. I refuse to ever say "Well I work, so you do it."

Anonymous wrote:Hm. For me one of the key themes of this thread is the growing burden of being a working mom. I don't know about others, but it takes every drop of strength that I have to cope with my 10hr days plus commute, get food on the table, comfort, listen, help with homework, baths, make lunches, finish dishes, plan the next day, catch up on work email that has come in during the home shift... If I get 15 minutes of downtime for myself, it's a rare night. Weekends are packed with as much kid time as possible, chores, and work (so I can get out by 6 during the week).

Now, before you say I should not have such a time-consuming job, well, it wasn't intended to be that way. And it was not like this ten years ago. But the recession changed a lot of things for those of us lucky enough to keep our jobs. I was a SAHM for a few years, and a big-time volunteer, party organizer-a lot like OP, fighting to build a community. However, i went back to work when I realized it was now or never find a job in my field again. Just as well, as DH was then out of work for some time. Now we both work, and there is not much respite. Golden handcuffs, if you will.

Our neighborhood is indeed a ghost town. And I am part of the reason. But the thought of organizing a block party makes me weep. The only way I can imagine being back in a Norman Rockville world is to uproot us all, sell the home and reestablish somewhere totally different.

Anonymous wrote:Summer 1980 called and said it's not making a comeback.

Look OP time moves on and things change. Not everything is going to be exactly the same as when you were a kid.

So now kids go to camp and aftershool activites. Are you going to just whine about your kid having no one to play with or anything to do or are you going to fix it?

And on the parties, sorry, but as a WOHM I wouldn't help you either. Why should I? You are at home all day and have a 10 yr old. I think planning a get together shouldn't tax your time. (but I would contribute monetarily or food wise)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in AU park and know all of our neighbors extremely well to the degree that we have vacationed with some. We have block parties and bbqs and play dates.

However, most if not all of the kids are HIGHLY scheduled with sports and extracurriculars. My kids are 5 and 7 and all of their friends (with 2 working parents or 1) are in camp all summer long (except for the weeks when they'll be out of town on vacation). There is very little spontaneous play or just hanging out. The kids are too busy.

I makes me sort of sad. We've joined in with the camp rotation this summer because I didn't want my kids to be alone all summer long. I wish there were more kids around during the day.

This exactly us except we live in Chevy chase dc near the metro. After a few years of fighting the tide and trying to have "old fashioned" summers that are spontaneous, I gave up. My kids were -always- alone.

The school year is just as (pointlessly) structured around here. The striving parents won't admit it this way, but much of the enrichment scheduling is aimed at resume building. ie, unathletic indifferent kids playing 3 sports and playing two instruments.

Plus tutoring on Monday just because. No deficiency, mind you. Just getting that edge in math.