Kids are 13 and 15. And once high school started for the older one and MS for Kid 2, I had to readjust my expectations. One is in marching band and winter drum line and competes every other weekend. The other one debates and ends up competing the week my marcher doesn't. Plus other activities. And group projects. Etc.

Summers we do a fair amount of Wolftrap lawn seat or spending time outdoors type things. But school year? We all need the downtime more than the doing stuff time.

So, now I find a 3-4 hour block of time each month with nothing scheduled, and everyone must show up, and must be nice about it. I take requests and suggestions for activities. . And if I don't get them, I choose, and we... go see something at the Kennedy Center, go to the HIVE at the Building Museum, go for a longer, but fun dinner. Go to Top Golf.

More than once a month? Never gonna happen. It only happens as often as it does because it has dawned on me. That I only have three years left with both kids at home.

Sports today, homework tomorrow. Pretty much the story every weekend.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed by all this perfectness? Piano playing? Hiking together? Deep talks at farmers market?

You want a real answer... here you go.

My teen wakes up at 1pm and goes to the basement to binge watch something. I bring him "breakfast".

Around 5pm he comes up from the basement and says are we doing anything today. Sometimes we are going to a cookout, sometimes not.

If I say we are going somewhere he showers and we go.
If I say we are not going anywhere he asks if I will order Chinese and we watch a movie together.

I go to bed at 9 and he plays video games until midnight.

This sounds about right. I have twins starting high school at the end of the month. Both play competitive club and school sports and are in scouting during the school year. This summer in between MS and HS, they went to a few sports camps. My DD and I took a mother daughter trip to a second home we have. My DS and DH took a trip with DS Boy Scout troop. Besides some summer work, they have mostly relaxed. DD watches a lot of Netflix and DS plays video games. I get to relax too. DS sleeps until 11:00 a.m. DD gets up early to take her dog out and will get back in bed afterwards unless she has performance training and open gym for her sport.

When I was 14 and 15, I would do activities with my synagogue's youth group. At 16, I got my drivers license and started dating.

What do I do?

I complain about the state of his room.

I nag him about homework.

Sometimes I help with physics.

I drive him to sports.

We go to the supermarket and pick up snacks for him to eat with his friends.

Occasionally I say "how was your day?" And he says "fine".

We watch game of thrones.