I was sitting with Izzy on our stoop as she loves to do.
The woman was riding her bike but on the street. So she stopped in the street since she was so far from me and yelled, "how are you both holding up?" I told her we were fine.
"What about you and the kids?"
She said, "I'm out alone as you can see" with a big laugh.
She said that she and her husband take 30 minutes to an hour to ride a bike or do something 100% alone to keep their sanity.
They have an 11, 9 and 7 year old. The 7 yr old is the only girl.
She told me that she and her husband have come up with a few things that have been keeping them occupied and so far it's working.
They are in school per se - online that is. School being canceled for the year they must still do some school work.
Last week they told them to either 1. put on a play. 2 act out a scene from your favorite movie or tv show or 3. make up a show of your own.
The rules were all 3 had to work together. No fighting and they could use whatever they wanted as long as they asked first. This was after their school work was done as well.
Friday night she made popcorn and she and her husband sat on the sofa and the play began. The 7 yr was unhappy about having to be the "girl" in the show. I said, "but she is the girl" Her mom rolled her eyes and said I know. They asked if they could use this set of sheets and I said as long as they are not cut. They used it as a backdrop. They had costumes and the whole nine yards. She told me that kept them busy for the week for a few hours a day. When she heard fighting begin she told them to do something else, like school work or go to their own rooms for a while.
This week they are all given the task of making dinner for one night. Her husband told them he suggested they watch the food network and learn some things. OH MY GOD. She said the meals will begin on Wednesday. It must be with the ingredients they can find in their pantry. If not Mom would make this be like Chopped. I guess they are all talking smack to one another about who is going to like who's meal better. This ought to be good.
Again, clever ways to keep the kids occupied.
Also she told me that her husband has decided that they need to know what Loony Tunes are. So he is making them watch Road Runner and Bugs Bunny. The oldest thought it was lame at first and now he's into it. She said there was a lot of, "Dad this is so old fashioned" He even did Natasha and Boris from Bullwinkle. They liked that one. She said they groan when their father says something but I can tell they all love every minute of watching what they call Dads cartoons. The little girl has adopted Natasha's accent and it annoys her brothers so she does it a great deal. Figures right?
We yelled back and forth for a long time and then off she went.
It was so nice to hear someone say something positive for a change.
Her family was making the best of a very bad situation in such a nice way.
These kids will never forget this time with their parents.
We never had a pandemic but some of my best memories were from times like this with my mom and dad. With my mom it was always reading, baking and stuff that she liked to do that she shared with me. I keep those close to me it's all I have of her. Someday these children will have the same and they will never ever look at Bugs Bunny the same way again!
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Your virus meme of the day.
14 comments:
No child in America should grow up without Bugs Bunny.
You haven't lived a complete childhood without trying the "Rabbit Season/Duck Season gambit."
I call that creative parenting. Well done.
Bludude...you mean wabbit season.😄
When this is all over there are a lot of families who will take away some great memories.
Oh, how my sister and I loved Looney Tunes. So many memorable cartoon characters. Those parents are doing such a great job ~ if you see her again, ask her how it went. I sometimes watch competitions on Food network with kids, and they are fearless and inventive! Should be great ~ if it's edible :-)
My neighborhood is like a ghost town. No one is outside much, but you walk up to the park we have up the street, and people are all over the place.
Yvonne, apparently he was indoctrinated to Looney Tunes by his father (who is probably my age) I thought it was great. As for the food that should be a hoot. When the middle kid said he was making pizza cuz it was easy she asked him how he was making his shell. She said he never thought of that and ran to look up how to make a pizza crust. This should be fun and hopefully edible.
Anonymous - I think there will be 3 things - great memories, a lot of divorces and a lot of pregnancies when this is over.
OH and Yvonne - why are people all in the park - that is not social distancing!!! We are seeing TONS of people that are all out walking dogs, just walking, riding bikes etc. It's funny how many people we are seeing while sitting on our stoop. :-)
Gotta love those parents. They are making the best of a really bad situation. Those kids may even learn to like eachother. I like the parents are also scheduling alone time. I kind of fear for the families who don't.
That is great. Smart parents and I also love that they give themselves that alone time.
haha and now?
Scott is still going to work every day so we have that normal. Only Trevor and I here all day. I've started going for a little walk with the dogs but they are fat and old so I took them too far yesterday and they were hurting. Maybe just a small walk with them today and then drop them off and keep going lol
Got a good chuckle out of that meme. That sounds like a lot of fun for those kids and a lot of good memories. Hopefully she'll ride by again so you can ask how dinner went. My sister and I once made a fancy dinner by candlelight for my parents and then I provided the after dinner entertainment by singing while wearing an old evening dress of my Mom's. Will have to ask my sister if she remembers that.
"He even did Natasha and Boris from Bullwinkle."
I haven't thought about those two for quite a while.
Sounds like those parents are doing a great job! And the policy that each of them gets away for alone time is brilliant.
That was a throw-back. Great idea the parents came up with. This story lifted my spirits.
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