Today is a public holiday here in Aus (a weird extra one on a Thursday for the queen).
I just attempted to take my 3 "D"C (11, 7, 2) to a local park. Nothing fancy, like 15 mins drive away. Interesting wildlife, nice nature playground. I packed water, biscuits, fruit. Choice of scooter and buggy for youngest. Thought I'd covered all the good mum bases.
Fuck me, it was MISERABLE. Each child took turns to whinge, claim illness, have a tantrum, be angry, get violent, cry on repeat. Oh and boss me around about how I was doing such a shit job and everyone was hating every minute of it ...soooooo much of that.
By the time we got home - after aborting the planned cafe at the end because things were getting really feral in the back seat and I couldn't face the humiliation - all of us were in tears.
This isn't how a short family trip to the park should be right? Are we somehow a fundamentally failed family? Why can't we enjoy a nice simple trip together??? And how the hell does anyone avoid turning into awful shouty mum under this kind of non stop torture?
Worst of all, we are booked to go to a family camping resort a VERY long drive away in a couple of weeks. How the fuck are we going to d this? The thought of it fills me with dread and it's meant to be a holiday.