Weekends

[Coldwinterahead1]

I was dreading this weekend, kids activities cancelled etc but it's been a revelation so far. Yesterday we managed to have a lay in with toast in bed, got up finished all homework by 11am, cooked a hot meal for lunch, went for a walk, came home did all the housework and sat and watched a film In the evening with a "party tea" today instead of rushing about we are walking in the woods and then home to do whatever we like, no drama of doing housework or homework, I'm looking forward to ironing and rewatching Cranford this afternoon. I could honestly have every weekend like this.

Absolutely no way.

If it works for you do it. Slightly beyond me why you need people to be banned from meeting friends, kids stopped doing things they love (and often in sports have worked really hard at) just so you can have a quiet day.

Learn from it and make sure you have a quiet day every weekend if it works for your family that is what freedom is about.

@SheridansSmyth

No. By and large I haven’t minded staying in for Covid, but my kids are early teens. They are cadets who would have had a whole weekend of meaningful activities planned supporting veterans and being part of Remembrance Services. I also have another one who plays sports at county level as part of a league. Today I feel quite sad about it all. They are old enough to know and feel like they have lost almost a year of activities they love and it is starting to take its toll on them emotionally too...

Same here, gutted to be missing it.

My one teen is on his Third period of self isolation since September. This has a massive impact on family life.
We're all swamped at work in the week and have a small garden.

@FortunesFave

I always wonder what these "activities" people on MN seem to book in for their kids so much actually ARE!

The day OP describes is pretty much how we've always lived...apart from one class per week for each DD (gymnastics and dance) that's all we do!

Same here!

Refused to rush about doing "activities" when mine were little.
Its exhausting for them.
Friday night fish and chips, shopping at market town on Sat, gardening, baking,walk on the beach.

I have enjoyed this weekend with the warm sunshine immensely, I doubt we can look forward to crispy sunny weekends all over the winter though.

I seriously miss my friends, and would love a house full of friends and children to enjoy the fireworks as we would normally do! Love the organised displays at this time of year usually, and miss them terribly.

We are making the best of it though - had fire pit lit last night, bbq and fireworks last night at home. A few glasses of wine, it was fun. Prefer normal life to this one on the whole though - if we didn't have such lovely friends then the lockdown wouldn't change very much at this time of year. As we hunker down in the winter usually anyway - and scale back commitments.

The great news is that you don't need a lockdown in order to streamline your life. It is actually optional.

DS2 loves football. He hasn't played properly since March... well actually a year because this time last year we had flooding and the ground was unplayable so they had to play in the small school hall over the winter. His football classes did not resume in September. I could sign him up to clubs, but it's just too dominating on family life, so I haven't and it would cost DS2 and DS1 in other activities.

Gosh how I miss the community and camardarie of parkrun. And it was casual, so no booking of Saturdays and Sundays for ever more and no letting anyone down (unless I committed on the RD/volunteer roster, but I had choice on when to put myself forwards)
I miss turning up to a splash session at the swimming pool when the weather was pants.
A phonecall to meet with friends at a National Trust garden with 2 hours notice.

Yesterday's walk was nice but fucking hell it's worn thin every bloody weekend for close to 8 months.

Sewing same! Visits to the park, shopping and cafe, playgroup once a week when they were under school age. Beach in the summer...

No I hate it, I don't have young DC to entertain but the lack of opportunities makes life very dull, I work in retail and love the busy weekends . I've been furloughed again, my DH hasn't, he WFH but hates it if he can't get out and about at the weekends, his life seems very monotonous (yes, obviously appreciate that he's very lucky to have a job etc etc).
I quite like being at home on my own but not with a grumpy DH . The only good thing about this weekend was two very long walks yesterday.
And after nearly 8 months of board games and cards most evenings I am utterly fed up with 'cosy night in'.
This is the first year we haven't been to a Remembrance Service and watching on TV is not nearly the same.

It’s ok because the weather is nice. But I miss my friends and my kids miss their activities. When the weather turns it’s going to be rough.

The point is though if it’s made you realise that you didn’t enjoy your old routine you can change it.

That's all lovely if you have a family, when you are a single mum with a dd with ASD it's a very different story !!

We shielded from March to August, so got pretty used to weekends with all 3 at home (dds 14 and 13 and ds 10). We are back to shielding ds (who has medical vulnerabilities and complex needs as the result of a genetic condition) so he is home from school, but we are going to go for some remote days out this time round.

I think our expectations have lowered to be honest!

This is such a nice post OP.
I was just thinking the same! My kids are 4 months & nearly 2 years. I’m having a guilt free lay in after a difficult night with the baby whilst DH has the kids downstairs, it’s nice we don’t have to be or go anywhere so I can rest.
Parks still open for toddler, he’s quite happy out on a dog walk or mucking about in The garden, which we are lucky to have I guess.

@Lemonpink88

This is such a nice post OP. I was just thinking the same! My kids are 4 months & nearly 2 years. I’m having a guilt free lay in after a difficult night with the baby whilst DH has the kids downstairs, it’s nice we don’t have to be or go anywhere so I can rest. Parks still open for toddler, he’s quite happy out on a dog walk or mucking about in The garden, which we are lucky to have I guess.

But why can’t you do that anyway? That sort of weekend is available to you 52 weeks a year, every year. Why does it take a national lockdown for you to have a quiet weekend, if that’s what you want?

My kids have never done activities at the weekend so our weekends are not much different, both of them have ASD so we tend to avoid busy places and shops anyway. Luckily we live in the countryside so can walk, go down the river or into the woods. Yesterday we had a lazy day at home.

No. We have been doing that for 8 months, it got old about 5 months ago. Haven't got money or car to do anything else, older kids don't want to do much except screen and toddler is not yet at an age where we can be spontaneous.

Aw sounds lovely and all it took was total devastation of the economy and multiple job losses for you to realise you sometimes like a lie in

@BogRollBOGOF you're so right about being able to do things without much notice. I miss being able to say 'let's go swimming today' and just turn up, or 'let's take DD to the trampoline park' (without booking!). I can't see that being back to normal in ages.

Having the choice to have a lazy weekend with nothing to do except stay at home or go for a wee walk in the park is entirely different to being forced into it by there being bugger all else to do and having zero choice.

But why can’t you do that anyway? That sort of weekend is available to you 52 weeks a year, every year. Why does it take a national lockdown for you to have a quiet weekend, if that’s what you want?

Its called reevaluation
We are bombarded with buy me, buy this and do this, your DC must have/ do this messages constantly.
Whats wrong with the OP considering her life and making changes which are positive?
Millions of people have done it.

I thought going for a family walk was an activity!

I've always needed at least one quiet day a week. My job is full on and I find if I don't have a pottering day, bits of housework, maybe a nap, just a day of not being 'on' all the time, I struggle with exhaustion in the week.

This is totally dependent on having older teens though, when the children were little we did the ballet on Sat morning, lunch with friends type thing.

I've never gone away though or had really active weekends when I'm working my current job, I have friends who do and I'm in awe of their energy but it's not ever been for me.

I don't know how people enjoy doing nothing.

This weekend should have been rehearsals for DD pantomime and DS would have had football training on Friday night and a game yesterday morning.

DH is working away til the end of the month so am completely alone. Seeing friends at the DC activities is my interaction. We've booked into a NT place today. Hopefully I can speak to a deer...

I thought most people spent their weekends like this anyway.

Ferrying your kids round to activities and birthday parties all weekend certainly wasn't something my parents did when I was growing up.

We are bombarded with buy me, buy this and do this, your DC must have/ do this messages constantly

But they aren't compulsory. You'd only act on the 'buy/do this' messages if you wanted to, wouldn't you?

Or are people really going out and buying/doing all these things that are currently unavailable against their will .

Having the choice to have a lazy weekend with nothing to do except stay at home or go for a wee walk in the park is entirely different to being forced into it by there being bugger all else to do and having zero choice.

Absolutely

I enjoy quiet family weekends but that's mostly what we've had since March and I am now really missing going out for something special like a theatre trip, a party, seeing a concert etc.

We've stayed very cautious throughout and haven't done much socialising or anything other than outdoor activities. It does seem rather endless right now and without much happiness to look forward to.

We are bombarded with buy me, buy this and do this, your DC must have/ do this messages constantly

Doesn’t mean you have to do it though.
Honestly I’m just shocked at home many people have apparently spent years doing things they don’t want to do, and it takes a national lockdown for them to ‘re-evaluate’ and decide they like a lie in and a nice walk.