School Vacations
The idea of a week off is great, until you are a parent who also has to work and your child needs constant entertainment
Vacation all I ever wanted, Vacation had to get away…
The mindset has shifted from BoP (Before Only Parenting), now what used to be something I look forward to now is crippling anxiety.
I love that I get to spend so much time with my son, he is the best and I honestly would not change a single thing about him. But if this kid doesn’t leave me the fuck alone I am going to send him to work for Nike. This is my first year of dealing with school vacations, in previous years preschool would just operate during the school breaks so I didn’t worry about these logistics.
During February I was fortunate enough to be able to take my son to visit my parents who live in a warmer climate during the winter months. But in April I was faced with 3 real options, fly to visit my parents again (not trying to be political but the cost of gas made flying impossible right now), I could pay $700 for vacation camp or try and manage working from home and entertain my wild kindergartener. My issue with these vacation camps is they operate from 10-3, like who is that for? Also I already have to pay a nanny 2 days a week when I have to go to the office so the idea of spending $1000 just to work for a week made we want to eat bullets for breakfast.
Some things we have done:
The public library- these aren’t just for homeless people to watch porn. Ours in town has kid activities and toys so I can do some work for a couple hours and he’s entertained.
The YMCA- We have a membership here and they offer free babysitting so I can sit in the lobby area and take some calls while he is played with by some high school kids and other kids whose parents need moments of reprieve.
The Y in general is great, they usually have discount for single parent homes and we go at least once a week so I can sit in the sauna in peace while he hangs with the other kids.
Play Dates- These have become so critical in my life, finding parents who are cool letting my son go over to their house. I will usually repay them with pizza or some wine. Again giving me 2-4 hours to work without someone asking me when I am done is helpful, plus it lets my son play with his friends. Also people genuinely feel bad for the single parent so sometimes I will lean into it so I can get some free child care
The Arcade- Over the last 2 years we have gone so many times, too many times really. And we always leave with a few dollars on the card, so I combined all those cards and we had $40 worth of credits….that killed 20 minutes. But he talked about it all day so his day was made and he didn’t mind I had nothing else planned after lunch.
It would have been an easier week if the weather wasn’t cold and rainy but we did a lot of crafts inside too, since he is used to me working he understands when Dad has the earbuds in then he can’t talk to me or come on camera.
I hope that him witnessing me working makes him a hard worker and not something he brings up in therapy in 15 years. I wish I could take him away every school vacation but being the only parent in the room means you have 1 income and until someone wants to start paying to see my dad bod naked thats all we will have.
To everyone trying to survive spring school vacation…You will get through this, your kids will love you and remember the moments they had fun with you no matter how much you could give them.
At least this is what I am telling myself every morning.
Until next week,
— Adam · The Only Parent in the Room