Pixie Hollow has cast its spell on Ambrosia
Activities Director Wanted IMMEDIATELY
Parents, are you ready for your kids to go back to school yet? I have to admit, that first week of having my kid home for the summer is a killer, what with adjusting routines and arranging enough activities to keep the little one amused and – try as mightily as I might – less annoying!
Ambrosia is at the age where she is ready to embark on the ‘can-I-help’ stage. She sincerely wants to pitch in and get involved with the daily upkeep around the house. Hey, that’s supposed to be a good thing, isn’t it? The trouble is, she’s still too small to be of any real use. Chores take twice as long because of the instructions and ENDLESS explanations about what to do, how to do it and especially… altogether now, parents of 6-7 year olds – WHY? (God, I’m praying this phase passes quickly)
I’m not talking about the WHY phase that a 3-4 year old passes through. Those kids are curious. They’re learning.
NOPE! The 6-7 year old’s ‘why’ – at least with Ambrosia – has a tinge of challenge as in, “Why do we have to do it THAT way? Heck, WHY do we even have to do it at all?” Although I lose count, I think that somewhere around the 1,300th WHY of the morning (as in BEFORE lunch time) I start to question my sanity. By the time Maggie gets home from work in the afternoon, I’m usually reduced to jittery-jabbering idiocy, complete with uncontrollable body twitches, facial tics and a neurotic giggle.
Nine More Weeks of THIS?
OK, so I exaggerate a bit. It usually takes me a whole week to display those symptoms. Like I mentioned, the first week of summer is all about trying to find a balance. Hey, I’ve got my own work to do, too you know. During the school year, I’ve got the house to myself for a full seven very BLESSED hours (you don’t realize what you’ve got ’til it’s gone!) Now I have to find a way to not only get my own work done, but to include and involve the little one as much as possible and/or see to it that she has enough to do to keep her from hounding me with her incessant, “What do I get to do now, Russy?”
Last night, Maggie – sensing my desperation – sat down with Ambrosia and made her write out a list of favorite activities. Mind you, the one that she wrote at the top of the list, “Play Pixie Hollow on the computer” could easily occupy and amuse the little monkey all day. In fact, when Ambrosia was invited to a play-date with her absolute favorite former babysitter yesterday, she actually paused for a moment to consider whether she wanted to go out or not, fearing she would lose her precious computer time.
Immediately Ambrosia started plying me with questions about when she HAD to go; when she could come back; WHY she HAD to stay so long; etc. She even asked me if she could come home earlier than arranged. Just a month or two ago, merely the mention of going to play with this person would have had Ambrosia scraping the ceiling. I was truly stunned to see her tiny shoulders slump in reluctance to visit with her beloved ‘Mommy Ruth’ and good friend Elise.
Side Bar: Can you say ‘Computer Addiction’? Where, oh where, do kids get this habit of sitting in front of a little screen all day long? Hey, don’t look at me like that! This is what I do for WORK!
Funny thing; that’s what Ambrosia calls her time on Pixie Hollow – it’s her WORK! I kid you not, that’s what she tells Maggie and I. Oh, my!
So, nine more weeks of THIS? I don’t think so! One week into my new summer gig and I’m ready to hand the reins over to a new activities director. And that’s where Maggie stepped in, relieving me of my falsely perceived duties and handing the responsibility right over to where it belongs… Ambrosia!
The List That Saved My Sanity
Not only did Maggie make the kid come up with her own list of activities, she made her do it in her BEST handwriting. It took a couple of tries to get Ambrosia to completely OWN the process. Oh yes, it was one of those nights. As usual, Maggie persevered… AND WON! You can tell she has experience with this sort of thing, having to manage people and delegate tasks at her job all day long. I’m constantly in awe of her skill in coming up with the simple and RIGHT solution.
How do I know it’s the right solution? OK, it’s only the first day of implementation, but so far the little kid hasn’t bugged me once about what she gets to do next. That’s not to say she hasn’t bugged me at all! I can expect that to happen when… what’s that term again, “when hell freezes over”. Yup, the little kid has an awesome arsenal of annoying and aggravating approaches to driving Mr. Russy completely banana wackies!
Be that as it may, here is The List of activities that Ambrosia came up with all on her own: (click on the picture for a larger view)
As far as keeping herself amused, ‘The List’ has been a relief from boredom for Ambrosia. Of course, your kids are unique so the list that will keep them out from under your feet, off your back and out of your head will be completely different.
As for that last benefit of keeping them out of your head, one thing I can tell you is that The List has also saved ME from taking a one-way trip to the insane asylum. You KNOW I’ve gotta Love That Feeling! 
Hi Russ,
You are a hoot!!!!!!!!!!!! That brought back a lot of memories for me, but I have to say, you are a lot like Cie…..no patience for the little children who will in fact take you down on a daily basis IF you let them. When I was not a working girl we did a lot of Stevies’ Pond…..swimming lesssons and all….. AFTER all the chores were done. So on a daily basis everyone knew what the rules were and what had to be done BEFORE we could leave. It just worked for me and everyone always had a swell time. Loved your story though. Thanks for the smiles.
Hey Jackie;
OK, so you caught me exaggerating… again (although I have to tell you, by the end of the week, truly…) LOL
Actually, Ambrosia and I just got through making dinner – chicken salad with fresh baked chicken breasts. (Can you tell we’re high-rise city dwellers – no barbecue!)
We raced through our morning routine: Up at 7:00; breakfast; see Maggie off to work – we walk her down to the underground parking; piano practice, reading and math summer ‘homework’ just to keep in shape. There’s a snack time at 10:00 AM; then I go to my office to do my writing while Ambrosia goes to ‘work’ on Pixie Hollow until lunch at 12:00.
After lunch, we take the elevator down to the lobby to check the mail and then walk the floors criss-cross style all the way back up to the 23rd! That’s our exercise for this week until Ambrosia is cleared by the allergy specialist this Thursday. Last week she broke out in a nasty rash. Her face was full of large red blotches and her arms and body were covered with red dots. She was told to avoid direct sunlight as well as a battery of the usual high allergic foods until her test. Therefore, we’re housebound for this week!
Otherwise, we’d be out and about exploring the woods right next to our building or swimming in the wading pool across the street at the Scarborough Town Center – also a HUGE shopping mall.
Overall, Ambrosia really is a great kid and usually (USUALLY) well-behaved. Yes, Russy is a little short on patience with her sometimes (OK, a little more than sometimes, sometimes). She just has SO MUCH energy while poor old Russy now only has just so much energy, if you know what I mean.
Hey, it’s ALL good. This blog lets me get my inept-dad experience out in the open where it might actually do someone else some good! It’s nice for other people to know that they are NOT alone in this insane world of bringing up kids!
As always, thanks for your participation and contribution. I Love That Feeling!
P.S. Thanks for the memories of summer at Stevie’s Pond! Oh, bring back the days when the kids just went out to play. Doesn’t happen without parent supervision here in the big city!
Once again, Russ, you entertained me with your writing! I had my eight year old grandson for 4 whole days this week. I caught myself wondering how I made it through raising my own children. Amazingly, they all survived. Then I remembered how I did it. Terrible as this may sound, when they desired my undivided attention, I put them to work. Noah this week, helped with tearing down an old building, detailing the pickup truck, and sanding the front deck. He enjoyed every minute of the time we spent together, especially after the work was finished! Thank you for the engaging post!