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June 2nd, 2005

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Okay, so we’re really still in spring, but with the schools shutting down for break, it sure feels like summer around here.

Last Thursday #4 graduated from pre-school. Had a cute, if not silly, cap and gown ceremony, complete with the walk to get his big-boy diploma. :party: Friday morning he woke up and got ready for kindergarten. He sure was bummed to find out he had to wait aaallllll summer long before he could actually start. Today is the last day of 7th grade for #1. #2 and #3 finish up next Thursday.

With all four monsters out of school for 9 weeks, it’s time to set up a new schedule around here. One that doesn’t include 5:30am wake-ups and 6 trips a day to schools. I need to keep them occupied and happy so when it comes to my writing time, I can have it undisturbed. Yeah, right!

#3 will be leaving for a week of NFL football camp in two weeks. #1 will go the first week of July to Standford girls soccer camp for competetive players. #2 has a week long over-night horse camp. #2 and #4 will stay a week at grandma’s while I’m in Reno at the end of July. Other than that, I’ve been laxed on setting things up for them to do. No swim lessons. No local day camps–not that my now teen is into any of that. She just wants to hang with her friends. :dance:

But lack of plans for them spells big-time trouble for me. When, oh, when will I have writing time if I always have them under foot? How will I manage long, hot days when the sun lingers until after 9:30 and the monsters don’t settle down until well after 10:00? Evening writing will be shot, unless I can muster the energy to stay up till the wee-hours of the morn. I’ve done that before, and it works. Just not after a day of swimming or monster fight-break-ups because they’ve been known to do that when they get bored.

Remember I said no more 5:30am wake-ups? I think I lied. If I want to get any writing done this summer–any work done at all–I’m going to have to get up early and get it done before the monsters have a chance to gather their let-do-something-fun-today Momma please chant.

I’ve been thinking about making a deal with them. I have deadlines and just can’t blow off writing while entertaining my monsters for the next 9 weeks. Can’t happen. So, I’ve decided to offer them some bribes. I know, bad parenting :naughty:, but it’s the bribes or I start :beer:

I think it may work. I get to work in the mornings. #1 is old enough to act as supervisor so I can be with my PC. Unless someone is bleeding or dying, cartoons and videos will work for them. If they manage to leave me alone, then we’ll do lunch and do something FUN in the afternoon. So if I can find entertaining things that will be good for #1–#4, I’ll be all set. Do you think it’ll work?

For those of you with children or who have your schedules messed with during the sizzling days of summer, how do you manage to stay on task? How do you get your writing done when so many other things are pulling and begging for your attention? Do any of you who have mastered it have any advice?:pray:

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 2nd, 2005 at 12:04 am and is filed under Guest Musings, by RENEE LUKE. You can feed this entry. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

4 Responses to “Summer. Summer. Summer…”

Suzanne says:

6/2/2005 at 1:23 pm

Ha. I haven’t figured this out. What I do in the summer is just write fewer hours per day. I don’t even try to keep the same schedule. It’s only a couple of months out of the year, and they’re only little for a short time.
Renee says:

6/2/2005 at 10:42 am

Thanks Kacey. Positive reinforcements does sound tons better. I’ll think some up and positively reinforce them to give me the morning time to write

Larissa, with four kids always on the go, I have found a way to work with small chunks of time. Still, it is so much harder to get a nice amount of writing done while the kids are pestering…maybe you should try the positive reinforments, too. I think Kacey is onto something. :clap:
Larissa says:

6/2/2005 at 9:10 am

I haven’t mastered it, and I’m SO not on task. I really, really need to get something working, because I’m not the kind to work with small chunks of time.
kacey says:

6/2/2005 at 5:46 am

I always liked to call them Positive Reinforcements, not bribes… It just sounded more…um, parenty

I’d say go for the morning plan and see how it works for you. And stock up on *positive reinforcement* ideas :party: