The Weekly Roundup

Forced Family Fun/ Restaurant Toys with Teens?/ Sleep-away Camp/ What I'm Reading and more.

I am sitting down this morning after a very full weekend of sun, beach, packing the cooler, unpacking the cooler, rinse, repeat. This was the first sunny weekend here in Boston and we needed it!!

My oldest is freshly home from his freshman year of college, and having all three kids in our home, leaving crumbs, piles of shoes, and wet towels everywhere feels like the best kind of rich I could ever ask for. I love a full house more than anything.

Forced Family Fun

I did have a tiny tantrum this weekend (maybe not that tiny?). It was Saturday mid-morning. The girls were emerging from their rooms, rooting around for breakfast, grunting good mornings. Nate, my oldest, back from a casual 13-mile training run, leaning over the counter, half petting the dog who was licking salty sweat off his leg, and half texting his friends.

First, I asked my sixteen-year-old, “Wanna take the pups to the beach for a little while?”

Negative. She went back upstairs with her coffee and her muffin to scroll her phone.

“Nate, can you come with me to exercise the dogs for a half-hour?”

Negative. He already came with me this week and wanted to take a shower and run some errands for his upcoming trip with friends.

“Sloane, let’s go to the beach with the dogs. They are whining for a swim.”

“Nope! Can’t, mom. T is on her way over and we are walking to CVS to get pool noodles for the beach.”

My husband and I looked at each other and he offered to tag along, but I already felt the annoyance bubbling over.

“You know what? I am not asking. I am telling. You guys can all give me thirty minutes. Forced family trip to the dog beach. Everyone meet there in fifteen minutes.”

I felt the eye rolls, I heard the muttering. I felt a little sheepish, tbh. But when I announce a forced family fun moment, they know I mean business.

And so, fifteen minutes later, everyone was down at the beach — dogs happily splashing, swimming, and fetching their favorite toy. Nate and Dave shooting the breeze, Sloane and her bestie dipping their toes in, and me and Ruby plucking cloudy, smooth pieces of sea glass off the rocky beach. I only mandated thirty minutes from my brood. They had places to be and jobs to report to. But I am really glad I pushed the issue. Everyone had fun, and then we all went our separate ways to enjoy the rest of the weekend. If you want to know more about “forced family fun” I wrote a full post here.

I am getting ready to pack up my youngest, thirteen, for a month at sleepaway camp with her best friend. This is her third summer, and she’s been counting down the days. Me, on the other hand? I haven’t packed a single thing for her. I do this to myself every year. I stress about it and still, I wait until the last second. At some point I will stop stressing and accept that this is who I am, this is how I operate, but I’m not there yet…

I did get her a few cool things to add to her duffle this year…