Bored

"I come home in the morning/ I go to bed feeling the same way/ I ain't nothing but tired/ Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself." - "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen

When did six-year-olds become bored with themselves? The girls had an early release from school, so I picked them both up at noon. Normally I just have Alana that early, so today was a little different. I was getting their lunch ready, when all of a sudden, Riley dramatically collapsed onto a chair and declared that she was competely bored with herself. What?! I asked her why and she said that she couldn't think of anything fun to do. I gave her some suggestions, all of which were shot down as soon as the words left my mouth.

Now I'm sure my family will quickly contradict what I'm about to say, but I honestly don't remember being bored like that when I was a kid. There were always fun things to do - games to play, dolls to dress, pictures to draw, books to read, shows to watch, and a little sister to pull me around on my skates while I held on to the jump rope I had tied around her waist. What? That's not what jump ropes are for? Oh well.

I think I need to add some more creative play and imaginative work into our lesson plans for this summer. That's when my real work begins! I will be homeschooling both girls from June through August, so my job goes from being approximately 30 hours a week to about 50. I better get busy! So many lessons to plan and stories to write, but never enough time. I guess I don't have to worry about being "bored with myself"!