Megan Again: Boredom Busters On Parade

Megan Again: Boredom Busters On Parade
By Megan Wirts

We are about two weeks into summer vacation and I think I have heard the phrase “I’m bored” exactly 1,981 times. Maybe I am exaggerating. It may be more like 1,980 times. I have even used the lines, “You can’t be bored if you haven’t finished your chores.” or, “When I was a kid we didn’t have...” just as many times. It seems as if my children came down with I’m-bored-itis as soon as the final school bell rang. There is no cure and it is a recurring disease. Haven’t they made a vaccination for this yet? Ugh.

Like most parents of my generation, I took to the internet to find out how to overcome this terrible crisis. There were articles with list after list of “boredom busters”. Sometimes I wonder if the people that make these lists actually have...

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...children though. Sure I could sit down and create a Pinterest inspired chart made from poster board and colorful markers, filled with fun little activities. Only for said chart to be used maybe 3 times and after that it willbe rehomed to the recycling bin. Some suggestions for these cute little charts were to paint rocks or make sand art. Those things sound adorable and fun. Those things also sound messy and like work.

I’m not a huge fan of making extra work for myself. Have you ever tried to make sand art? It gets everywhere. Everywhere! It’s almost as bad as glitter. Glitter is the worst. I once had red glitter spill all over the floor of my pantry. Then my cat got into it and for months we would find red glitter paw prints all over the house. This happened over a year ago and I just brushedred glitteroff of my coffee table. Curse you glitter!!!

When I was a younger newer mom I tried many of those crafty do-it-yourselfishlyadorable ideas on these lists. I even once made a “bike carwash” from PVC pipes. It fell apart after two uses. A few years ago I attempted to make a “water blob” made from two pieces of tarp and duct tape. Pinterest said it was going to be hours of fun. In reality it was hours of work and three seconds of fun because as soon as we filled it with water it burst and water cascaded down our hill and doused our vegetable garden. It was pretty cool when it exploded and I didn’t need to water the garden for a few days, but I’m telling you, it was not worth it.

I applaud you mothers and fathers who are creative, skillful and have the energy to be your kids’ playmates and entertainment guides more often than I can stand. I just don’t have it in me 24/7. Maybe more like 2/4 and that’s being generous but it’s also about as good is it’s going to get here. I will, however, welcome a snuggle and a conversation any time of the day.

I also have a hard enough time making sure they brush their teeth, wash their hands, eat enough vegetables, go to bed at a half way decent hour, don’t pick their noses or fart in public. What I have found over the years is that keeping it simple and keeping it easy is the way to go.It’s not that I am not going to try to give my kids a great summer, but I refuse to force myself to be a Pinterest perfect boredom-busting Mom. These kids have bikes, a back yard, imaginations and a great neighborhood full of friends. Fend for yourself children! They are lucky if I remember to feed them three square meals a day. I can’t be a short order cook and the ships entertainment. They need to do some of the work too.

I love my kids and I am very thankful that I get to be with them every day, but sometimes in order to keep my sanity, I need them to entertain themselves. I need them to play outside, or read a book or watch a show. While some days I feel like a rock star Mom and I know exactly what I am doing there are other times when I feel like I’m holding it together with just a little Elmer’s Glue and randomly placed paper clips.
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It’s the only roller coaster ride I’m allowed on these days and it’s not all that bad, but if I hear “I’m bored” one more time, I just might lose my mind.
Now, where’s my poster board and markers?
Ugh. ​