It’s that point in the summer. Camp is over, and my kids are sitting around arguing about whether Paul McCartney’s bare feet on the Abby Road cover prove that Paul is dead and that guy whose been collecting his royalties (and paying his alimony) all these years is just a big faker. By the way, did you know that you can listen to Beatles songs backwards on Youtube? That’s just one of the things I am learning from my ten-year-old these days.
It seems every August I write a blog post about how I feel called to both motherhood and writing, two callings that chafe quite a bit this time of year. This year the kids are quite a bit better at amusing themselves, though arguably, not always productively. (How many times does a responsible parent let their kids listen to the Beatles backwards?) And this year my desire for writing time comes not just from my own inner need, but also from the fact that I have a book coming out and more writing opportunities than in past summers. For example, the Washington Post Online On Faith section has invited me to write a guest column for September—a great opportunity, not just for me, but on behalf of Quakers, whose voice isn’t heard in the mainstream media that often. Unfortunately the only writing time I’m likely to get between now and when it’s due is early in the morning and on the car ride to Montreal next week, when it’s not my turn to drive.
The other annual August tension is between my children’s desire to buy crisp new school supplies and my desire not to waste money and trees by getting sucked into the consumer culture. We have at least eighty-four half used pencils at home, but the lists from the teachers recommend three new pencil packs per kid. My seventh grader wants mechanical pencils, arguing that they can be reused, though if they are reusable, I don’t see why she needs a pack of twenty of them. My fifth grader agrees to use some of the old pencils, but convinces me to buy him one new pack made from recycled cedar, which I’m glad to find in Target, though I know the newly touted recycled options aren’t as good for the environment as simply using up our old stuff would be. I am reminded of the panel on sustainability at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting last week, where speakers pointed out that our love for our children is poorly expressed if we continue to provide them with things that will ultimately destroy the planet they should rightfully inherit, a message that’s been working in me ever since.
The good news is that I am calmer and more centered than Augusts when my kids were much younger. I have accepted the tensions and that all I can do is my best to live in them. I feel called to do more on the earthcare front, but even there I think it is a good tension, the kind that points in the direction we need to grow.
Can’t wait to read your columns! Please let us know when they’re up!
You can write while riding in the car? Wow.
With my new full-time job, we only have one week of vacation between the end of summer camps and the beginning of school this year and it’s starting to look really good to me and the kids. The sixth grader is starting to ask if he really has to go to daycamp every week next summer. I’d entertain the idea of him staying home some of the time except that his little brother would still have to go somewhere and I don’t think it’s going to work to let one stay home and not the other.
I’m going to be strict this year about using up old school supplies – a barely used binder, most of a ream of lined paper and all the old pencils. I might spring for a better pencil sharpener – I don’t think I can resharpen the cheap ones we have lying around.
Thanks, Mariah. Will do.
Robin, I hope you get the break you all need. By the way, I can only write in the car when I feel a great deal of urgency about something and if the book on tape the kids are listening to isn’t Harry Potter. We got a new pencil sharpener, too, for the same reason.
I was hoping to write a pithy response to your article on summer tension. But, sitting here on an early -raining sunday morning, i opted instead to just say thanks for sharing – and avoid the tension of coming up with something meaningful
No pressure, Mike. You’re on vacation!
Just recently made a Quaker Books order and got your Quaker parenting pamphlet!
hi eileen,Ive been reading your blogs and keeping up on your website.Im new to email & computers
so I just figured this thing out.I found you thru the serenity prayer I googled…I cant wait to get the
book-looks like its very spirtual and helpfull-as your blogs are.Summer has been fun and busy for us,
yet taking the time "to be bored" as Isaac says,cool thing is he dosnt mean it to be a bad thing.yay.
As the school shopping thing goes,Our Catholic school & chuch loves it when we don’t
spend all our money on new…then it can be "redistributed" to the different fund raisers and programs.
We have gone thru the leftover supplies and such as well as the Uniform exchange to recycle
items then Isaac asked if we could buy Pokemon cards w/the extra money…we are definatly influenced
by our suroundings,huh.Just anouther example of "the little ones are watching and learning about the world thru us"makes me strive to keep it simply good-people in my life,like you,make it so much easier-thankyou for sharing your values and insite. vikki
Thanks, Mariah and Vikki!
Hope your month is going well and you are finding time to write. I started writing a response here about the school supplies thing and it morphed into it’s own blog post. :o) It’s here: http://speakinglife.blogspot.com/2009/08/pencil-peril.html
I linked to your post in mine, in case you keep track of those things.
I love the post, Stephanie! I should point out, in defense of my children, that some of our 84 pencils have been chewed on by the dog.
Thanks for the link.