Is It Live or Is It Memorex

Or rather, in my case, is it guilt or is it boredom?

That's the question of the day - here are the supporting facts. Why do I put so much into weekends that by Sunday night I'm just pooped? I have two theories:

1. Although I know I don't really have a choice, and even if I did I would probably still choose to work, I do feel guilty that I'm not there all day, every day with my children, and I'm hoping that I can make up for that by making weekends (usually) about them. or

2. I'm bored. I live in a constant state of restlessness, always looking for the next project, the next place to go, a new thing to try...

So which is it? Do I cram as much stuff in on the weekends as possible in the hopes of making sure I'm giving my children incredible lasting memories or is this a more selfish act of trying to do enough on the weekends that I can be sure to differentiate them from the week?

Here's what we did this weekend... Saturday morning the kids were up bright and early as usual, and were lumped in a pile on my bed by 6:45. I kept them quiet for a while, then they decided it was time for breakfast and they went off in search of their sugar fortified morning meal. They had gymnastics at 9am and after that, daddy took them to a wildfire expo in town. They spent an hour or so there, climbing in fire-trucks, playing on a large, inflatable slide, and hanging out with fire-fighters. After that, we all met up again for an early lunch (or in my case a late breakfast). Then we went back home to give the kids an opportunity for "quiet time" - in our house this means a set amount of time spent in their rooms - we can't force them to nap, but we can hope! While they were down for quiet time, I ran more errands... (in fact, by the end of this time I'd already been to the Post Office, the bank, filled my car with gas, went to Wal-Mart, and the dollar store, oh yeah, and the library!) There was a reason we wanted them to have some rest time today...

After the time was up, we packed everything we'd need for one night from home and drove down to Phoenix to take the kids to their first major league baseball game! The Arizona Diamondbacks against the Colorado Rockies - it was a good game, and it came down to the wire with a final score of 5-4, Diamondbacks. However it wasn't a very well played game, so it wasn't over until nearly 10:00. By the time we got them back to their grandparent's house and settled into their beds, it was probably close to 11:00. The grown-ups were all pooped too by this point, so I'd say we were all out cold quickly!

Of course, most kids would then sleep in the next morning, and I guess mine did by their usual standards, it was around 7:00 when they got up. They, of course, were prepared for some spoiling by their grandparents, so let the cartoon watching begin! In between all the brain-food offerred by animation, they managed to eat two different breakfasts - and I got to drink some coffee!

After that we packed up and headed out - of course, by then it was around 10:00 and by the time we got home it was around 4:oo PM. We spent the day geocaching (or treasure hunting as my children call it) and of course had to eat.

Finally we were home, and the kids were so tired they were just crazy! We managed to get the car unloaded, the animals fed, the mail checked, the children fed, S's homework done, and now, finally, at 7:10 pm, it's quiet and let me just tell you - that the liquor cabinet is looking really good.

We're going to stick closer to home next weekend, but I'm sure by Sunday night, we'll be just as exhausted as we are now. Wait, come to think of it, if the Arizona Sundogs need a 5th game to take this series, that would be Saturday night...

So.... why?

Is it guilt or boredom?