Thursday, April 26, 2012

940 Saturdays

New Hampshire, 2011

So Tracy Moore from Jezebel has this great essay on how there are only 940 Saturdays in a childhood (birth - 18.) Not to mention only 18 summers. That little factoid comes from a recent book, No Regrets Parenting, that makes the case that parents should really savor their time with their kids and not get too caught up in over-scheduling or wasting time on needless anxieties etc.

As Moore puts it, this one simple little stat can have just the opposite impact, and prompt a full on panic attack. All the Saturdays must be perfect, Peter Pan-style idylls:

"I'd be lying if I didn't admit that our Saturdays are sometimes just spent making sure [my daughter] plays hard enough to get that nap and then hard enough again to fall asleep and could you please just take ONE MORE BITE of the rice and beans you claimed to love five minutes ago so you don't wake up asking for a graham cracker at 2:34 a.m.?Although she is always totally adorable, it is sometimes a real slog just to get through, especially when mommy hasn't had her coffee and ibuprofen. 940 Saturdays guy leaves me bloated with regret for the Saturdays that are already gone - the Saturdays when this little baby couldn't even hold her head up yet, or couldn't even walk, or could walk but only real shitty and how funny that was, and it all makes me vow to do better. Like, magical Saturday pillow fortress time better."


My theory? I think you just need a few really good Saturdays. Those are the ones that stick out, anyway. 

2 comments:

  1. Thanks! I took that picture this summer at a family wedding. It's a place called Twin Lakes Villa in NH...very cute for a New England, camp-style vacation.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...