Sweet Summertime Boredom

I cannot be the only one...who sighs a great sigh of relief when summer starts. The alarm clock takes a vacation from it's residency on my side table, the shorts come out of their hibernation in the bottom of my dresser drawer, and the warm evening walks with the boy and dog are positively lovely.

Just when you begin to get into the swing of all that summertime glory the reality of childhood boredom starts to set in. The lack of friends and motivation start to become an irritating kid attribute.

While reading a book, eating an apple, and listening to music in a tent that has been erected in his bedroom my boy looked up at me while I was delivering his clean laundry and said,

"I am bored...there is nothing to do".

Huh? Nothing to do? The boy was already in the midst of three different activities in a TENT that is in his BEDROOM.

Could you imagine? My childhood summers included grocery shopping with my mom and trying to keep my brother from issuing his daily dose of dead arms and monkey bumps from his fist of fury.

I try to look at the situation from my boy's point of boy, what does a 10 year old boy really want to be doing in the heat of this month of July (I mean beyond the book reading, music listening, and tent dwelling with air conditioning being piped in)? How about riding his scooter around the path at the neighborhood park...sure why not, right?

All right, let's do this, I get ready to take the 93 degree sunny walk down to the park, all the boy needs to do is grab some socks and shoes and we'll hit the pavement. I wait, I wait a little longer, and even a little longer for my boy to be ready to go ride that awesome scooter, but he never shows.

I pop my head back into the tent to see what the hold up is, only to find that my boy hasn't put on one sock, not ONE SOCK.

What? 

I thought he was bored, we were going to the park, what more does this kid need to get motivated?

Patience. Remember have patience. 

This is what summertime with a kid is about: Patience.

We eventually made it to the park, the boy tore around the path until sweat was streaming down his face, he was smiling, and his attitude was much better when we returned to the air conditioning.