Mommy and Daddy Camp: Merely a Suggestion

Living close (REALLY close) to my kids has allowed me to re-live many of my own parenting moments.  Watching them go through all of the stages of raising their families is a hoot. 

I'll be the first to say that they are WAY better parents than I was (I only speak for myself here) as I am by nature an extremely impatient person.....and.....let's just leave it at that.  But hey they turned out OK, so someone somewhere did something right, probably their teachers and the parents of their friends.

Aside from the parenting observations, I love watching them as couples, joking around, talking seriously, being affectionate.  It is a great feeling seeing my offspring create beautiful lives of their own.

That said, I ache for them and their busy lives.  They are constantly running, running, running, what with school, work, and home.  They need a break.  So the kids have camp in the summer, time to re-charge their batteries, enjoy life, blah blah blah.  And what do Mommy and Daddy get?  Nada.  They have an even tougher time of it during the summer, what with the lack of schedule and all, and when they go on vacation, well as a great blogger said recently, for parents, it's not a vacation, it's a trip.

So I'd like to suggest that parents attend Mommy and Daddy Camp (M&DC) at least once a day.  That's right, once a day.

Before I tell you what it is, let me tell you its advantages so that you can become really interested and keep reading;

1. It does not require a babysitter
2. It does not require the kids to be asleep or even out of the room or even quiet!
3. It can be done anywhere at all
4. It takes less than a minute

Here are the instructions for Mommy and Daddy Camp:

1. Sit down next to each other.
2. Put the phones and computer far away from you.
3. Look at each other.
4. Say "hi."
5. Smile
6. Say "I missed you today."
7. Smile again

That's it.  It should take all of 3.5 seconds.  But hopefully, if neither of you starts giggling or gets distracted by the beep of a text message (seriously, people, let it go for a minute) you  may be surprised at how good you feel after it.

And all of this at no cost to you!  And.....your kids will see you doing it and will remember it.  Yes, they will remember it.

No need to thank me.  I'm here for you.