Mama Demiera's Day Camp Week 6

I feel like a mom.

A soccer mom at that.

I'm even told by those fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to be on the other side of the phone when I'm trying to get the girls together that I sound like a mom. I probably do.

Every day, five days a week, it's the same routine. The girls get up, they mosey around for an hour, they eat frozen waffles and cereal (because I'm not a cook) and if I'm lucky I can get them to brush their teeth and wash up without too much hassle.

What's on the agenda for the day? Depends on how I feel. If I feel like a trip outside, we go to the park so I can sit in the shade and talk on the phone as they run themselves silly. Park visits don't last long, though, so we started going to the pool instead. I can sit in the shade and write articles then as they splash and swim and jump and play up and down the pool. We've gone to the museum, but that's about it. (Shhh...don't tell anyone, but we're going to the zoo tomorrow. They don't know that yet though)

Then it's lunchtime. Again, I'm not a cook, so if it doesn't come in the box it's not getting cooked. One of these days I'll make them something good. One of these days.

They read for half an hour, which is good for me because that's valuable blogging time. Then they do worksheets or some other type of work for another hour and a half, or until I get tired of them complaining.

Then they sit around again for 20 minutes while I fuss at them to clean up the mess they made or change into their uniform for karate. Then I'm pulling out the garage in my Mommy SUV to drop them off. They give me a hug and kiss before they get out the car, and I wait to make sure they're in safely. And then I'm off to run some other errands or to see Amardo. There's always something to be done.

When I kissed the girls goodbye yesterday it was off to the tailor to drop off my uncle's pants. By the time I got done battling rush hour traffic and stupid pedestrians and kids that obviously want to get hit, I sat down for a full 7 minutes before I was rushing back out the door to go pick the girls up in the Mommy SUV. *Sigh*

Today after I run through the routine (don't forget, I have to go pick up my uncle's pants from the tailor and take them to FedEx to be shipped), my day will not be done because I get to watch the girls from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep. Won't that be a blast?

They aren't bad kids, they really aren't. They're actually very easy to babysit and since there's two of them they can often entertain themselves. If I weren't in such an authoritative role and could just be with my cousins as their older cousin, things would be a lot easier. But when I play the camp counselor/nanny/tutor role (which is really what I'm doing), things change. When my aunt is around things are easier because I'm not responsible for what they do, she is. But when there's nobody but me, I have to sit back and make sure they don't get hurt. I have to make sure they're safe at all times. It's a huge responsibility.

It has it's ups and downs like anything else. The question of whether this was a good or bad idea, though, lies entirely in what day and time you ask me :).