Friday Night Freedom
It is a Friday afternoon and my six year old has decided to start the weekend on the couch. He has set himself up in front of the television with a drink, a snack and layers of pillows and blankets. His brother fights over the other end of the couch, which has been taken over by the stuffed animal brigade. He has laid out his plan for the next two hours, which is to sit on the couch and watch a cartoon movie. He does not plan to move and has planted himself firmly in his nest.
Last year I would have discouraged this behavior. Getting ready to spend a couple of hours in front of the television was not a way I wanted him to learn to relax. This year is different.
This year he goes to school and has to stay focused on his behavior and homework and extra credit math assignments. He gets to play for a little while but this is always interrupted with the idea of school lurking in the background. It is a school night so bedtime is 8pm. It is a school night so bath before bed. It is a school night so you have to finish your homework before dinner. Any Mom knows the drill; during the week school is the focus of everything even when school is over for the day.
He handled all of these things wonderfully, only bellyaching about homework one night this week. Today is Friday and the end of a long week of thinking all the time. Tomorrow is Saturday and we will fill it with all the weekend activities that pile up when kids get school age. Once you get a certain age it is hard to find the time or peace to just be a slug.
Friday has a new meaning in our house this year. It is an ending to a long week of work, doing what is right and keeping it all together. Friday night is the time for a release. The one night he can forget about all the things that he should be doing for tomorrow and just experience Friday night freedom.
I think I will join him
