"This is too boring and it's making me TIRED!" comes the whine from the little blue table where the weekend homework assignment is spread out (it's writing seven sentences about an interesting plant or animal). I hear this every Sunday. Over and over again. What should take ten minutes takes about one hundred and twenty. Homework is one of the reasons why it's hard for me to remain in a positive mood on the weekend. I can be cheerful over homework whining for about fifteen minutes, but then I want to start tearing my hair out. Especially if I hear a whiny "But weekends are supposed to be for FUUUUN things!" too.
Today, I snapped back with a tirade about how much I loathe the weekends. If you're me, they aren't particularly fun. I loathe being stuck in homework support hell (described above), and I loathe the increase in work that I have to do with having two people home all the time who usually aren't home all the time. Most Saturdays and Sundays, I seriously feel like I spend the majority of the day washing dishes (easily five loads, all washed by hand) and sweeping up crumbs and coffee grounds. It looks like everyone else has a good weekend - playing Scrabble or Starfall on the computer, watching movies, leisurely reading picture books or newspapers - but sometimes it's really hard for me to remain cheerful, working behind the scenes with a dish towel or a broom, ensuring that my three favourite people have ample clean dishes for their next meal and clean floors for their feet.
Monday mornings, when the usual weekday routine starts up again, are so very welcome. The week resets, and instead of spending my time washing extra loads of dirty dishes or hearing how my daughter cannot possibly divide eight by four "because she hasn't learned that yet", I can spend my time enjoying my family. We'll read books, take the scooters around the block, and open up our playdough bakery again. On Monday, the next weekend is a long way off.


