Congratulations, Moms and Dads. You did it. You made it through another summer. You made it through the “When are we gonna be there?” and the “It’s too hot to play outside!” comments. The skinned knees, the mosquito bites, the battles over the video games, the bicycle crashes, the rained-out ballgames. NOW WHAT? Have some fun, I say!
1. Spend an afternoon window shopping–alone, or with a good friend. NOT with a child. Get cleaned up and put on an outfit that you feel great in. Head someplace you enjoy (or have hoped to enjoy) and park your car. Pay no attention to how close you’ve parked, or if there’s a sidewalk for the stroller, or if there’s a McDonalds nearby. This is all about you. Hit the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, or Independence Square (here’s another Independence Square website to check out) in Eastern Jackson County. Grab your favorite iced drink, your sunglasses, and walk. Leisurely.
2. Hit that class at the gym you’ve always wanted to try–but the line at the day care had always been too long, or perhaps the class was during your darling’s nap. No worries now! The kids are in school!
3. Take a cooking class. There are some fabulous offerings at Overland Park’s Culinary Center of Kansas City. Many are offered over lunchtime…what better way to spend a part of your afternoon and get filled up at the same time! BONUS–try for a Wednesday class, and you can take in the Downtown O.P. Farmer’s Market before your cooking class!
4. Take a knitting class. My mother-in-law once told me that you need to be able to do something repetitive and fairly mindless for your sanity. Try knitting! It’s great fun, the yarn bag travels well and it is very relaxing. Get a jump start on your Christmas gifts! For inexpensive beginner classes, try Jo-Ann Fabrics or Michael’s.
5. Get out your cookbook and make a delicious lunch for a friend. One caveat: the lunch may NOT include the following (not even imposters): chicken nuggets, peanut butter and jelly, french fries, sliced turkey, grapes or hot dogs. Pay special attention to serving foods of various colors. (My son tends to eat only things in the beige-yellow-brown family.) And one last thing: you may NOT serve juice boxes. A nice glass of wine would do just fine.
6. Pick a passion or an interest and give some of your time to the community. Crazy about animals? Give Wayside Waifs a call. Have a knack for playing the piano? Any number of nursing and/or retirement homes would welcome a live concert! Are you sports-minded? Fall soccer leagues are underway and basketball leagues are forming. Volunteer to be the coach, or a referee. Don’t let others go hungry–try giving some of your time to Meals on Wheels and make someone’s day by filling both body and spirit!
7. Do something your little ones would whine about - take a leisurely stroll through a museum. Admission to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is FREE! They open at 10am - you can drop the kids off, sit and have a cup of coffee at your neighborhood coffee shop and then head towards the museum. OR…check out the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial. Admission is $8 for adults. I haven’t been yet but am dying to go. I hear that it is FABULOUS!
8. Talk about decadent - how about spending the rest of the morning curled up in bed with a great book?! Stop by the library or Rainy Day Books in Fairway sometime this week. The next day, get the kids off and sneak back under the covers with a good read. You might even catch a few more ZZZZs. Really, the kitchen floor can wait until tomorrow.
9. Now this one, I can’t wait to do! Grab a handful of quarters, some Windex and some old towels, and head to a coin-operated car wash. Since May, your car has been a house, restaurant, toy store and play pen on wheels!! Clean it!! This is no job for the Dustbuster hanging in your garage–you need the industrial strength vacuum to suck up those three month old french fries and Cheerios. Take your time, vacuum every nook and cranny and enjoy your clean car! (It should look good until at least tomorrow, right?)
10. Dive into one of those projects that you continually put on the back burner because there’s never a 3 or 4 hour block of available time. I DON’T MEAN CLEANING THE OVEN OR VACUUMING THE DRAPES. I mean one of those fun things that’s just for you. Work on organizing your digital pictures. Or your recipes. Or your iPod. Email or call your friends from college. Update your scrapbook. Work in your garden. Read. Sew. Sit on the couch with a pint of ice cream and get reacquainted with some old friends– Tyra, Dr. Phil and Oprah!! The kids are back in school!!