better than average

As I was reading my second installment of the Spirited Child series, I came across a startling number: parents spend an average of 22 minutes interacting with their kids.  22!  That seems horribly low, especially if you drive in the car with them.  "Mom, he's touching me..."  "Mom, I'm thirsty..."  "Mom, I have to pee..."  Right there is at least 5 minutes of interacting, telling them to knock it off, wait till we get home, and you have to hold it, unless you want to pee on the side of the road.

But seriously, 22 minutes.  As half of a pair of working parents, I know how difficult it can be to make sure all are accounted for, fed, bathed, and nurtured.   I have to remind myself, stop and smell the dirt (because roses just aren't a boy's cup of tea).  But I know I am lucky too.  I work school hours.  I get to bring them to school and pick them up.  I get to help them earn their "getting ready for school on time" star.  Mudge's "eating your supper" star, and their "can  you guys stop it with the Nuh uh and Yah huh" star.  Ok, the last one not so much. But you get my drift.  I can't imagine only spending 22 minutes with my kids on a daily basis.  I do that just trying to get the two of them ready in the morning.

Plus, I can't imagine all of the odd things I would miss out on like how Boog has created a list of names for his soon-to-be-discovered dinosaurs, or how Mudge insists on playing chess like the big boys.  Though there may be those days where the oomph isn't available in its caffeinated form, on most days, I hope to be better than average. I want to be an over achiever.  I'm shooting for 23!