Friday Night Tradition

I blinked when I saw the email from Drew's soccer coach. He was offering free tickets to a Rhinos soccer game! I was sure the boys would want to go. Free! Wow. I emailed right away and accepted two tickets (after all, with my cold, I don't really want to sit outside in the night air for a couple of hours). Coach called me and assured me he would send them home with Drew. I felt a warm glow inside. I like doing nice things for my kids.

What a surprise to find that they didn't want to give up Friday tradition for the soccer game. Am I hearing that right? They would rather stay home with their sick old Mom and watch movies and eat junk than go to a game? What is that? Neither boy would budge. In fact, they started telling me that the Rhinos aren't that good a team, that they really don't like watching soccer (right- so why does the TV channel constantly find its way to those soccer games?), they're too tired (this from the kids who can't get in bed before 1am), they already rented the movie and its a 24 hour rental - endless reasons to stay home.

Friday tradition thing is something the boys started. They wanted one night a week when we are all home doing something together. The default is to order fast food and watch a rented movie. Even when everyone is healthy and we have funds, they prefer to be home together rather than at a bowling alley or roller skating or walking in a park. It isn't about what we do, as long as we do it together. Family time.

I realize once again how precious this activity is to them, how careful I need to be not to violate it, how necessary that I am not trying to read or do something where my focus is elsewhere. Tonight we opt for a home cooked meal rather than junk. We fix our plates with the baked potato, barbecued chicken strips, and a bit of fruit, settle in the living room with steaming mugs of tea, and click play to watch the antics of Jackie Chan and Jet Li in Forbidden Kingdom. Its a nice little movie, and afterwards, we catch the Friday night line up of Monk, Psyche, House. I doze on and off in the chair, happy to be home and at ease with the kids. Now if I can just get over this cold!