Hub of Activity

School in Fairbanks has been out for less than two weeks, and I'm thinking that it is going to be a looonnnnnngggg summer! The neigborhood kids are already bored and getting on each other's nerves since they tend to hang around together all day long. "I feel like I'm back at school, Mom!" is what Tristan told me the other night. Tristan is about as social as one can get...always eager to play with friends...but even he is seeking refuge in the house and turning some kids away at our doorstep, even if only for a few hours. Several kids prowl from house to house looking for things to do and kids to play with, and because of our very long days this easily goes on until around 10PM every day.

Another unexpected result of school ending is our house becoming the hub of activity for some of the kids in the neighborhood, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's good in that I can keep an eye on Tristan (who can easily meltdown if kids get on his nerves or tease him), but it has been exhausting so far. Kids in and out all day, stuff everywhere, requests for foods/drinks, having to keep the basenjis wrangled, and just the general commotion and noise for hours on end. I view our home as our sanctuary, and I revel in the peace and quiet. I'm not taking too kindly to it being completely turned on its end. Tristan and I are trying to work on some control measures to keep his room and the house in general from becoming complete disaster areas; he certainly didn't like the state of his room last night once his friends left.

I've been working on a list of things that Tristan and I can do to keep us busy and out of the neighborhood. Hopefully we'll stay sane over the next few months. LOL