At least two of the days will be spent with Mom at her
work. One kid will go one day, and the other a different day. I would
have loved to go to work with my dad when I was a kid, but he worked at
a chemical plant that dealt with toxic materials.

When I was
their age (in the old days), we used to get a ride from one of the
parents to Kemp's hamburger joint. I think it was on Mystic Avenue.
We'd each have a couple of dollars and we would eat a ton of burgers.
They were around 25 cents or so. We'd spend an hour and a half just
hanging around and chowing down there. I 'm too paranoid to drop my
kids off anyplace by themselves these days. The best part of a school
vacation for me is not having to make their snacks, fight for them to
go to bed or fight for them to get out of bed. It's really more of a
vacation for Daddy-o.

So, okay, let's see…what can we do
that's "fun." My suggestion is a walk down to Davis Square for a bit of
browsing and perhaps lunch. My ideas typically involve a little
exercise and spending a very little money. Or, we can take the train to
Harvard Square and walk in and out of ten or fifteen stores – until my
legs throb (that's their idea). We can go to the movies or go to the
mall, and empty out the old wallet dollar by dollar (also their idea).
We can drive to Salem and hang around the magic shop for an hour
(actually, I enjoy going to Salem).

Whatever my kids end up
doing, I am just the ride, the financier and the guy who waits around
until they are ready to leave. In the summer, I have always taken the
boys up to Old Orchard Beach, where we get season passes for the
amusement park. Since they were toddlers, I would put them on the rides
and read the paper or listen to the radio until they were done.
Checking out all the different people at the park is also one of my
favorite time-killers (wink, wink). At the age my boys are (11 and 13),
I have many more years of supplying them with fun and keeping Mr.
Boredom at bay.

Thank God we have recently become trailer
camping people, I can't wait to hit the lake! But in the meantime, I
never thought I'd actually say: "why don't you go spend an hour or two
on the computer, or on your Play Station." But hey, I bought the darn
things, so why not use them? I need a break too!

They both have
science projects due soon, and they will be shocked when I tell them at
least some of the week will be dedicated to working on them. What else
can we do that's fun?

Here is what I think we should do for
fun. They should help me clean out the big closet in the playroom. The
closet that is so cluttered with junk, that I can't find anything in
there. The closet that has tons of their old toys, cub scout uniforms,
old back packs and crap. They freak out when I ask them to take out
their dog, so this is really going to freak them out.

Basically,
anytime I ask them for help is like a giving them a punishment. Getting
them to empty the dishwasher, fold the laundry or set the table does
not bode well with the boys, at all. I must say though, they are
getting more used to the idea that they need to help around the house.

Sunday,
one kid was sick so he stayed at Mom's house, but I took the other kid
to Home Depot and Circuit City where they are having a going out of
business sale. My son enjoyed shopping for discounted computer games.

In
Home Depot, we ran into my old friend Lenny and we talked for half an
hour. Joey enjoyed listening to me and Lenny reminisce. That was fun
for me too. Maybe we can spend the school vacation looking up more of
my old friends and chewing the fat about the old days. No, I don't
think the kids will go for that. Sunday night we agreed to stay in and
hit a restaurant in Ball Square for breakfast on Monday morning.

When
I was their age, we would spend hours in a room with one of those small
reel to reel tape recorders from Radio Shack. We would just goof around
making silly sounds and making up crazy voices and songs. We had so
much fun making those wacky tapes.

We'd also pass some time
doing something that I wouldn't want my kids to do. We used to make
crank phone calls. Now they have caller ID and star-69, but back then
we really went nuts with it. We were never vulgar, just real goofy and
annoying.

So what can we do that's fun? We'll ice skate, go to
the movies, take one of their friends to Burger King and maybe even
drive up to Salem. Hopefully we will have a day in Davis Square and
hopefully it will rain one day so we have to stay in. Hey, the summer
is coming and soon I will put on my camp counselor hat again. So for
now, let's just have a stress-free February vacation. What can we do
for fun? How about helping Daddy take down the rest of the Christmas
lights from the outside of the house? Hey, stepladders are fun!