Where's "Fun Mom"?

My three older kids remember "fun mom" with fondness. Long ago, in my 30's, "fun mom" was kind of the norm. I would happily ignore the house to build a Lego village with the kids or spend an afternoon winding Hot Wheel track down the steps and around the house until we got the cars zooming around without flying off the track. I would organize day trips with other moms so every week in the summer we did something new and different.

With every move the kids and I would make a maze castles out of the moving boxes with each child having their own "wing" which they got to design and paint. When we lived in Missouri (a time when I was "super fun mom") one summer afternoon my neighbor Robin and I put on an organized "food fight" inviting all the neighborhood kids. Family Fun magazine was one of my cohorts and would often give me ideas in the quest for fun with the kids. One of those ideas led to the "Webster Kiddie Car Wash". I made an elaborate "car wash" sprinkler out of PVC pipe. It took me a week and several trips to the store before the project was complete with all the neighborhood kids joining in on an afternoon of wet fun.

So yeah, writing this I realize what a "fun mom" I truly was! What happened? Where did my fun go? With the passing of years, my family increasing in number and kids getting older and busy with sports, school and friends it seems like the creative "fun" side of my brain is a little exhausted. We are always on the go and there is always housework to be done. When we do have down time my brain just wants to shut down and not be creative. So my theory is because of our busy life "fun mom" got replace with "what a mess that would make" mom.

I'm not exactly a "fun slug", occasionally I'll take the younger kid swimming, afternoon at Kings Island or geocaching. All these activities may be fun but they do lack the creative fun of my past. While writing this blog post I feel a little guilty my younger three children do not have much experience with "fun mom." Should I ignore the mess she inevitably brings? Wow, that's a tough one, but I think it must be done. Pinterest here I come searching for the most outlandish "fun mom" idea yet. If anyone would like to help with ideas and join in the "fun" we would love to have you!

Peace and joy,

Sue