what motivates a tired, stressed, overworked parent?

finding a non-destructive way to be with their child and keep them entertained enough to be able to relax a bit in the process.

case in point: the wife and i had planned on doing next to nothing this weekend - a good plan when life gets too crazy. saturday morning she gets the idea that we could drive 45 minutes to visit my dad and stepmom in the east bay. normally even this amount of driving provides a child related challenge of it's own so we have to be really motivated to attempt it.

neither of us blinked for a second when considering the idea. "yeah, let's do it!" we hustled about to get the boy in the car and on the road before it got too late, dreading a car-nap which could deprive us of the invaluable 45-90 minutes of freedom when he naps in a bed.

i think both of us realized that once we got there, the g-parents would happily take the boy providing a fair amount of relief and opportunity for relaxation. not only would they be stoked to be with the boy but they have a pool! the boy is a fish i tell you. what our (part) black lab lacks in water enthusiasm he makes up for.

long story short we spent a lot of time in the pool and yes, we got a bit of relief. the motivations of a tired, stressed, overworked parent are really so simple...