We're checking in with some local Macaroni moms who offer their take on summer in the Capital, their best tips, tricks, and hacks and their favourite COVID moments. This week, we chat with Robyn Bresnahan.
Robyn Bresnahan is the host of Ottawa Morning on CBC Radio One (Ottawa's most listened to morning show!) and mom to Hugh, 6 and Stella, 3.
Favourite thing about being a mom: My kids are a tonic for the heaviness of the world at the moment. The minute I walk in the door, they are like excited puppy dogs. "Mom! Do you know raccoons have LASER EYES?! Mom! I invented a fart cannon." They truly are the most hilarious people I know.
How are you keeping the kids busy this summer? By getting outside as much as possible. We've been exploring many, many beaches around Ottawa-Gatineau. Last week, I told my son we were over to Meech Lake and he groaned, "not another beach!" To which I replied, "I know, I'm the worst mom ever. Taking you to BEACHES." One day they'll thank me. Maybe.
Best tip/hack for family fun? My family lives in Alberta. My husband's family live in Nova Scotia. So we haven't had any help with the kids for months. That equals zero time to oneself. So, we've outsourced via Zoom. We've set up weekly calls with wonderful people who do one-on-one chats with our kids. Sometimes both of them at the same time. Sometimes just one. For example, one of our neighbours is in her 70s and a retired art teacher. She's been calling my son, Hugh every week and chatting to him about drawing superheroes, castles and knights. Once she gets an idea of what she likes, she starts a picture and then leaves it in our mailbox. He continues it and then puts it back in her mailbox. Pass the picture. He loves it and it's created a real bond in our community.
Funniest mom fail? I, like the rest of the world, took up sourdough bread making early on in the pandemic. Let me tell you something. Making sourdough bread takes more effort than keeping your own children alive. My kids were like, "why is mummy talking to that jar? Why has she named that gooey thing, Eldon?" I gave up after two loaves. Now I know why good sourdough costs $8 a pop.
Best Ottawa location/activity for summer fun for kids? We love the beach at Constance Bay. It's shallow and sandy and perfect for little kids.
Best at-home tip to keep the kids busy? Netflix all day! Just kidding. We've become explorers in our neighbourhood. We live close to the Rideau River and go there often with nets and notepads. The other day we found what looked like crawfish. They were all dead. But crawfish! In the Rideau River! Who knew?
Favourite thing you do to relax? I'm addicted to Yoga with Adrien. She's a yogi from Texas who is super down to earth and offers dozens of free classes on YouTube. Mostly I love the corpse pose position. You know - the one where you just lay down at the end? I'm going to invent corpse pose yoga. Oh wait, that's called a nap.
Best memory about this COVID experience? I'm gonna be honest here. These past few months have been really, really hard. I know people have said this is a time to get back to basics, connect with your kids. But that's really hard to do when you are working full time and up at 3am. In normal times, I'd come home to an empty house after my shift. I'd nap. I'd go to a spin class. Read. Now, I come home and it's go-time with the kids all over again while my husband starts his job. It's been insanity and at times, totally unsustainable. I have three weeks off coming up soon and I am looking forward to it more than anything. I just want to be able to do one job and do it well.
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