Good weekend - pretty low key and laid back, but overall pretty good.

It was Dwayne's birthday yesterday, so I took him out to the local comedy club on Saturday night. We thoroughly enjoyed the comedians, who focused much of their acts on the peculiarities of Bostonians...and as a recent emigree, I found their comments highly amusing. I also learnt that I need to find where the cheap places to park downtown are located! Ouch!

We had a good afternoon yesterday, taking the kids to the local park and throwing the frisbee around. It was really nice, something we don't do very often, and for that reason, I found it special. Last weekend when it was raining the whole time, we played TriBond, which was also something we don't do very often, and enjoyed ourselves quite a bit then too (except for Sandy who was desperate by the end of the game with telephone-withdrawal symptoms!)

All this family time got me thinking about the old quality vs. quantity debate...and frankly, debating whether quality or quantity time is better for your kids is a bit like arguing the old nature vs. nurture argument - are good people/bad people/psychopaths born or created? In the nature vs. nurture debate, it's pretty hard to come down on only one side, since there are studies that prove both sides influence the kinds of adults we grow up to become. But in the quality vs. quantity time argument, the debate seems to be a moot point since kids seem to need both. They need their parents to be there when they need them (quantity time) and to leave them alone to grow up and provide those memorable times when everyone gets together, outside the usual routine, and enjoys just being together - no chores, no lectures, no guiding, no counselling, just enjoying being together.

That's the kind of weekend we had.