I knew it would happen eventually. After all, it does every summer. A few days here or there, give or take, but inevitably the time would arrive. And, today was the day.

At our house, we’ve reached that point in summer when the lack of routine becomes routine. Where the unplanned expanse of an entire day lays before you, yet the effort to fill those hours has become a chore. “Chore? Chore? I’ll give you a chore!” I say in the now imaginary, but inevitable “conversation” I’ll have with my 14-year-old son.

As a mother of three, wife of 27 years, carpool extraordinaire, homework shrew, top chef, super nanny and (poor man’s) Martha Stewart, a nonscheduled day is a gift. Right alongside linguine with white clam sauce and a 50%-off sale at Lucky, a day without plans brings me joy! I can happily burn up a day doing absolutely nothing noteworthy at all.

This morning my youngest, my little energizer bunny on Skittles, emerged from his lair unusually early and had that “What am I going to do today?” glaze in his eyes. The look that says, “Entertain me. I’m bored.” So, I gave him my best “You better not say that out loud surrounded by this warehouse of your sports equipment, toys and modern technology or I’ll give you a list of things you won’t like to keep you busy” scowl. I’m holding out hope that this summer he already knows what I’m going to say: “Bored? Bored? I’ll give you bored!”

However, if he makes me endure the same dialogue this summer then he’s going to endure my “When I was your age all I had was a pair of roller skates, a few jacks and an AM-only transistor radio” speech. It’s the baby boomer’s version of their parents’ “I walked 10 miles barefoot to school in a blizzard so you should appreciate what you have…yadda, yadda, yadda” lecture.

So, today I gave my youngest son my best “Figure it out” glare. The “I’m not getting out of my threadbare shorts today or into the car, and the basement needs cleaning” scowl.

Perhaps this telepathic way of communicating with our teens will catch on. At least scowling and glaring are quiet and I can do it sitting down.