Hey Charleston Parents,

We had a busy weekend and an even crazier first few days of the week. I’m just getting home from an urgent care visit, so apparently sick season has officially arrived in our house.

This week is packed with fall fun, and we have some great ideas for spending quality time with your family. First up, there are craft events happening throughout the month of October with Charleston Parks and Recreation. My kids love pretty much any kind of craft, and I love when I don’t have to plan it, buy all the supplies, or clean glue off my dining room table afterward.

If crafting isn’t quite your family’s thing, there are still plenty of fun things happening this weekend. Check out the Junior Archaeologists event happening Friday afternoon at Drayton Hall. Then on Saturday and Sunday, you can catch two family-friendly shows: Mrs. Doubtfire and Peter & the Wolf. Both are great options if you’re looking for something a little different to do together this weekend.

After all that fun, don’t forget to grab dinner at TBonz Gill & Grill. It’s good food with a laid-back feel that works for the whole family. Because sometimes the best way to end a busy weekend is letting someone else worry about dinner.

And for this week’s Palmetto Piece, I’m taking a deeper dive into one of those truths about parenthood that can be hard to admit sometimes: kids are inconvenient, and that’s okay.

Have the best week!

In the heart of historic downtown Charleston is a humble little park that I really don’t think gets enough attention. Tiedemann Park is one of those spots that works surprisingly well for families with kids in multiple ages, stages and phases.

There is a small parking lot at the park, which feels like a luxury in this part of downtown! If you can’t snag a spot, there is also street parking nearby. Once you’re there, there are plenty of enclosed areas where toddlers can run around and have a little freedom without you constantly worrying about them darting into downtown traffic. Meanwhile, the bigger kids can play basketball or tennis nearby, making it much easier to keep an eye on everyone while still letting each kid do their own thing.

And perhaps the most underrated feature of all: bathrooms! I cannot tell you how many times we’ve been downtown on a little family adventure when someone suddenly announces they have to go potty, and suddenly our entire afternoon is in jeopardy. Having a bathroom right there can make all the difference.

And if the park itself isn’t enough to keep your crew entertained, check out one of the special fall events happening at Tiedemann Nature Center. Crafts & Critters takes place every Wednesday in October from 2:30 to 4:45pm, with an extra Thursday date for the first session of the month. Families can drop in for seasonal, nature-inspired crafts and close-up visits with live animals. Basically, it’s the perfect combination of crafts and critters, which feels pretty perfect for a Charleston fall afternoon.

Crafts & Critters is held at Tiedemann Park Nature Center at 38 Elizabeth Street in Charleston. It’s completely free and no registration is required, so you can simply show up and join in when it works for your family.

The newest coworking space is finally here, and it’s directly in the center of downtown Summerville!

If you've walked past 128 South Main lately, you may have noticed some activity behind the windows directly above Accent on Wine. That's us. For the past few weeks we've been turning a 740-square-foot suite right on Hutchinson Square into Hutchinson Yard, a small, thoughtfully curated coworking space for those in Summerville who are tired of working from their kitchen table.

Here's what's available now: a mix of sitting and standing desks, bar stool seating along the front windows overlooking Hutchinson Square, a private conference room for calls and client meetings, a coffee setup, two 125-year-old original bank vaults, and more!

Memberships are first come, first serve, and spots are filling up fast.

Junior Archaeologists at Drayton Hall

If you have a kid who is constantly digging holes in your backyard and bringing you rocks, sticks and unidentified objects they insist are “treasure,” this one is for them. Junior Archaeologists at Drayton Hall on Friday, October 9, gives kids ages 6 to 12 the chance to get hands-on with archaeology alongside Drayton Hall’s archaeology team. Kids will sift through real dirt and learn what archaeologists can discover from the artifacts they uncover.

This is one of those activities that manages to feel like play while secretly being educational, which is basically the parenting jackpot. It’s also a fun way to experience Drayton Hall from a completely different perspective and get kids interested in the history literally underneath their feet.

Mrs. Doubtfire

Remember the movie? Now imagine Robin Williams’ Mrs. Doubtfire turned into a full Broadway musical. The touring production is at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center through Sunday, October 11, and there are performances Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening, and Sunday. The Saturday matinee is at 2pm, which is probably the easiest option for families who would rather not explain to their children why bedtime is suddenly happening at 11pm.

The story follows Daniel Hillard, a dad who goes to some pretty extreme lengths to stay connected to his kids after losing custody. It’s funny, heartfelt and ultimately a story about family and how far a parent will go for the people they love. It’s a fun opportunity to introduce older kids to live theater while also giving parents a healthy dose of nostalgia.

Peter & the Wolf

If you have a child who has never been to a symphony, this might be the perfect first concert. The Charleston Symphony’s Peter & the Wolf is happening Saturday, October 10 at 11am at the Charleston Gaillard Center. The 60-minute concert is specifically designed with young listeners in mind, and each character in Prokofiev’s story is represented by a different instrument.

There’s also an Instrument Discovery Zone before the concert where kids can get hands-on and try out orchestral instruments, which feels like a pretty good way to get them excited before sitting down for the performance. The concert is recommended for ages 5 and up, and there is no intermission, so you’re not committing your family to a three-hour symphony experience while praying everyone survives.

Sometimes the best weekends aren't the ones packed with five different activities. Pick one thing that sounds fun, load up the kids, and go make a little family memory. And if you're lucky, nobody has a meltdown in the parking lot.

There is something special about taking the whole family out to eat together that feels different from the usual burger spot or Chick-fil-A (no shade, because we love a Chick-fil-A run). Sometimes you just want to take the kids somewhere that feels a little more like a real dinner out, without needing to dress up or spend a fortune. TBonz is the perfect mix of good food, a casual atmosphere and prices that still feel reasonable for a family of five.

We had dinner at TBonz last Friday night and it was exactly what we were looking for. Good comfort food, generous portions and a relaxed atmosphere where having kids along doesn’t feel like you’re disrupting the entire restaurant. We ordered the chicken and shrimp with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and fried Brussels sprouts, along with a patty melt and fries. Basically, everyone left happy, which is really the goal when you’re feeding an entire family.

One of the coolest things about TBonz is that they serve Kaminsky’s desserts, and there’s actually a separate Kaminsky’s area attached to the restaurant. So you can make dinner feel a little more special by grabbing dessert afterward without having to make a whole second stop.

We paired our dinner with the First Friday ArtWalk in downtown Charleston, which is close by, and it made for such a fun family date night. We walked around, checked out the art and then headed back toward TBonz. We considered dessert, but in a rare moment of restraint, we actually passed. I know. Who are we?

TBonz Gill and Grill has locations downtown and in West Ashley. The downtown location is opened Sunday - Thursday 11am-10pm and Friday and Saturday 11am-11pm. West Ashley location is opened Sunday - Thursday 11am-9pm and Friday and Saturday 11am-10pm.

Sometimes a family date night doesn’t need to be complicated. Good food, something fun to do nearby and a place where everyone can come as they are. TBonz checked all the boxes for us.

Kids are inconvenient. There, I said it.

Today I was supposed to be at a park playdate with a good friend of mine. The kids were going to run around, we were going to catch up, and for a few hours it was going to feel like a normal afternoon. Instead, my youngest suddenly started having a hard time breathing, and I found myself loading everyone up and heading to urgent care. It was not on the schedule. It was not convenient. And honestly, it was not how I wanted to spend my afternoon. But that is parenting. Sometimes the playdate gets missed because someone needs you more.

Having kids means your life is going to be inconvenient for a while. You don't sleep as much. You don't have as much money. You can't always go where you want, when you want, or stay as long as you want. Your plans can change in approximately thirty seconds because someone threw up, had a meltdown, forgot their shoes, or suddenly needs you to solve a crisis that absolutely could have waited until tomorrow in your adult opinion. You give up pieces of your freedom, your time and your comfort because there are little people who depend on you.

But I think sometimes we talk about those inconveniences as if they are evidence that something has gone wrong. They're not. They're part of the deal. Raising children is an investment. You spend years pouring your time, money, energy, patience and sleep into people who, for a very long time, mostly just need you to keep showing up. And while there is certainly no guarantee that our children will someday take care of us, there is something beautiful about building a family that knows how to love one another, show up for one another and carry one another through the hard seasons.

Because eventually, the kids who needed you for everything start needing you a little less. They can buckle their own seatbelts. They can make their own breakfast. They can drive themselves somewhere. Eventually they become adults with lives and families and stories of their own. And if we've done our job well, we've built something that lasts beyond the exhausting years. A family where people genuinely want to come home. A family where you celebrate each other's wins, help carry each other's burdens and know that you don't have to face life alone.

So yes, kids are inconvenient. They interrupt the plans, the sleep, the budget and sometimes even the park playdate you've really been looking forward to. But that's not a reason to resent this season. It's a reminder that this season is asking something of us. And someday, when we're sitting around a table surrounded by grown children and their families, we may look back at all those inconvenient years and realize they were some of the most important ones we ever lived.

Have the best week!

Love, Jenna