Becky at Boys Rule My Life hosts Simple and Slow Friday's. This week's topic is "enchantment."
Somehow, in our hurry to steer our children toward accomplishment and independence, we seem to have forgotten what childhood is all about. Preoccupied with managing their lives, and our own, it is so easy to lose sight of our children - their tenderness and innocence, their joyousness, their capacity for wonder, their hunger for enchantment. A touch of magic can reawaken the childlike spirit in all of us, allowing us to revisit for time, the secret realm of childhood.
The last time I participated in Simple and Slow Friday, I wrote about making the decision about preschool.
It's been seven months since I wrote that post and it's clear to me that I made the right decision in not looking for a scheduled activity over the summer. We had a busy summer, but it was on our terms. We went for walks, we explored our city, we spent time at the pool. We slept until 10AM if we wanted to, went to bed late if we wanted to, and spent plenty of time just hanging out doing nothing.
It was great.
Since preschool started two weeks ago, Johnny is loving it, and my life has gotten about 5000 times more complicated.
Sunday night, Maureen was up a lot, so I slept through my alarm and didn't wake up until Johnny sat on me and requested Cheerios and milk. Maureen fussed through breakfast and wouldn't allow me to put her down long enough to take a shower and eat. I had to choose, and since having shaven legs always wins over food, I took the world's fastest shower, then stuck the kids in the car so we could go pick up my thyroid pills and cheese to go in that night's meatloaf. Except the pharmacy didn't have my prescription ready, so we got the cheese and dashed home. Maureen went down for a nap and my brother came over with Noah to stay with her, and Johnny and I went to school. My breakfast was in my bag. School let out a little early, so we went back to the pharmacy to get my pills, then home for a snack and to send my brother home. I had to wake up Maureen from her nap, stuff a waffle down her throat and dash to the pediatrician's office to have her ears checked because her cold wasn't getting any better. (Her ears are fine, and the doctor said sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a bad virus and a sinus infection. If she hadn't improved by today, she would get antibiotics, but she is much better.) Then we drove home so I could start dinner, but as it turned out, my husband had to work late so I didn't cook. My whole day went by in a blur.
Tuesday was much of the same, including another trip to the grocery store (this time with a list). All of sudden, my time is not so much my own.
Even fitting that grocery trip in is harder. I need to make sure there is food in the house in case my Monday babysitter gets hungry, and I definitely have to make sure there is food for Wednesday, when my mom is here with the kids all day. That means my menu plan needs to be done ahead of time. If I want my housework to get done, I have to hustle and do it in the morning, so we can be sure to get outside and get some exercise after school. A friend of mine in Western MD used to call me and say, "Let's get together! What day is good for you?" The answer used to be, "Any day!" but now it's more like, "Friday. That's my only free day. But wait, not this Friday because we have plans."
Poor Maureen spends more time in her carseat than she used to and she can't even take a decent nap twice a day because I have to wake her up so we can go pick Johnny up.
I must be crazy, because I may sign Johnny up for a Thursday morning gymnastics class. What's one more thing to do?
If I'm not driving to and fro or grocery shopping, I'm looking at book forms or printing out tracing paper or trying to fit all the artwork on the refrigerator, and I'm trying to spend quality time with my kids. To be honest, I don't have enough time to get everything done. It's made it harder to just enjoy the time with my kids, even if all we're doing is ambling along the water and picking up pinecones. With all the thoughts about chores and lists and appointments jumbled around in my head, it's hard to set that aside and let my kids just be kids. We used to take walks and count butterflies. We used to build houses with board books. We used to sit in the grass and watch helicopters land. And since school started, it always feels like we're always rushing from one place to the next.
Quality time isn't about how many hours you put into your relationships, it's about making every minute that you have count, even if it's just twenty minutes a day. So my goal for myself, with this injection of craziness into my life, is to readjust my focus and give everything I've got into making those minutes count, blocking out everything I need to do and concentrating on what I've got right in front of me--two little kids who are growing up fast. The To-Do lists will be there when I get back.
How do you maintain balance in your life and how do you keep your schedule from overwhelming you? Does something have to give, and what is it in your life?
For more posts on "enchantment," visit Boys Rule My Life.
Somehow, in our hurry to steer our children toward accomplishment and independence, we seem to have forgotten what childhood is all about. Preoccupied with managing their lives, and our own, it is so easy to lose sight of our children - their tenderness and innocence, their joyousness, their capacity for wonder, their hunger for enchantment. A touch of magic can reawaken the childlike spirit in all of us, allowing us to revisit for time, the secret realm of childhood.
The last time I participated in Simple and Slow Friday, I wrote about making the decision about preschool.
It's been seven months since I wrote that post and it's clear to me that I made the right decision in not looking for a scheduled activity over the summer. We had a busy summer, but it was on our terms. We went for walks, we explored our city, we spent time at the pool. We slept until 10AM if we wanted to, went to bed late if we wanted to, and spent plenty of time just hanging out doing nothing.
It was great.
Since preschool started two weeks ago, Johnny is loving it, and my life has gotten about 5000 times more complicated.
Sunday night, Maureen was up a lot, so I slept through my alarm and didn't wake up until Johnny sat on me and requested Cheerios and milk. Maureen fussed through breakfast and wouldn't allow me to put her down long enough to take a shower and eat. I had to choose, and since having shaven legs always wins over food, I took the world's fastest shower, then stuck the kids in the car so we could go pick up my thyroid pills and cheese to go in that night's meatloaf. Except the pharmacy didn't have my prescription ready, so we got the cheese and dashed home. Maureen went down for a nap and my brother came over with Noah to stay with her, and Johnny and I went to school. My breakfast was in my bag. School let out a little early, so we went back to the pharmacy to get my pills, then home for a snack and to send my brother home. I had to wake up Maureen from her nap, stuff a waffle down her throat and dash to the pediatrician's office to have her ears checked because her cold wasn't getting any better. (Her ears are fine, and the doctor said sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a bad virus and a sinus infection. If she hadn't improved by today, she would get antibiotics, but she is much better.) Then we drove home so I could start dinner, but as it turned out, my husband had to work late so I didn't cook. My whole day went by in a blur.
Tuesday was much of the same, including another trip to the grocery store (this time with a list). All of sudden, my time is not so much my own.
Even fitting that grocery trip in is harder. I need to make sure there is food in the house in case my Monday babysitter gets hungry, and I definitely have to make sure there is food for Wednesday, when my mom is here with the kids all day. That means my menu plan needs to be done ahead of time. If I want my housework to get done, I have to hustle and do it in the morning, so we can be sure to get outside and get some exercise after school. A friend of mine in Western MD used to call me and say, "Let's get together! What day is good for you?" The answer used to be, "Any day!" but now it's more like, "Friday. That's my only free day. But wait, not this Friday because we have plans."
Poor Maureen spends more time in her carseat than she used to and she can't even take a decent nap twice a day because I have to wake her up so we can go pick Johnny up.
I must be crazy, because I may sign Johnny up for a Thursday morning gymnastics class. What's one more thing to do?
If I'm not driving to and fro or grocery shopping, I'm looking at book forms or printing out tracing paper or trying to fit all the artwork on the refrigerator, and I'm trying to spend quality time with my kids. To be honest, I don't have enough time to get everything done. It's made it harder to just enjoy the time with my kids, even if all we're doing is ambling along the water and picking up pinecones. With all the thoughts about chores and lists and appointments jumbled around in my head, it's hard to set that aside and let my kids just be kids. We used to take walks and count butterflies. We used to build houses with board books. We used to sit in the grass and watch helicopters land. And since school started, it always feels like we're always rushing from one place to the next.
Quality time isn't about how many hours you put into your relationships, it's about making every minute that you have count, even if it's just twenty minutes a day. So my goal for myself, with this injection of craziness into my life, is to readjust my focus and give everything I've got into making those minutes count, blocking out everything I need to do and concentrating on what I've got right in front of me--two little kids who are growing up fast. The To-Do lists will be there when I get back.
How do you maintain balance in your life and how do you keep your schedule from overwhelming you? Does something have to give, and what is it in your life?
For more posts on "enchantment," visit Boys Rule My Life.
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5 comments:
I am TOTALLY Feeling your pain right now. It really stinks. Althoughm now I not only have preschool, but kindergarten too. I am really hoping it is the remodel that is making my life crazy, but I don't know. I think I am destined to be super busy until i send them to college.
Ditto to tracy. Kindergarten, Preschool, and soccer for us. Where does the enchantment of childhood fit in??? I suppose everything is a balancing act and somethings one just needs to be intentional about.
Thanks for joining in on SSF! Have an enchanting weekend! :)
My kids don't go to school yet but I work full time so that means time with them is precious and I have to make every minute count. What gives in my house is usually the housework. I've begun setting a timer and doing just 20 minutes a night after they go to bed in an attempt to stay on top of it because I hate it when my house is a mess. At the same time, I'd much rather play with my kids than clean my bathroom so when there's a choice to make, my kids win every time. In some ways, I think maybe it will be easier for us when the kids go to school because we're used to getting up and going somewhere every day but I often look at our hectic schedule and wonder how on Earth we're going to find time for homework in a few years.
It's hard for me for sure especially because there are so many things we have to do with Landon, doctors, therapies etc. I try to just let some days be fun days and adventures. I do my best!
And here I am with three kids, all in some sort of school and two of who participate in after school activities. This last week was CRAZY. One night the Mr. and I had to be in three different places at the same time. It worked out...barely. Balance?? It gets harder and harder. And yet, I was just thinking, that with my oldest being almost 14, that this craziness will not be forever.
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