Stuck in a whirlwind
Like any other parent, my daily to-do list far exceeds the hours in a day. I often find myself stuck in a whirlwind of doing the dishes and laundry, mopping, dusting, working, paying bills, feeding the fish, chauffeuring the kids and making beds, meals and appointments. But last night, it hit me that that there is one “mommy” responsibility that has fallen by the wayside – playing.
It’s easy for moms to get stuck in a rut full of work, work, work. We are constantly in a balancing act, trying to make sure nothing slips off our already too-full plate as we continue to say “yes” to more request, demands and responsibilities. And then, when we feel we aren’t 1,000,000 percent successful at everything, guilt hits and we try pushing even harder.
I realized the other night that just as I schedule appointments, I need to schedule play time. I need to make time to sit down with my 5-year-old to play Littlest Pet Shop and color with my 1-year-old. Sure, I often take my girls to community events and fun local spots, but there is something to be said about simply playing with puzzles or enjoying a good book together.
So my husband and I sat down and made a schedule. Of course there are still certain times of the day devoted to getting work done and cleaning the house; we don’t want to start living like pigs. But there are also certain times set aside for nothing else but enjoying being a mommy to my two beautiful little girls who will be two beautiful teenagers and then two beautiful grown women before I know it.
And I will have to give credit to my amazing husband, who typed up my schedule and offered to take on some of the daily tasks. I can’t wait to start my new schedule, but there is one time of day I admit I am NOT looking forward to: a 6 a.m. wake-up time. But as my husband always reminds me, I have to “start my day, not let my day start.”
Can any fellow parents relate to the never-ending demands of parenthood? How do you balance everything?
Tags guilt, mom, parent, play, work | Category Uncategorized
As I have discovered a long time ago, all that cleaning can wait till after the kids go to bed and it take half the time then when they are awake and they are only little once… after having my 2 boys i decided when i was expecting our daughter that i would slow down and MAKE the time to enjoy all the small things, the small gibberish talk, the questions, the small joys she shows over the littlest things, makeing time for her to make a mess and not worry about if someone will drop by to visit. It all has become no big deal to me and the amount of stress i dont put on myself and i will tell people straight out (even my Mother In Law), my house is not spotless because my kids are making memories with ME IN THEM. It is something now that I strive for with all my kids because so often the other “stuff” always takes away from all their fun growing up, like with getting kids home from school, homework, dinner, baths, etc there isnt any free time well I have found ways to make dinner prep and cooking down to 30 minutes so my kids will all have about an hour between 7 and 8 to play with one of us parents taking one child at a time for a quick bath then back to playing… it works for us but maybe not everyone but i do understand how time needs to be made in our days to be WITH our children not just IN THE ROOM with our children
by Danielle Coleman