It is almost 11pm and I should be sleeping. However, I just came back from grocery shopping for the week. This was the only time I was able to do it. There are inches of mud piles all over the breezeway thanks to the wonderful emergence of Spring (B”H!) My kitchen was not cleaned up from supper, I have a broken computer on the main table that we are trying to salvage all our information from via Ubuntu for it does not boot up otherwise (yes, I dropped it ever so nicely on the floor. Positive note – we bought the full coverage warranty that covers drops and as soon as I have about 30 minutes to talk to Dell I will, IY”H.) Our basement bathroom has decided to take in water from the outside over the last year, and there is a nice pool of water on the floor now. Not to mention we are having family over starting tomorrow at about noon. I don’t think I’m teaching tomorrow.
Last week, on the homeschool curriculum list that I am on, there was an email from a mother who admits she hides in the bathroom to eat ice cream. In response, another mother wrote back and was in tears from laughing for she hides in the closet so that she can eat a whole chocolate bar all by herself. There were many emails that came flooding in response to this one mother who hides in the bathroom to get a few moments of “self” time.
Life can be stressful at times. This goes for everyone – even children – not just a homeschool parent. However, for a parent who is at home with their children all day, every day, and every night, it can be harder to deal with. If the other parent is able to be home and help out a bit in the afternoons/evenings, that helps. Some fathers are able to help teach their children a bit, others cannot for their work hours do not let them. We all need our “me” time. It is hard sometimes for children to understand. I had one boy who wanted to go out, just the two of us, and I had to tell him no. Trying to explain that Mommy needs to go out by herself, and only herself, not with any other beautiful boy in tow, is hard. It is not that we do not love them, and it is not that we do not want to be with them (hey, if that were the case, I would not be doing what I’m doing!) it is that sometimes we all need to rejuvenate and change things around so that we feel refreshed and are ready to get back into things.
In our house, the alarm goes off at 7am (sometimes earlier). My husband and I get up. Between getting my husband off to work with a shirt and lunch, making sure the boys are up and do their breakfast routine, school, lunch, piano teaching (my “other” job) and supper, I do not get a break until after 8:30/9 in the evening when the boys go to bed (aside from a few minutes at lunch.) Finding “me” time is tough, which is why I requested to go shopping all by myself tonight – without even my husband, and which is why I only left after 9pm. I don’t usually go that late, for I usually get to go shopping on the weekend, but it did not work out this week.
Anyways, I am going to put on my homeschooling hat and not feel guilty about what the plan will be for tomorrow. It really helps to know that there are many parents who “hide-in-the-bathroom-to-eat-ice-cream” at times, (and yes, I have hidden in the bathroom, but I’m happy to say I don’t eat the ice cream!) This is all normal. This is life. I am hoping I can finish the kitchen in about 10 minutes, put the perishables in the fridge and then go to bed. Tomorrow will be a day to learn life skills (aka house cleaning, hachnas orchim (providing for guests), laundry, etc.) and physical exercise (aka go outside and play in the sun so I can finish cleaning!) I just hope that they do not get too muddy tomorrow before noon so the house looks semi clean when our company arrives…but then again, that might be asking too much for 4 boys… 😉
I’m including a link to an article that was sent this evening that shows a link between more outdoor play and better (and faster) sleep, (and when it is bedtime for the kids, any parent knows that the faster the child goes to sleep, the happier the exhausted parents are!)
Kids Sleep Better with Outdoor Time
‘Night!