I wrote this post a while ago. My schedule has changed. The children have changed. I have changed, too. But its message is just as true now as it was then. Especially now, as I’m going through another difficult time, these words help me remember that it will get better.
I lie in my bed and think of the day ahead. Tomorrow is Thursday. Every Tuesday and Thursday my two girls are at home with me. I used to dread those days. I worried how Earth was I going to do things around the house and run errands, and cook, and take care of two little children at the same time? The answer came quickly: I am not going to. Because it is not possible, not at the expense of my children. So instead of trying to get everything done, I focus on what really counts: my children. In the end I have come to enjoy, even to love those days. For so long, I have been asking myself the question: “How do I enjoy parenting?”- and here is the answer.
Every Tuesday and Thursday I spend my time cuddling, playing, nursing, reading books, singing, and listening to music. Often even literally rolling on the floor laughing. We go out for walks, we eat, we drink, we rest. They sleep, I rest some more. Those days are just for us, and I have learned to appreciate them. There are good days, and not-so-good days, and sometimes my goal for the day is to get everybody dressed, fed, and alive without losing my own sanity in the process. More often than not, those days are wonderful. I look at my children, and every day I notice something new. That K. can now put her shoes on by herself or learned a new word, and that J. is becoming more and more responsive.
With two little ones in the house, my expectations of what I should be doing have lowered considerably. I managed to vacuum? Cool. That, and laundry as well!? Wow. That, and preparing dinner from scratch, and not something I just improvised from things I happened to have at home? I am the Housewife Goddess.
I love those days for yet another reason. Because soon my children will grow up, and go to school, and my time with them will be less and less. So I try to make the best out of it now. And I hope they’re enjoying spending those days with me as much as I do. I do chores on other days, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. That’s when K. goes to her day-care centre, and that’s when I cook, I do shopping, I clean the house. I care for Julia, but soon she will join her big sister in the day-care centre, and I’ll have those days to myself and cherish Tuesdays, and Thursdays with my children.
As I lie in my bed, and think about tomorrow, I smile. Because I know that it will be a great day.
1 Comment
I’ve definitely learned the key to getting through a day with both kids at home is to lower my expectations. I enjoy the time with my kids more and anything extra that gets done is a bonus!