Sunday 22 July 2012

Survival

Long ago, before children, I remember asking a coworker, a mother of 5 year old twins, "what are your plans for the weekend?" "Just surviving" was her response, which at the time, I thought was kind of odd.

Now, I totally understand.


The other day, my 5 year old said to me "I love weekends". (Actually, she was practicing her French, so she said "j'aime le weekend.") Of course, everyone loves the weekend, the break from routine, the freedoms of an unplanned day, but for children, weekends are extra special because of all the extra time they get to spend with mom and dad. For mom and dad, however, this means sacrificing the break from routine or any freedoms of an unplanned day. The kids still need a routine, or else it seems that they are even more unmanageable than ever!

And so, we give up on the idea of
sleeping in, since kids, although they understand about weekends, just don't comprehend the beauty of sleeping past 6 a.m.! And any ideas of lounging around and simply relaxing or "doing nothing" are quickly squashed by whines of boredom, cries for attention, or squabbles demanding intervention. And I am starting to learn the hard lesson that although I may think that weekends are a good time to get projects done around the house, with 3 young children, this is next to impossible.

This weekend, in particular, was a difficult one. Maybe because the past week 
was one of new routines and hubby away on business. But we were all tired, which meant more-than-normal misbehavior, short tempers, irritability, and probably overly strong reactions to normal child misbehavior. By late afternoon, we were counting down to bedtime.

It was one of those weekends that I'm grateful for ending. I'm glad it's Sunday night, and looking forward to returning to our weekly routine in the morning. It sounds terrible, and I feel guilty for saying it, but sometimes, the work week is easier and more enjoyable than the weekends.

Now that the kids are asleep, I've done my crazy
Sunday Night tidy-up and I'm ready for bed myself, I can look back and remember the fun things about our weekend, and hope for a better outlook tomorrow.

And prepare to survive another week...

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