Oh, dear (insert your favorite deity here) – not another post on the challenges of life balance. Please, don’t write yet another rambling diatribe about the difficulties that parents face to find time for work, family and fun (which isn’t to say that work and family can’t be fun, too). Whatever you do, Mr. Skadaddle, please, please, please don’t bore us with some sad story of how there aren’t enough hours in the day. Sorry. Can’t help it.
The truth is that I’ve had a particularly difficult week. I knew it was going to be like this way back on Monday. (In fact, I even posted a status update on my Facebook page on Monday, which read, “Todd thinks he’s in for a long week.” Currently, it reads, “Todd is worked.”) There are just many balls in the air concurrently, and it seems that as I keep throwing more into the air, none actually come down. (Makes me think that, while I’m impressed by the Olympic athletes, I think “multitasking” should be an Olympic sport. Parents would dominate the events!)
It’s just been “one of those weeks.” We have them. We all have them. They aren’t bad, per se. They are just crazy busy. They don’t include enough sleep. They include bad diet habits. There isn’t enough time to exercise. Patience is on short order. It’s one of those weeks where it’s not so much that things aren’t going right – they just are going at such an extraordinary pace that catching up is impossible.
I remember weeks like this before the kidlet came along. I’d manage my way through them because I knew the weekend was coming. That meant I could sleep in and, if I wanted to, never even get out of bed. I could just lie around and watch crappy movies all day. Catch up on my sleep. Remember “catching up on sleep"? No. Neither do I, really. Seems like a distant fantasy during weeks like this.
But then…
I have a weekend of father-son activities planned with the K-Man. Tomorrow morning we’re going to the park, out to breakfast, maybe to Train Town (one of his favorite places) and then to his friend’s b’day party. Sunday will be spent at the same park and then swimming at his friend’s house. There will be much running around, bonding, playing, laughing…and I’d rather do that than sleep in all day.
So it makes me wonder if balance is really what’s missing. I wonder if it’s more just about rest, relaxation and enjoying the moment. I wonder if it’s not so much a balance question as it is just chilling out a bit. I’m not totally sure. I know that I’ve made great strides in my efforts to slow down and have (gasp, if you can imagine?!?) left my cell phone at home during many recent weekends. I figure there’s nobody I really want to talk to when I’m out with K-Man. So, this allows me to focus more on him. Actually do one thing at a time instead of ten. Seems to help in the whole balance equation. (There have even been weekends when I’ve avoided my computer. That’s Olympic medal worthy.)
It’s hard not to try to do it all at the same time. There’s a kind of pressure that comes with the times we live in, and depending on where you are, the communities we live in. The pressure builds as we throw more and more balls into the air.
But, I think this week it may have finally hit me that if I try to throw just one more ball in the air – they’re all going to fall.
The truth is that I’ve had a particularly difficult week. I knew it was going to be like this way back on Monday. (In fact, I even posted a status update on my Facebook page on Monday, which read, “Todd thinks he’s in for a long week.” Currently, it reads, “Todd is worked.”) There are just many balls in the air concurrently, and it seems that as I keep throwing more into the air, none actually come down. (Makes me think that, while I’m impressed by the Olympic athletes, I think “multitasking” should be an Olympic sport. Parents would dominate the events!)
It’s just been “one of those weeks.” We have them. We all have them. They aren’t bad, per se. They are just crazy busy. They don’t include enough sleep. They include bad diet habits. There isn’t enough time to exercise. Patience is on short order. It’s one of those weeks where it’s not so much that things aren’t going right – they just are going at such an extraordinary pace that catching up is impossible.
I remember weeks like this before the kidlet came along. I’d manage my way through them because I knew the weekend was coming. That meant I could sleep in and, if I wanted to, never even get out of bed. I could just lie around and watch crappy movies all day. Catch up on my sleep. Remember “catching up on sleep"? No. Neither do I, really. Seems like a distant fantasy during weeks like this.
But then…
I have a weekend of father-son activities planned with the K-Man. Tomorrow morning we’re going to the park, out to breakfast, maybe to Train Town (one of his favorite places) and then to his friend’s b’day party. Sunday will be spent at the same park and then swimming at his friend’s house. There will be much running around, bonding, playing, laughing…and I’d rather do that than sleep in all day.
So it makes me wonder if balance is really what’s missing. I wonder if it’s more just about rest, relaxation and enjoying the moment. I wonder if it’s not so much a balance question as it is just chilling out a bit. I’m not totally sure. I know that I’ve made great strides in my efforts to slow down and have (gasp, if you can imagine?!?) left my cell phone at home during many recent weekends. I figure there’s nobody I really want to talk to when I’m out with K-Man. So, this allows me to focus more on him. Actually do one thing at a time instead of ten. Seems to help in the whole balance equation. (There have even been weekends when I’ve avoided my computer. That’s Olympic medal worthy.)
It’s hard not to try to do it all at the same time. There’s a kind of pressure that comes with the times we live in, and depending on where you are, the communities we live in. The pressure builds as we throw more and more balls into the air.
But, I think this week it may have finally hit me that if I try to throw just one more ball in the air – they’re all going to fall.