One of the wonderful things about having another adult in the house to share responsibilities is the slow and steady reappearance of more ‘free time’. While Seth is deployed, much of my day is spent caring for our young children as well as the cooking, cleaning, and planning needed for running the household. Free time during this busy season of military life is usually after the kids are in bed for the night, or when I schedule some “Mommy time off” with hourly child care.
During deployment I feel a lot of guilt for not being able to stop and just play with my children as much as I want to.
My mind is usually a visual rolodex of images ranging from overflowing laundry baskets
to cluttered countertops with stacks of unread mail
to stacks of dirty dishes and wondering what am I going to make for dinner tonight?
Watching them blow on their HOT plastic oreos ‘fresh from the oven’ I found myself soaking up the moment.
Someday soon, Miss Muffet and Bruce Wayne will be too busy for hats and pearls.
Mommy’s silly Julia Child/ British accent will no longer be amusing.
But until that day, when I am politely invited to tea -
I shall don a bright peach colored hawaiian skirt….
place my biggest garden hat upon my head…
offer my favorite pearl necklace to the hostess…
and do my best to simply savor the moment…
(and take pictures for blackmail on prom night)
How do you find time to just ‘play’ with the children in your life?
What are your favorite things to do during your free time with family?
January 25, 2012 at 4:00 pm
I used to resist becoming too involved in play time in the evenings because omg the child wants me to play FOR him instead of WITH him. Like playing with blocks is just too much to handle. So I was resistant (especially if there were dishes to be done, dinner to cook, etc.). But that only seemed to make it worse. So now, when I make the concerted effort to get on the floor and do whatever he wants to do (crawl around, build with blocks, play peekaboo), the tantrums seem to be fewer and I get to enjoy my sweet son instead of the little demon that usually visits around dinnertime. The husband never seems to get home on time anyway- why stress about dinner and dishes?
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January 28, 2012 at 4:51 pm
Here is something fickle about kids, as long as they are playing and having a good time it doesnt really matter to them if they are playing with you or not!
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