I have been in a bit of a dither of late. Having thought that going back to (part-time) work would make life a bit easier, a bit more ‘sorted’, I find myself ever more frantic. Things have just not seemed right…I couldn’t put my finger on why or how or when, but everything seemed very disparate and more chaotic than usual. I eventually recognised the fact that working two days a week is, in some ways, harder than going full time. Work is jam packed into two solid days, plus the at home marking and planning and this means the rest of the week is now compacted and so the remaining days have become one giant to do list.
I was at loss as to how to sort it all out. You know how usually you have some idea or deep down know what must be done….well all that deserted me and I was left in a befuddled state of bewildered confusion.
The solution, in hindsight, was obvious. A cup of tea with my BFF in John Lewis. One flat white and a toasted tea cake later she had it sorted. Well, I rambled on for 20 minutes and gradually the penny dropped. She is the master at offering sage nuggets of sanity in my over-analysed witterings and annoyingly she is always right. Always has been; from boyfriend advice to what to about stubborn stains she listens, digests and then comes back with a solution. Not always the one I like to hear, and on matters of the heart I have often taken several months to realise she was spot on and had the ‘this one’s different’ boyfriend pegged from the start. Anyway, I love her to bits and will always appreciate her wisdom, even if I don’t always follow it.
So now I find myself facing a daunting prospect; putting my plan into action. I’m not sure why bad habits are so easily formed and so difficult to break (good ones having the opposite effects) but I suspect it will be a challenge for all of us to regulate ourselves into a better, more cohesive way of living. Especially as I think I am the only one having this ‘family crisis’. Still, perhaps they’ll humour me and then discover actually it is all a bit better after all. Perhaps….
The Monday Club
The Monday Club seems to be going from strength to strength with some fabulous posts each week. Whatever you blog about, link up below and join the bloggy love……for more info click here.
I hope you can figure all this out I’m facing something similar actually so look forward to seeing how you get on! We desperately need so e quality family time! I hope I’ve added the right link just sharing my weekend to be honest with my youngest of its wrong feel free to delete!x
Thanks for linking up! I think I may be battling alone on my mission to re-group the family!
I know exactly what you mean and I think it’s a great idea to turn off all the devices! I find myself repeatedly saying ‘I’ll just do this’ on-line thing and not getting round to very much around the house and the kids’ behaviour is becoming increasingly ‘attention seeking.’ Turning things off is the only way I’m not distracted, let alone them! Good luck X
I love the rethorical question about tomato soup, I can soooo relate to that!
Difficult in our house too to create family time that everybody enjoys. We do have a ‘family evening’ once in a while where we eat in the sitting room and watch a DVD all together but it’s becoming increasingly hard to find something that will be enjoyed by the parents, the 7 and 9 yo, and the 3 yo (not even mentionning the 1 yo…!). We also have some special time for the two oldest (the youngest still having lots of ‘them’ time with mummy), taking one in turn out for lunch, swimming, shopping, etc.
I have a similar problem…every Friday night is supposed to be movie night for the family, but with a 2, 5 and 8 yr old is is increasingly difficult to find something they will all watch. Then the fights start….then the wine opens!
Turning off the gadgets is a very good idea – It’s what I need to do too, and give Little A real focused, undistracted attention. Doing something on a Sunday afternoon altogether is a good idea too!
its a hard balancing act..sometimes it all comes together and sometimes not….you just have to go with the ebb and flow :)
Ooh, I’ve been going through similar thoughts here. ((hugs)). Such a hard hard balance to find isn’t it…. somehow working p/time feels like I’m still doing all the usual things around the house but ALSO going out to work – been feeling a bit frazzled & stressed with it all. We made an impromptu trip to the park last w/e for that very reason – .to just have a few hours of uninterrupted family fun together – no chores, no homework, no stressing over to-do lists. Lovely. x