When your day is wide open, and anything is possible, that's when sometimes you're the least productive. That's how it is for me, at least. With a week of vacation I've done nothing but enjoy myself. Which is great, don't get me wrong. I've had a nice break from the grind. But all my grand plans of getting the last bits of work done around the house...not realized. I did get the AC unit in, as you read yesterday. But that's it.
Which is why I say that sometimes the routine of "the grind" is a good thing. It gives your week a structure. A schedule you can operate inside of. It demarcates your productive times from your non-productive times, and offers relaxation time as a reward from your labors as opposed to a freely available, easily exploitable constant. It's sort of like putting a toddler in a play pen. The fenced in area defines his/her world for a time. It gives borders and limits choices. It lets them feel safe and encourages play.
It's something like that...loosely.
I'm not necessarily looking forward to going back to work, although I like my work, so it doesn't bother me. I'm looking forward to the routine, and having Kate around again. I'm looking forward to our little rituals and the things we normally do to spend time together. I can't wait for my play pen to have a bit of a fence again.
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I totally agree!!! when I was working and especially working and in college at the same time, every minute of the day had to be well structured. This made my relax time very precious, and I loved all the structure and feeling of accomplishment every day.
ReplyDeleteNow, don't get me wrong. I LOVE BEING A MOM. Staying home with Caleb is something I can never replace. Although jobs will come and go this is irreplaceable and I am SO happy. With that said, it has taken some getting used to the change of pace. You would think that when james comes home at the end of the day from clinic and asks what did you do today ... I would have something to say. :) HMMM
Well, this is what MY routine looks like: wake up, change diaper, laugh/smile at caleb's funny things he does, feed Caleb, feed caleb cheerios and fruit, play trucks, laugh/smile at caleb's funny things he does, clean spit up off the floor, chase Caleb down after he crawls to the bathroom and tries to get up on the toilet, laugh/smile at caleb's funny things he does, give caleb loves after bonking his head, change diaper while Caleb tried to crawl away so I change it while he is standing up (not easy), put Caleb down for nap, feed caleb, laugh/smile at caleb's funny things he does, make sure Caleb doesn't fall off the piano bench while he practices the piano :), give Caleb loves after falling down and bonking head, put Caleb down for a nap, run to the store, shop as quickly as possible so Caleb doesn't get grumpy, help Caleb practice wave "hi" to friends/cashiers we see, back in car to go home, caleb starts getting grumpy, turn on his favorite Christmas music, he falls asleep, get home, carry Caleb in one hand in carrier (he's way to big to be carried in that now!) with as many bags as possible in the other hand, transfer Caleb from carseat into crib hoping he doesn't wake up and start screaming, run down stairs hoping my groceries are still good, put groceries away, feed myself, check email/blogs :), lay down for a little rest, 1 minute later, Caleb wakes up (seriously, somehow he knows exactly when I lay down), feed him, get out toys again on floor to play with, laugh/smile at caleb's funny things he does, give Caleb loves after bonking his head while pulling himself up on something, start some laundry, vacuum up all the cheerios Caleb spilled all over the floor, make dinner while trying to keep Caleb occupied so I can, eat dinner with James, clean up, put Caleb in bath tub (assuming this is not a night I go to work), laugh, laugh, laugh, get Caleb in jammies, feed him, say good night, put him in bed, just sit for a minute, clean up all the toys scattered about, be relieved to have Caleb in bed, next minute, miss Caleb so much and can't wait for tomorrow to hold, love, and smile at Caleb.
ok, so perhaps I have digressed, and you probably didn't care to read my whole schedule, but it feels good when I write it down so I feel productive in my daily routine. I'll probably just print this out and read it to james at dinner every night when he asks what we did today. :)
Good post on being positive about work! Sorry my comment is longer than your actual post. :)
Nice! Thanks for the _very_ specific snapshot of "A Day in Amy's Life." I actually did read the whole thing. I'm impressed that you can recount a head-spinning day like that in such detail. If I may...a condensed version.
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Wow. :)
I'm a little shocked you read the whole thing. ha, ha ... your condensed version is just about right. :) Guess I ought to try to schedule in some more "James" and "Amy"s. I guess I did leave out the exercising part, which would be an Amy part of the day. Hmm, it makes you think. A life of servitude to your children ... wouldn't trade it for a million bucks. :)
ReplyDeleteI read the whole thing, too and...if you replace the name "Caleb" with the name "Jackson" who pretty much have my daily schedule as well!! It's amazing to me that such a little tiny human being can take up so much time (and produce sooooo many dirty diapers) and be so entertaining and enjoyable w/o saying a word! Here's to having the best bosses in the world...our kids ;-)!!!
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