Labels

How do you do it?

I often feel like I am on a treadmill from the moment I am shocked out of bed to when I finally collapse from exhaustion at the end of the day. After running on my parent-a-whirl all day, I still have a to-do list that is a foot long!! Does anyone else feel this way? Please feel free to use this area to comment on your solutions to everyday issues you face as a parent. Are you a working mom? A stay at home mom? A little of both? All of us have one thing in common which is the desire to provide the best life possible for our kids. How do you manage your life on a daily basis when 24 hours is clearly not enough?
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Jill, If I knew any secrets I would pass them along, it is a day to day learning process for me! I did receive a chain e-mail the otherday with the following statement, "I also just read that a study of mothers and one on one time spent with children was done. The researchers compared the amount of one on one time mothers had with their children in 1950 and now. Guess what? It is the same. How can that be with so many of us working? Well, the researchers say that mothers today can do it because we give up all our free recreation time. Maybe that is why one third of all sick days in the US are metal health related??" Not sure if such a study exists, but I believe the "findings"!

Molly
January 29, 2008 at 9:30 AM
Jillian said…
I also believe the findings. When I was young, my mother, a stay at home mom of four, had a very active social life. While the big kids were at school, she would hang out with her friends. One day a week she bowled, another played tennis. In the evening she played mah jong and many of her friends played bridge. If she had small children at home, she brought them to the outing and we played with the other children.
Now, working moms have no free time during the day. However, stay-at-home moms don't have free time either!! How can that be? We spend all of our time entertaining our children through endless mommy and me classes and playdates that we lose ourselves in the process. I truly believe that the enrichment classes offered for our little ones are benefital. But too often, we overschedule ourselves because we don't want our kids to miss out on anything. (I'm guilty of this) In the process, we shortchange our sense of self.
January 31, 2008 at 12:23 AM
Anonymous said…
Dear Jill,
I have found that on Sunday night I make a list of all the things I need to do for the week as well as some things that I would like to do. I start my week off by crossing my items off, which gives me a hugh feeling of accomplishment. I even find myself talking to myself after running an errand saying, "okay that's done only 7 more things left before I have to pick up the kids in 2 hours." I might look weird,but it keeps me on track. I am a subsitute teacher so I don't work every day and I can always say no thank you. I usually weigh how many things are on my list as to whether I will work or not. This does help a lot.
Melis in NJ
February 6, 2008 at 9:12 AM
Anonymous said…
This is such an interesting topic because every Mom I know feels this way. I think we all have lost our sense of community and try to do everything ourselves. It means we are lonely and are missing that social connection that our Moms had. Some tricks that work for me (although heaven knows I need more!) is that I have one night a week that is scheduled as MINE. My husband has his one night and I have mine. If I feel like calling friends then I do, if I feel like doing something myself then that is fine too. The point is to just get away and think about what I want (YES I said I). How many of us lose ourselves and even what we like since we are so driven to take care of everyone else? Anyway, I also have gotten over the whole childcare is bad thing and send my 3rd child to chilcare a few days a weeks just to get some time to breathe. He loves his "school" and I am much happier and contented when all 3 are home from school. Lastly, we moms just need to continue supporting each other and helping each other when we can. These are great years, but can be even better if we are not afraid to reach out and ask for help.
February 6, 2008 at 12:36 PM
Jillian said…
Kendra,

I love your comments. We definitely need to work as a village more often. I tend to try to do it all and end up exhausted and frustrated. I am still learning to delegate what isn't necessary for me to personally handle. It feels great to have the burdens lifted.

Jill
February 25, 2008 at 4:26 PM
Post a Comment

Popular Posts