"Which of my all important nothings should I tell you first?" ~ Jane Austen, in a letter to her sister

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Saturday, March 26, 2011

Lessons in moderation

I'm a better mom on the weekends.

This is me during the week, every day, Monday-Friday:

Wake up, stumble to the shower, dress, make-up, help the kids dress and brush things, and then run out the door with seconds to spare. Take one kid to school while the hubby takes the other to a different school.

Go to work and work, work, work. Maybe get lunch. Maybe not. 

Leave work at 6 or 6:30 or 7. Sometimes go to appointments after work. Then rush home because the hubby has to be somewhere at 7ish a few days a week. 

Make dinner. Do dishes. Maybe do laundry. Maybe play a game of Plants vs. Zombies with the boys (well, I'm being honest. don't worry, homework is done already). 

Coax my little one to do the needful (drop a bomb, if you get my drift) and get a bath (because he's Autistic and in his mind one must follow the other or there will be tears). 

Then jammies, and teeth brushing and bed around 9 or 9:30. (Where they will lay for another hour or two before falling asleep. Why? Because they are MY kids).

The hubby and I may sit down and watch something together (thank goodness for Tivo) or we may both do work. I'll do my job-related work or pay bills or I try to blog. Then I fall into bed semi-comatose at midnight or 1 am.

Aaaannnnddddd repeat.

It's the weekends that I can look at my sons and really think, "What do I want them to learn from me this weekend?" They see me work all week long, and that's one lesson right there, but what can I impart to them on the weekends?

And I don't mean the difference between an adjective or pro-noun, or how to work through their multiplication chart. 

I mean what can I do to be a positive example to them? So they understand how to live when they are adults. Respect, charity, industriousness, etc. The stuff that only parents can teach, you know, by example

Somebody once said, "If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please."

Work ethic is important. It's huge. But I firmly believe in living a life of moderation. In raising my kids I want them to learn from me that work is good - not only does it provide for more practical needs, but it also feeds the mind and helps individuals to grow and become better, more well-rounded people.

Conversely, I want my boys to know that playing and down-time and just plain, ole FUN and laughter is good too. To be successful at work a person needs to learn the virtues of the R's - restart, refuel, reload, reboot & relax.

Sometimes, like this morning, the best lesson I can teach them is just to turn the music up and have a dance party. Right there in the living room. 

Laughter? Check. 

Exercise? Check.

Inhibitions? Gone.

My kids thinking I'm the coolest mom ever? CHECK. 
Collapsing on the sofa.
We'll get to the laundry . . . later. They will help, they are good at that. (Industriousness, respect? Check, check).

If all we did was have dance parties then they wouldn't be so special. 

Moderation, yo. It's important.

3 comments:

  1. Amen. I feel like this is case whether I work or not. Most days I'm running around like a headless chicken transporting people here and there and taking care of a crabby baby and then, bam, it's 2:45. They come home exhausted and it's the same story. Homework, dinner, clean up, showers and OHMYGOD you have a jazz festival tomorrow? Awesome, I have to iron your uniform. At 10:30 pm. Today I asked Matt what he wanted to do and he was like "Uh" and I was all "um" and so we had pancakes and spun a few records and they are watching tv while I make the bed. It's fun times.

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  2. The hubby is gone this afternoon/evening and I always like to make those days fun for the three of us. I got the laundry going but I'm seriously considering sitting down and playing video games with them for a while. That's family-bonding time, right? Hee hee.

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