If I am honest, I follow the cultural pattern and struggle to sit still. I like to have a full social schedule myself, and one for the kids. I like to know I have a list of to do's to be accomplished and activities to be done. I struggle with sitting still and being home.
Today was our very first Saturday in 3 weeks with no company, a day to stay in our pjs and play, and of course, I struggled with it, even though I know how important it is for my mental health and for my children.
I started thinking about how ridiculous our culture is (which I have fallen prey to so easily). How silly it is that we feel so much pressure to introduce our children to absolutely everything our city has to offer before the age of 5, how much pressure there is to enroll them into school and as many activities as possible by the age of 2 or 3, and how a day that doesn't have a productive plan feels like a waste. Am I the only one who struggles with this?!
As a mom I feel guilty when we are home all day and my older two seem "bored", but I feel guilty on school days when we are in the car and my younger two are strapped in for an hour twice a day. I feel guilty when we are out that they are not home playing and guilty when we are home they do not have entertainment. And when I think back on my favorite childhood memories they are watching movies in my pjs, building forts in the yard and riding my bike up and down the street. So why do I feel a need to entertain my children by seeing every park within 15 miles, seeing the latest movie in the theater or having access to all the children's places in the city?
I do love to be on the go and that is something that will never change about me. But I am willing to wrestle with the way I was created to find peace in being still and enjoying the simple. My hope for my kids is that their greatest memories of being a kid are centered around playing make believe in the playroom with their siblings, making cookies with mommy in the kitchen or helping daddy work in the yard. The only way that is going to happen is to be at home.
I say all this with so much conviction, but this morning after my first cup of coffee I asked LD what the plan was for the day and if we could grab lunch somewhere. Thankfully, I am married to someone opposite of me, and after looking at me like I had 4 heads he reminded me we have a new baby and we are staying home - so we did. And the day was perfect. It is 9:15pm, and I have yet to shower, but everyone is sleeping with bellies full and hearts happy.
And here is what it looks like after a Saturday at home....
3 comments:
lol. I think I got it together now. Sorry for all the delete's before. I guess I am the complete opposite. I feel guilty for being out all day and not being busy at home. But then again John is only 7 months old...I am sure when he gets Claire and Elle's age it might be different. I do have a few friends that have children close to their age and feel the same way you do. I know what you mean...my best childhood memories were riding bikes in my neighborhood and then running inside to grab some cookies or some cookies or lemonade in the summer from mom, or playing wiffle ball barefooted with a bunch of kids in the neighborhood to like you said building forts (and we used couch cushions), we never hardly ever went to the movies growing up...unless it was a special occasion. We did have season passes to Carowinds every summer and I always looked forward to going out there with my parents, brother and cousins it was like a special treat to and something we always looked forward to in the summer. My mother cooked all the time and I enjoyed being at home and being in our neighborhood. We had such big imaginations. I think you are right...society has too much going on. I am the on the go type of person, but I am also completely structured and get easily overwhelmed with too much info. So I usually tend to stay away with too much that is going on out in the world with entertainment and try to keep it simple for me. You are wonderful mother...your doing awesome!
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