Thursday, March 1, 2012

Why is bad news always at bedtime?

"Mommy!!"

"I need a milk jug tomorrow for school."
"My ankle hurts."
"I forgot to do my spelling sentences for school."
"There's a party tomorrow and I said you would be there with brownies."
"The cat is trying to come into my room."

It's 8:30 pm. The kids are supposed to be in bed. I'm supposed to get an hour or more of work (and quiet) for myself. In this short amount of time, I get to try to finish my projects (grade school yearbook and other volunteer activities, photo sorting and finishing, coach practice plan for softball), email, camp signups, checks paid, calendar managed, and all those other to-do items, including finishing any work left over from the day, making my lunch and maybe spending two minutes talking to my husband.

But the litany starts. Homework, costumes, pain, hangnails, bloody nose, special stories, noises in the room, "bad news." It all spills out at bedtime. And I start out patient, but then I feel my evening slip away. That glorious 1.5 hours of non-stop efficiency.

It must be the same for them. The day is ending and all those unfinished ideas and projects are flooding back. Someone needs to take care of their problems. And it's us. Which we do. Some nights more graciously than others (depending on how much sleep we got).

I can't wait to find out what it is tomorrow night.

Friday, January 13, 2012

New Year's Resolution: No, No, Yes

Say no to say yes to myself.

I always feel guilt for not saying yes all the time. Helping a co-worker, bringing that dessert to school, coaching a team. Wait a second.

I forget that for three months of the year, I give a lot. I'm a softball coach for young girls. I try to make it fun. I try to make it a learning experience. I try to make it so that they want to play this sport again. I try to make it fair.

And this was harder than I thought.

And it's all worth it. The joy in making a play. In finally making contact with the ball. In getting a hug from a teammate. And, in hearing that they had a great time.

So, to make sure that I have enough of these times, I need to occasionally say "no." I can't do everything. No one can. This year, I need to say "no" more frequently. So that I can have more time for questions, updates on their day, calls with family, time with friends and more sleep for me.

By saying "no" to some smaller things, I think that I can say "yes" to some bigger things, including taking the time to be a coach. Then, there's also the homework, doing my job well, working out, making dinners and everything else that needs to be done. The list gets longer every year, but I don't want it to get shorter.

I just need to learn the balance to make it all worth it.