Getting the Most Out of Time Alone
It's not easy getting the most out of free time when you have a young family. When your kids are babies, there is usually a mad rush to sterilize bottles and eat something. But as your kids get older, naps get longer, and the household becomes easier to manage. Then the real challenge begins: what to do with significant blocks of time alone.
My rule of thumb is this: never use this time to do what can be done when the rest of the family is around. This is no time to put toys away.
Obviously, the smartest thing to do with time alone is to relax: take a bath, read a book or catch up on sleep debt. Sadly, this is a lesson I have yet to learn. I like to move.
So I tend to use the time for household tasks that require focus, or that are too dangerous to do when the kid is around. Cleaning out our avalanche-prone closets or hitting the bathtub with Drano are two fine examples. I also use this time, as I am this morning before my family wakes, to write for the Hard Way. While not as relaxing as a bubble bath, this is certainly an activity that is for me.
I realized recently that the best use of this time, however, is to do something for my guy. Sometimes I use these rare moments to do one of his chores so that when he has a free moment, he can relax.
Comments
aren't you sweet,,,,By the way... don't use Drano.. use Baking Soda!!! less harmful...... ;-)
Posted by: Jenny | January 27, 2007 08:53 AM