Friday, June 14, 2013

Making Up for Lost Hugs

It's the first full week of stay-at-home summer, and the work-life balance is actually a little less difficult than I thought it would be. It's a little tricky on big work days, and I admit that I miss my time alone every day, even if I was spending that time working. It can be difficult to be subject to the constant needs and question-asking of the little bitties without any break. Although while they are sleeping I do get a break, which means I do the bulk of my work after they are asleep.

But it is still more manageable than it would have been last summer. Chris and Norah both take directions now, and while they do fight me and refuse to cooperate sometimes, they are actually fairly easygoing these days. I think they like not being shuttled around, and I kind of like it too. I have used about an eighth of a tank of gas all week, which... yes, please.

Anyway, I just wanted to note a little trend I have noticed, which is constant spontaneous hugs from the kids. It's like once they realized we were all hanging out together all day, it broke loose some kind of hug-hunger in them, and now they are making up for all the hugs we miss out on when we are rushing around. At first it seemed a little strange, and then it made me sad (Am I denying them the proper number of hugs? Are they desperate for love? Have I failed them completely? You know, the normal neurotic parenting questions... I can't be the only one...). The truth is probably just a little of these. We do get too busy, and I get too schedule-focused. Even though it means staying up a little later than I would like to get all my grades done, I don't mind being a bit open and unscheduled for now, and giving out all the hugs I have.

Happy Summer!


1 comment:

  1. It's all a balancing act. Sometimes you're better at it than others. The good news is your children realize you love them even if you screw up some. Take a deep breath, let it out slowly. Smile. :-) Mom

    ReplyDelete