It's Tuesday, and I haven't yet made my to do list for the week. It pretty much boils down to (1) write, (2) keep my kids alive, (3) move forward with the home repair. Of course these are all multi-part projects, with many moving parts. There's a lot that's not getting done. I'm spending a lot of time worrying about LG, for reasons I'd rather not talk about, even here. I have moments of complete paralysis. I'm also making some choices about things I'm not doing, including
- planting annuals (I like the way they look, but that's one more thing to maintain)
- any yard work in my backyard (it's completely out of control, and I need to hire someone to do big things, so I'll end up spending $1000 or so to weed and re-mulch the whole thing [there's no grass]; once I made that decision it seems pretty obvious that I'm not being charged per weed, so why bother doing anything right now)
- going to LG's away softball games (I go to the home games)
- giving a shit about how much TV Tiny Boy watches (to a point)
I'm acknowledging that I have a finite amount of time and energy. I'm trying to not beat myself up about what's not getting done and focusing on what is.
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I'm also still experimenting with mixing up writing times/places. I managed to produce about 500 words in my actual office on campus, but it was painful, and I don't really want to do that anymore. I also ran into my department chair, and now she wants to have a talk. Oy.
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Although my to-do list is different from ours, I am also working on letting go of the idea that I can do everything that I need and want to do and choosing not to do some things. Easier said than done.
ReplyDeleteTeen years are interesting. Consider having a family rule that you will ALWAYS, ANYWHERE, pick kid up at ANY TIME, and not comment or ask questions etc for 24 hours so everyone is chill; and then let kid decide to start talk about how they might have avoided the problem. Because above all you never want child to stay in 'uncomfortable' situation etc because they are worried you will be upset/angry/embarrassing. Even if they mislead you about where they thought they would be.
ReplyDeleteSecond thought is always let child determine and tell you when they expect to be home. You do not impose curfew. They should be able to also tell you why that is their expectation/plan. Helps teach them advance planning.
I also found asking them to tell me what they thought I was thinking about whatever was more helpful than me saying my opinion..... that way I could correct their ideas and they kept their ears more open.
Teen years have LOTS of interesting times. ANd, each child is different, my ideas may be inappropriate for yours. Hang in!