Holy cow, I'm exhausted. The hardest one was the 36 hour labor with a transfer, then 24 hours later I had another birth and was up another 28 hours.
A friend asked me how my kids did after the 36 hour one. I left at 2:30 in the afternoon, kids were by themselves until Dad came home at 5:30 and Dad took them all to a church Christmas party (poor guy!). The next morning Grandma came and got them, dropped the boys off at school and the rest of the kids at the other Grandma's house. The boys walked to the first Grandma's house (they were working at the temple) after school and the second Grandma came and picked them up in the evening. She, of course, spoiled them by taking them to Wendy's for dinner. I got home about 9:00 that evening and was informed that they all wanted to sleep at Grandma's house. She decided to keep the baby too so I had no kids and could sleep as long as I wanted. Of course I naturally woke up at 8:00!
So this friend wanted to know how my kids handled it. She said her kids would have been basketcases after two hours of her being gone. It made me realize how blessed I am that my kids do fine without me. I guess they are used to having a not so normal family life all the time although I feel they definitely have a stable family life. I'm also blessed to have both a Mom and a Mil that adore my kids and are very willing to help out whenever they can.
So here is my question to you all. Last week, before the last two crazy births, I was really wanting to go off by myself or with some friends to get some "me" time. It didn't help that I read somewhere that apprentices need to make sure they are taking care of themselves. I went to a food tasting party on one night and felt guilty because it was more time away from my kids. So how do I find the balance of being gone lots with births, still take care of myself but also spend enough time with my kids. Then there is the cooking and the cleaning and the laundry and the shopping and everything else that comes with taking care of the family. Some days I feel like my relationship with my kids comes last and it should be first. Do I really have the "right" to be going off to be by myself or with friends when I already leave my kids so much already? OTOH, I'm not feeling that need to get away right now. I'm so worn out from all these births that I really want to just stay home!
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I think if you got out and did something for yourself even ONCE a month it would help in all the other areas. Think of how absent you would be if all of your kids were in school all day! Nobody ever complains about that and they lose out on at least 8 hours with their kids. Maybe when you do the shopping, cleaning, etc. you could have a "buddy" and have your kids do it with you or just sit and chat with you. I have a hard time with this also but I just make sure that I really make the most of my me time. I do something really good for myself. Right now it's a book club! You're welcome to come. I at least feel like I'm uplifting myself, not spending a ton of money, and getting to see my girlfriends!
Glad to find you have a blog! :)
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