I have the same problem as a lot of other people. I don’t have enough time in the day. Trying to accomplish everything ends up leaving me feeling exhausted and defeated. With school back in session, the multiple commutes there and back take nearly two hours a day. The rest of the day is left to manage spending time with the kids at home, preparing meals, trying to keep in the house in order, keeping up with the laundry, running errands, and writing. And then there is homework. I used to have friends but I have no idea what any of them have been up to lately. There are nights that five or 10 minutes is all the time that my husband and I have to talk to each other at the end of a long day.
When you are a parent, you wind up trading time with one another. Our weekends are usually spent in “divide and conquer" mode. I will leave the kids at home with my husband while I spend nearly two hours of glorious quiet time walking up and down aisles as I try to figure out what masterpiece meals that I am going to prepare for the week. The whole time I am praying that I don’t forget a crucial item and am forced to make a future trip with all the boys. Inevitably, there is always one thing that is forgotten from the store or there is that one craft item that is needed for a school project. Errands are the things that I try to do by myself. Ever try to take three boys under the age of seven to Michael’s? I would rather poke myself in the eye.
Once the weekly grocery trip is accomplished, we tag team and it is my husband’s turn to go to Home Depot, the pet store or run whatever errand he needs to run. All the while, each of the children begs us to do something different with them. Their little minds try to manipulate us as they cry, “You never spend any time with me!” One wants to create Lego buildings, another to build puzzles and another wants to read. If I can’t find more time in the day, can I at least grow two more arms?
I know how important it is to spend time reading, talking to and playing with the kids. Before we know it, they won’t be begging to spend time with us; it will be devoted to their friends. I want to do it but I am challenged to balance the time. In an effort to spend more family time together on the weekends, I began grocery shopping on Friday evenings. But that was short lived. After a long week, who really wants to grocery shop at 9:00 on a Friday night?
So how does a busy parent divide their time between work, the house, the kids, each other and hobbies or exercise? I don’t really have an answer. I am still trying to figure it out. I knew that I couldn’t create any more time but thought that I could learn how to better manage how I was spending my time. So I bought the book, “Learn To Manage Your Time” by Lucy MacDonald. The only problem is that I am still on page three because I can’t find the time to read it.
So the question remains, how do busy parents manage their time? What tips can you share?