My 13 year old daughter has been working very hard on a social studies project that is due next week. She spent the past few days creating her own, mini-encyclopedia and I must say that it has turned out really well.
Except for the dedication page.
The saddest part of this whole thing? I don’t even know who Billy Burke is.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned that Tyson® Any’tizers® has a School Year Survival Guide on Facebook? Well, I’ve been taking it very seriously. Amid the many family, school, sports and church activities – we are SURVIVING!
After doing an internet search for tools to increase productivity and studying the many options, I’ve realized that the most important part of getting through the school year is taking care of … ME.
That’s right. Call me selfish, but I know that if I’m not functioning well, no one in my house is functioning well. I’m actually the type of person who shuts down when I’m overwhelmed and then I get nothing done. Don’t be jealous.
Obviously, this doesn’t bode well for my family. Sometimes that means no one looked over their homework and other times it means they have to dig their dirty uniform from the laundry pile. When things get really bad, I might even forget that my daughter is serving Thanksgiving mass until 15 minutes before she’s supposed to be there and then we run around like crazy people trying to put on acceptable clothing and pull half-baked pumpkin pies from the oven so we can leave the house without it burning down.
Hypothetically.
My point is, that Tyson® Any’tizers® School Year Survival Guide is right on the money because one entire section is dedicated to “Rejuvenation Tips for Mom and Dad.” The four tips listed there are the exact things I need to do to keep myself and, therefore, my family running smoothly.
1. Make time for yourself. Go to dinner with a friend, curl up in your bed with a good book, take a photography class.
2. Get moving. Nothing reduces my stress level like exercise. Nothing.
3. Write it out. Put your feelings (or your to-do list) down on paper. I like to say that it gets my brain unjumbled.
4. Get out of the office. I work from home, which is technically like getting out of TWO offices. Don’t underestimate the benefit of a quick walk around the block.
More than anything, know that sometimes it’s impossible to do it all. Give yourself a break. Your family will thank you for it.
My 8th grade daughter needed some help with her algebra homework tonight. Because I can barely remember what I did yesterday, let alone what I did in math class 27 years ago, I had to Google the question in order to find the formula, which would help her find the equation. Confused? Me too.
One of the first websites I came across was called something like “Math is Fun!” which is where I sat and stared at my computer screen for a good three minutes before I could even figure out what I was looking at. It was basically a collage of letters, numbers, exclamation points and parentheses; then my brain exploded. Math is not fun for everyone. Just ask my brain.
The truth is, if it weren’t for the internet I wouldn’t be able to help her with algebra at all and I highly doubt that my parents would have been able to help me nearly three decades ago, either. You know, if parents had been inclined to help with homework back then. They didn’t drive us anywhere either. We rode our bikes. Uphill. Both ways.
I digress.
My point is, some people complain that modern technology is a detriment to the minds of our children, but if we didn’t have it in this house, the detriment would be all mine.
Well, you have to admit – when I fail, I fail big.
I forgot about blogging somewhere between preparing for Thanksgiving dinner (which included my brining a turkey and making homemade pumpkin pie…take THAT, Martha!), four days of single-parenthood while my husband was visiting with my brother-in-law, putting up the Christmas decorations, the Ohio-State Michigan game and four nights worth of overnight guests (and I know they’re reading this, so I feel I should say that I LOVE having them here…really…*waves* *blows kisses*…I enjoy their company and it forces me to clean, so bonus) (except I didn’t get to enjoy their company because all I did was clean, so bonus negated).
There’s always next year, right?
Plus, I kind of have an addictive personality and I have been desperately trying to focus my addiction on exercise and nutrition. *gnaws kale* With the exception of a LOT of beer over the past few days, I didn’t go overboard. If you count the beer, then I went overboard and nearly drowned. The good thing is that I had enough empties to build a raft. I blame football.
Although I let my blogging slide, I still made it to the gym twice over the weekend. Excuse me while I puff up my chest. Now, excuse me while I stop puffing up my chest because it hurts my pecs too much.
And, it’s nice to have the Christmas decorating finished. We put everything up the day after Thanksgiving and it all comes down the day after Christmas. My daughter’s birthday is at the end of December, and because she gets completely cheated out of birthday presents each year, it’s the least we can do to make sure there isn’t a lit tree trying to steal her birthday cake’s thunder.
So yeah, I failed at NaBloPoMo, but I win at decorating, sore muscles and beer drinking.
Which, clearly, makes me a winner.
Follow
Email
Follow