I have been following a mothers rule of life for about three years now. One thing I have wanted to do is start keeping a journal of things that work well with my rule and things that I know I need to change about it.My rule this year has gone through many changes. New responsibilities come up regularly and new priorities need to be set.
Over the last 4 weeks of school I have been doing all the things I need to do but I have come to realize how much I rely on Christopher entertaining himself. He is such an independant little boy. If he wasn't in nappies I probably wouldn't see him all day. He would keep himself busy in the backyard and I would go about my own chores inside.
This has been really good but I realize that it needs to change. I should be spending lots of time with Christopher and taking him to do other activities. I think he would like to interact with other children and would also like going to do other things outside the home. With all this in mind I decided today to take Christopher to the park. We went down the slide, on the swings and on the little rocking horse. The rocking horse was a big hit.
He really enjoyed the time alone with me. In less than three years he will be going to school and the oportunities to do these things one on one will be hard to find. I am determined now that a part of my rule needs to include taking Christopher on little outings. I am going to try out the kindy gym on Wednesday and play group around the corner on Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday I will spend some time reading with him or doing some crafty activity.
5 comments:
You seem to be such a thoughtful and good mother (but then of course you have had some practice ;-) )
You can really see that Christopher is enjoying the rocking horse. He looks absorbed by it. :-)
aww. Thanks Joakim. (blushing emoticon goes here).
This sounds good, Therese. But otoh, don't underestimate how much kids enjoy just being able to potter around at home, knowing that Mum is close by. That quiet togetherness is still very valuable (even if you're in different rooms!)
Still, it is also good to be conscious of what we're doing and why.
Therese, I have read MROL too. How did you go when Christopher was a new baby? Did you try to get a Rule happening?
I'm certainly aware of the need to be a bit organised around here, but am aware that I am now in the "New Baby Fog" as I like to call it! I'm just about to write up a jobs roster. Tell me about your experience of MROL with a new baby (all tips appreciated!)
I wrote my first rule when Christopher was about three months old Lyl. IIRC I didn't put as much detail into the one that I now have. I think the most important thing for me with it when he was a baby was that the main living areas were maintained and the washing was kept up to date as much as possible. I also had times for prayer written in.
My children were given a before school job and a after school job. Some of the after school jobs needed to be done before tea and some after. Before my mothers rule was written our children had rotating jobs and I changed it when I did the mothers rule to having the same job all the time. Itmade my job of checking much easier. I didn't have to go and look up who had been in charge of it. When Christopher was about10 months I wrote my second rule. It was much more structured. I had my everyday jobs first and each day had a cleaning job to do. For instance on Monday I would mop the dining/lounge room. On Tuesday I would mop the hallway and clean the bathroom etc. Amelia was at kindy for the first half of that year and I tried to get most of the house work done in the morning while she was around to play with Christopher. She went to kindy in the afternoon and Christopher went down for a nap. I tended to sew in the afternoon or cook. My structured times were the morning and afternoon when the children came home. Now most of my day is structured.
I think the most important thing for me with it when he was a baby was that the main living areas were maintained and the washing was kept up to date as much as possible. I also had times for prayer written in.
Sounds very sensible. That puts things in perspective.
Thanks for sharing - that was very helpful. God bless.
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