On October 5th our neighbor’s had a baby boy so my husband and I went to the hospital to see the new bundle of joy. While we were visiting, I was able to hold the baby for a while. He was so quiet and peaceful that they asked if I wanted to babysit for them. I told them that I would babysit anytime they wanted me to! After visiting a while, it was time to leave so that the mom could get some sleep. I told her to give me a call anytime that she wanted me to babysit. Their 7-year-old son made the comment, “Why do we need to call you, you are the babysitter?” So we explained to him that just because I am the babysitter, they would still need to let me know when they needed help. Still confused, he said, “Well can’t we just make up a schedule of when you need to come down?” We all chuckled because he was young and didn’t fully understand how babysitting worked.
It is interesting that today’s society relies so heavily on schedules and timelines. Everyone is very busy and making schedules is the only way that we can get everything done. Schools are starting to teach students in 3rd and 4th grade how to maintain a planner. When I was in 4th grade, I didn’t even know what a planner was! I know that I rely very heavily on my planner now because my job isn’t an 8 to 5 work day. With all of the meetings, workshops, and programs that I have planned, I need something to write it all down on so that I don’t over book my time. Just last year I thought I had lost my planner and I was panicking. I had no clue when my meetings were or if I had a deadline coming up soon. Luckily, I had just mixed it in with some books I had given to a 4-H leader and he graciously returned my prized possession to me. Now I keep all of my dates in my computer in addition to my planner because I don’t want to go through another experience like that again. It scares me that I rely so heavily on a book of papers to keep track of my life.
As I look at my schedule, I wonder how I will ever be able to have kids. I barely have enough time to just hang out with my husband at home. But I know that I will make it work because family is very important to me. When I was growing up, my parents made sure that there was plenty of time to play games, go to the pool, go sledding, and just spend time together. I want to make sure I have that kind of time for my family. Just the other day I saw an advertisement for a board game company. The advertisement depicted a family who had set aside Wednesday night as game night in their house. I thought that was a great idea. Although it was scheduled, it was still family time together.
One tradition that my husband and I started a few months ago was to eat together at the table for supper. To me, this was a foreign concept because my family only ate at the table for special occasions and holidays. Otherwise we would just go into separate rooms and eat our food. His family always sat at the table when eating so he didn’t understand why I would make supper and then go sit on the couch or at my computer to eat. I think that eating at the table has given us a chance to just relax and focus on each other without distractions. When we have kids, this will be a great time for us to focus on them as well.
I think that it is important to do something together as a family at least once a week. You can all go to a movie, play a game, go for a walk, eat supper together, or planting flowers at a nursing home. Even if you have to schedule the activity, just make sure that it is something that the whole family can enjoy together!
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