Busy, busy, busy.
I think it's been 5 weeks now since I've had a day "off" (not working and not doing stuff like Yosemite, weddings, having people for dinner, etc). I'm feeling it. Last weekend some of 'Chung's friends came over. This weekend it's my friends...N. and her family. They (and N.'s parents) visited us over Christmas time too, so it's a real treat to have them here again after less than a year. This time, they brought her husband, D.'s, "adopted" parents...Mom and Dad #2. They arrived early Friday and only stayed through Sunday morning, so it was a fast visit...coming from So. Cal.
Saturday, while D and Dad #2 were at a conference, the rest of us ('Chung, Mom #2, N., the kids, and I) went to visit Alcatraz and Angel Island....two of many Bay Area landmarks which I've never been to. We had a great day, but were running on not enough sleep (I had 4 hrs. on Thurs. night followed by 5 on Friday....not even close to my required 9-11 hrs. nightly). Unfortunately, a strong dose of 3 certain (sweet) little boys last weekend depleted my child-interaction bank, and shortly after dinner Friday night it was just about empty. I don't know why it is that it takes me so much more energy to deal with youngish children (N.'s daughter is 9 1/2 and son is 6) than older ones...or adults...but for some reason it does. I enjoy them, and especially after spending so much time with jr. high and high school-aged children the younger ones are so sweet, but they wear me out. Does anyone know why? Maybe it's trying to do the mental gymnastics required to follow a conversation that involves many seemingly unrelated stories or maybe it's something else, but I get so exhausted. Maybe it's just being in the same room as someone with boundless energy. I don't know.
Honestly, it's one of the scariest things to me about the idea of parenting....could I do it all day, every day? I feel bad too, 'cause I love kids. I also know I was one of the very type that seem to drain me the most: the kind that talk non-stop. These kids don't even seem to need to breathe while talking, they can just rattle on from one story to the next, from one question to the next without even a short pause. They are usually interesting, thinking people, and I appreciate that about them. The middle boy of the three last weekend is like this as is N.'s daughter. I enjoy N.'s daughter...she's about the same age now as N. and I were when we met (a year older...she's in 4th grade, we were in 3rd). It's delightful to see how much she is like her mom and what a great job my dear friend and her husband are doing raising their children.
I'd like to blame my response on the fibromyalgia, and maybe to some extent I can...it does make every aspect of life more exhausting...but I don't know. The worst part is, these are not undisciplined children who run wild without their parents knowing or caring. They are well-behaved, obedient, and generally nice. I don't think its entirely related to uninterrupted talking either, because one of 'Chung's nephews (the 14 month old) also has this effect on me while the 33 month old doesn't (though admittedly I haven't spent any significant amount of one-on-one time with him). I think it's because they seem to demand constant attention.
Tomorrow I start to prep for the next upcoming activity: going to Front Sight for rifle shooting school. We're leaving Thurs. morning. I am so booked with tutoring from taking almost a week off that I don't really know when I'll find time to pack, grocery shop and do all the other little preparatory things on my to-do list.
4 comments:
Oh, I wish I knew why children were so exhausting, but I don't. If I ever learn the answer, I will be sure and let you know. I will say, though, that I ALWAYS find other people's children more exhausting than my own. Not that my own can't wear me out, because they can, and daily do, but I know what to expect, and I am in charge, and these sorts of things make my own children LESS tiring than other children.
However, I do think that this is something that I never realized before I had kids (not that I had time to realize anything before I had kids), and that is what people are really talking about when they say that kids require hard work and sacrifice. I always thought that this was referring to the changing of diapers, the preparing of nutritious meals, the chores. And, I suppose, in one sense it is the chores.
But really it isn't.
It really is the energy. It is the very blood of life that a parent pours into the little ones day in, and day out. It is rewarding, true. But it is also demanding and hard. Other jobs require a set of tasks to be performed. Some jobs have tasks that are harder than others to be sure. But parenting requires your very life. That is what makes it so scary.
And so worth it.
Well, it's good to know at least that your own aren't as difficult as other people's children. I guess it helps to (at least most of the time) know what to expect.
:)
Wow it sounds like you need a break. Well I know two very cool people that would like to help you in getting that break. Jess and I would like to see you guys soon. Take care
Izzy,
That sounds fun. We need to get together....wanna go to a ballet the weekend of Oct 20?? 'Chung can get tickets @ 2 for the price of 1.
:)
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