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School's
Out - and Mom's Stressed!
by Cheryl Gochnauer,
Homebodies.org
Your children are counting down the days, and so are you - but
with a different attitude.
What am I going to do with these kids all summer?
If you're working full or part-time outside the home, it's gnawing to
realize your take-home pay over the next three months will drop dramatically
as you provide all-day childcare for your elementary-aged children.
But stay-at-home moms encounter their own challenges - keeping their kids
entertained all day.
If your little ones aren't in school yet and you already spend every waking
hour with them, you may be wondering what the fuss is all about. You love
them; you spend time with them. The End.
Good attitude. That's the one we're going for. But sometimes it feels more
complicated than that.
I remember the transition I went through when my youngest daughter started
first grade. For the first time in my parenting life, I had a tremendous
amount of freedom. I put my kids on the bus at 8:15 a.m. and, unless there
was a problem or I was volunteering at school, I didn't see them until they
got off the bus at 4:15 p.m.
My house never looked better, my work-at-home freelancing opportunities
picked up, and I even got to enjoy the occasional matinee, since my kids
wouldn't miss me, anyway.
But as summer loomed, I had to face the fact that they were coming back. My
house would be trashed, my writing time slashed, and I'd be back to movies
with animated characters.
Now don't send me lots of nasty emails about how I'd become a spoiled brat.
(I know that already!) I'm simply being transparent here, and I suspect
many readers have experienced similar pangs as they felt their independence
being reined in again.
If you've got the end-of-school blues, snap out of it! We've got some
awesome kids, and summer provides a great opportunity to reconnect with
them. They've changed a lot since last June, and as they grow, so do their
abilities.
Plan activities that intrigue their inquisitive minds and re-establish the
all-day bonding process. Set work concerns and personal projects on the
back burner. If you work from home as I do, limit the number of assignments
or tasks you tackle during the summer months. Cut back on volunteering, or
take this opportunity to get your kids involved, too, helping others as a
family.
There's a lot to be said for downtime. It's good for our children to take a
vacation from their studies, and we can turn summer into a renewal time for
us, too. With a bit of an attitude adjustment, I'm learning to appreciate
these school-free months as the blessing they are.
(Comments? Email Cheryl@homebodies.org or visit her website at
www.homebodies.org. Check your local listings for Cheryl's appearances on
Cornerstone Television's "Getting Together" and "His Place" programs on June
10th. Copyright 2002 Homebodies.Org, LLC.)
Comments? E-mail
Cheryl@homebodies.org,
or visit her website at www.homebodies.org.
Check your local listings for Cheryl's appearances on Cornerstone
Television's "Getting Together" and "His Place"
programs on June 10th. Cheryl's book, "So
You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom," is available at Amazon.com.
Copyright 2004
by Cheryl Gochnauer.
Reproduction without permission prohibited.
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