I'm pretty much in a rut in my daily routine. If I have errands, appointments, etc. I do them in the morning--which really cuts into my most productive writing time. I either lunch with friends or fix myself something at home, work for a while, and nap before going to get Jacob. My naps are an essential part of my day, a great bonus of retirement. Then the time between picking up Jacob and supper is pretty much dead time. After dinner I work again.
Last night Jacob came to me and in his most adult tone said, "Juju, I don't have to go to Clayton YES tomorrow" (that's his summer day camp). Then, with a bit of his mother's frugality, he added, "We've already paid for lunch but I could go just before lunch." (Turns out it was BBQ which he wouldn't have wanted to miss.) I agreed, thinking I'd let him sleep in, but then I realized there was a must-do grocery trip scheduled for morning. When I told him that, he said, "Go after you drop me off." I explained I had a lunch date, followed by a nap, so he said, "Go after you pick me up." He's used to after-work grocery runs with his mom.
That struck me. Where was it written in stone that I had to do all my errands before lunch? As it was, I had a mostly productive morning at home--he kept getting in a rush to go to day camp, then getting distracted by TV, and I never knew when I was taking him. But I did get a lot done, took him about eleven, came home to do a couple of things, and went to lunch with a former student.
When I picked him up at 4:30, Jacob didn't think his grocery store idea was so cool after all. "You know me and grocery stores," he said. But I didn't have a long list and we were home before six.
Now, at nearly nine-thirty, he's eating his second dinner of mac and cheese, with broccoli, overcooked the way he likes it. In between dinners he had chocolate chip ice cream. I must be an okay grandmother.
But it's great to have a child make you rethink the way you order your days--and to be open to that child's suggestions.
Last night Jacob came to me and in his most adult tone said, "Juju, I don't have to go to Clayton YES tomorrow" (that's his summer day camp). Then, with a bit of his mother's frugality, he added, "We've already paid for lunch but I could go just before lunch." (Turns out it was BBQ which he wouldn't have wanted to miss.) I agreed, thinking I'd let him sleep in, but then I realized there was a must-do grocery trip scheduled for morning. When I told him that, he said, "Go after you drop me off." I explained I had a lunch date, followed by a nap, so he said, "Go after you pick me up." He's used to after-work grocery runs with his mom.
That struck me. Where was it written in stone that I had to do all my errands before lunch? As it was, I had a mostly productive morning at home--he kept getting in a rush to go to day camp, then getting distracted by TV, and I never knew when I was taking him. But I did get a lot done, took him about eleven, came home to do a couple of things, and went to lunch with a former student.
When I picked him up at 4:30, Jacob didn't think his grocery store idea was so cool after all. "You know me and grocery stores," he said. But I didn't have a long list and we were home before six.
Now, at nearly nine-thirty, he's eating his second dinner of mac and cheese, with broccoli, overcooked the way he likes it. In between dinners he had chocolate chip ice cream. I must be an okay grandmother.
But it's great to have a child make you rethink the way you order your days--and to be open to that child's suggestions.
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