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mara williams
on Jun 18 2013 - 06:00 AM
Hey, manchild, mama says: clean your room, wash the dishes, don't drink and drive.
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Emily Parnell
on Jun 16 2013 - 06:00 AM
Eating fresh, local produce is good for body and soul
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Jim Cosgrove
on Jun 13 2013 - 06:00 AM
I just want to buy some pants. Please, turn down the music.
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- mr. stinky feet - Profile | Pictures | Blog
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You know when you’re on an airplane and the flight attendants are going through the safety talk?
They instruct us that in the unlikely event of a change in cabin pressure, oxygen masks will be released and we are first to fit ourselves securely with a mask before assisting others.
Seems logical. You can’t be of any help to others if you aren’t breathing.
Same goes for parenting. If I’m a mess, I’m not much help to my kids.
If I don’t have a decent night’s sleep or if I don’t have food in my belly, I get cranky and irritable and resentful and all kinds of nasty things.
The other day I came home from work with my stomach running on empty. It was one of those I-can’t-think-straight types of hunger. The kind where if I don’t get some food in my system right this second to balance my dangerously low blood sugar, I will become the Incredible Hulk.
I was so eager to see my girls, but the first thing I did was step into the kitchen and tear into a bag of tortilla chips that I inhaled with some salsa. That’s all it took to take my edge off so I could be coherent and pleasant and attentive to my daughters.
Another thing that we’ve allowed to go on for way too long is that our girls regularly wander into our room in the middle of the night claiming they’ve had a bad dream and crawl into bed with us. That usually means I end up sleeping on the couch because I don’t like getting elbowed in the head every twenty minutes by little flailing arms.
These restless nights leave both my wife and me very edgy and unpleasant to be around. So, we’ve instituted a new rule. The kids are not allowed to come into our room before 6:45 a.m. Even though I’m up and going before then, it’s a chance to give their mom a little extra sleep. Any time after that, they are welcome to come in and cuddle a bit before getting ready for school.
It’s taken a few weeks to get used to the new system, but it seems to being going well.As parents it might seem unnatural, or it might seem a bit selfish to not attend to your child’s needs first. And some days I don’t feel like I’ve got time to rest or even eat a decent meal. But, really, if I don’t take the time to make a few minor adjustments, then I’m not very effective .
What do you do to honor yourself and keep yourself “breathing?”
Like you, I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY have to get my rest! Nothing makes me crankier than getting too little sleep at nite. Research is showing that the stress of too little sleep triggers depression and weight gain. I've learned over the years that I can be a better parent if I do the following for myself: date lunch with my spouse once a week, 30 minute walk for as many days of the week as I can fit it in, watching my weight so that my family's genetic predisposition to diabetes/high blood pressure/strokes (triggered by weight gain and stress) doesn't happen, and a little chocolate every now and then (it's medicinal!).
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