Swing Shift

Vincent can be a handful when Hadley is away at school and it is late afternoon when a nap would do him the most good. The past few weeks I have tried my best to set aside this time to give him my full, undivided attention. If both Lauren and Gentry are sleeping this is made quite easier. We've played board games and computer games and he even sat and let me read him some library books. I wish I could say that it makes him less cranky later in the evening but that isn't true. However, I get to go to bed knowing that I put forth the effort and spent some time with him. It seems like every night I go to bed thinking about how little one-on-one or significant time I got to spend with any of the kids. It is amazing how long and slow a day can seem and also how quickly it can go by. Trying to do a little more with my kids and a little less of everything else is hard when you are task-oriented like I am. It feels so good though to have spent time with them during the day.

I was told about a talk Sister Julie Beck shared at a meeting for women. One woman summarized it as:

She talked about how she manages her day and uses her time. She shared with the audience the following:

"Sister Beck said she learned how to prioritize her time as a wife and mother while observing her father-in-law, a steel worker who at various times in his career worked the day, evening or night shift. She said she realized she was working all three shifts simultaneously, and she had to prioritize the demands on her so she could provide the service her family most needed.""The most valuable time of the day for a family," Sister Beck said, "is the afternoon/evening shift.""Be at the top of your game on swing shift," she said. "People are hungry, people are teachable. You feed them; that's when you serve them the most. Plan for swing shift, and then work the rest of your day around that."

For some reason this concept has really resonated with me. I find I am tired and feel somewhat lazy in the afternoons and always felt guilty if I wasted this time with a little nap or me-time doing something I enjoy. Now I actually try to plan to do those things so that I can be more attentive later. Obviously I imagine this will really mean even more when I have several children in school and so on. I love the point she makes about them being more 'teachable' at that time of the day. It is so true and I need to be on the top of my game for those opportunities.