sanity savers: a semi-regular series in which I share quirky tidbits and habits discovered in my quest to avoid panic, head trouble off at the pass, and uphold law and order in the West (or wherever you hang up your spurs).
Naptime is a gift. More specifically, Spud’s naptime is a gift. The only two hours in the day when I can sit in peace and quiet and really concentrate . . . on bills, or organizing my seeds, or sewing, or knitting, or whatever—there’s never a shortage of options.
So, who wants to begin the golden hours of naptime staring at a mess like this (or worse)?
Not me, for one (even if I am doing the bills). And, I’m guessing, not you, either.
But for several months, all too frequently, this is where I began naptime. In the kitchen. Cleaning up a mess. Which often put me in a really grumpy mood for naptime, which ruins the whole concept of naptime. See? A vicious cycle. One that had to be broken.
It was as simple as making a rule for myself.
(Inner dialogue as follows)
Me: “The kitchen must be cleaned up before you (I, me, ThimbleNest, you know what I mean) sit down to eat lunch.”
Me: “But won’t Spud feel lonely, neglected, and scarred for life because you’re not eating with him?”
Me: “No. Look, he’s right over there, 10 feet away, eating, talking to you, looking at the birds. He’s fine.”
Me: “But I’m hungry.”
Me: “It’ll take you two minutes, tops. You’ll be able to eat most of your lunch with him anyways.”
Me: “o.k.”
Riveting and revolutionary, I know.
Once I give myself one of these little rules, it’s very hard for me to break them—a guilt complex or something, but it works.
So now, before I eat my lunch, my kitchen usually looks like this.
Spud and I still eat most of our lunch together. And, an unforeseen bonus? Because he finishes eating before me, he has time to play before I whisk him off to bed. Win-win.
Naptime has never been so wonderful.
How do you protect your special times of day? Do you set “rules” or “rewards” for yourself? Or is that just my quirk?
Oh now this is something I am going to try! Naptime always starts with a little mess like this for me. Oftentimes I refuse to clean it up as this would be taking away from my time ad end up scrambling before their snack. My kids don't actually nap anymore (or at least 2 of them don't) but they have their rest time which lasts for about 45 minutes. This is how I protect my special time of day!
ReplyDeleteI do have little things that I try to stick to. I have certain things that have to be done before I can go to bed in order to make our mornings better. When I get off track it seems to throw me off big time so I try to stick to it. I love this series idea!
ReplyDelete@KnitterMama--I'm all in favor of rest times after the naptimes come to an end!
ReplyDelete@Kerry--I am terrible at the things I'm supposed to do before going to bed. But, you're right, things go much better when I follow through.
I am a little woeful because my little guy, 4, is out growing his nap. More often than not these days I find him hanging like a monkey from the upper bunk than where he should be, peacefully sleeping.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, every morning I do morning chores. Sweep make beds, tidy up. At nap time I retire to a sweet little corner in my room where there is a rocking chair, sunlight and a basket of knitting and a radio. After we eat lunch I just leave the dishes stacked next to the sink and clear the counter. I usually leave those for washing as I am getting dinner ready. If I am not in the kitchen I can't see the dishes;)