Slow Family Life

Lately I have been wishing I could slow this life down. This life with my children who are growing ever so fast. My babies are now in 2nd and 4th grades! And my 4th grader is beginning that independence push away from Mama. I can feel it and see little bits here and there. Oh my heart!

So how can we slow down? With school back in session, it will be hard. Get up early, get them off to school for a full day, homework, chores, dinner, bath, bedtime. Then repeat. Weekends are less busy but that is when my kiddos want to binge watch their favorite movies and shows and my son wants to play hours of video games.

What's a mom to do? I could look around and change what THEY are doing. Or I could start with ME.

Let's be honest. I'm not perfect (smile). I have a long to do list and I'm constantly try to get it all done. I don't SLOW down much myself. So if I don't "slow", how can I expect anyone else in this house to "slow"? Be the change you want to see in the world. (Gandhi)

There are little changes I can makes and then the bigger ones. And the good news is I already know things I can do! The hard part is always walking the walk and making the changes.

One little thing I have already changed is their morning routine before school. Their bus comes way too early in my opinion and last year, we rushed and I pushed and propped and sometimes yelled just to get them to the bus stop on time. Whew! This year, I am driving them. This gives us an extra 30 minutes at home in the morning. We don't have to rush. They have plenty of time to eat breakfast. And the best part? I get to spend more time with them on the car drive to school! YAY!

Another little change for me would be stopping what I am doing when my children talk to me. Giving them my attention and taking that few minutes to connect with them. Most often, my 7 year old is trying to show me something or tell me something or ask me something. She is my chatty Cathy! When I am busy with a chore, I tend to answer quickly, sometimes not even looking her way. Stop Mama. Look at that baby. It won't take but a minute.

A really BIG change for me would be putting down the phone. I use my Iphone for EVERYTHING. And my kids know it. They know I can Google info for them on the fly. They know I can play them a song. They know Mama watches HER TV on her phone a lot. They know about Facebook (gasp!) and texting (which they think I do WAY too much).

I'm going to make a commitment to put down the phone. I'm not sure what this will look like but I'm going to do the following things:

1. Delete Facebook
2. Delete Netflix
3. Keep phone in central location when we are home together. (Remember the phone was secured to the wall and if you wanted to use it, you could only use it from that location??)

If I can do these 3 things, I may have a good chance of breaking this addiction of mine. And maybe in doing so, I can show my family what SLOW looks like. That would be the best reward.