Being a teacher, I was always good at multi tasking. You have to be when you are in a classroom of twenty to twenty four students, all of whom often have something to tell you all at the exact same time while you are trying to organize the next lesson....
When I became a wife I became even better at multi tasking. Something about owning a home and doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning and shopping for two made me use my time more wisely and do multiple things at once, pretty much all the time now.
Now that I am a mom, well, multi tasking is like second nature. Case in point? This morning alone (it is currently 5:37 am) I have made lunch for two, taken out everything Aliza needs for the day, made chili which is currently in the crock pot (love my crock pot), taken laundry out of the dryer, checked my email, made coffee, gone through the mail from yesterday and cleaned the counters and sink. Oh, and nursed Aliza- twice. All before taking a shower and having a single sip of tea.
Here's the thing about multi tasking though....sometimes you have to stop. It's really difficult though. I get twitchy if I'm not doing multiple things at this point. But sometimes? Sometimes you have to just stop.
There are only two things in my world right now that make me stop. The first is pumping. I know, I know, that sounds strange, but you can't do anything else while you are pumping. It's not easy.....it's not easy to stop everything I'm doing in the middle of my day and just sit still for the ten minutes it takes me to pump, but I do it.
The second thing that makes me stop is Aliza. She is changing so fast, it blows my mind....and I don't want to miss it. Sometimes, like last night, I'll be holding her while unloading the dishwasher, or having her sit in her high chair while I clean up after dinner....and even though I'm with her, I'm still not with her. And I'll realize that. And I'll stop. And then we go and play, or read, or practice for crawling. And I spend time just being with her. Looking at her. Breathing her in and remembering how she is right. now.
And I pause.
4 comments:
Last night I made myself go to a (hot!) yoga class. I got home, took a shower, made dinner, washed the dinner dishes, and plopped down on my sofa. I was looking around my apartment, seeing the pile of laundry I need to do, the Christmas tree that needs to come down, the Sunday paper I need to read, the book club book I've been ignoring.
And then I went straight to bed instead.
As someone who multitasks a lot herself,I can totally relate to this post.
As I was crawling into bed last night I reminded myself that NONE of those things that needed to be done were urgent and they'd be there tomorrow.
Sometimes I appreciate moments (like pumping for you) that force you to just do ONE task. For some odd reason this is why I don't mind going to the dentist. It's a guaranteed 45 minute window of being alone in a chair without other chores to do. Crazy, I know...
Enjoy the pauses, the breaks, the moments of calm, Lisa...and watch that baby girl grow!
(Also? My word is cleanin) What?! I don't need to be reminded to clean!
It is a good lesson.
Oh, and you don't even drink the coffee... you are a good wife!
It amazes me that the things in life which make us stop, make us pause, and make us stop doing our 5 things at once are so often the simplest things. For me, it's driving, all I have to do is drive and think (ok so it's more than one thing), and being alone with myself for that time is pretty wonderful. You forget you need your own solitude some times. But, multitasking is still pretty amazing and you feel so great about it when you realize what's been accomplished. :)
I'm with ya on that and know that at times it is really hard to do!! Pause and enjoy the moment the rest can wait...its not going any where! :)
Post a Comment