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Blog: Life Management
 TRANSITION TIME FOR PARENTS
Does your homecoming after a long day on the job or of volunteering often make you want to turn around and go right back to work? You know how it goes. You're hit with a million things at once. Before you've even hung up your coat, one kid is whining about how hungry he is and the other is tackling you with, "Mom! Jason didn't do his homework even though you told him to this morning and I wanted to watch Sesame Street and he wouldn't let me, and I have to take a dragon costume to school tomorrow!"
The kitchen is a wreck, the television is blaring, the telephone is ringing, everybody's grouchy and starving – and you feel like a rotten mother. Welcome home!
But, don't feel too badly. This harried hour is probably happening all over the country, and for a very good reason. It's because you are loved, and your children are trying to tell you that they missed you.
Home is a safe place, the place where everybody can fall apart. Kids are as stressed as their parents after a long day. They've had to be good all day at school or day care, and now that they're with someone who loves them, they want to let go and get the attention they've been missing.
Believe it or not, there are ways of surviving, what some call, the Arsenic Hour. Just knowing in advance that it's a high-stress, low energy time of day can help you defuse some of the squabbles that arise.
A good place to start is by giving yourself a little transition time before you come home to your children. Rushing from work to highway to home doesn't allow you any time to shift gears from one role to another. Do anything that you find relaxing – take a quick walk, listen to some music, or read for 10 minutes in your car before you jump into your Mommy or Daddy responsibilities.
Meet me here the next few Tuesdays for a few more transition tips.
posted on: 3/4/2008 12:00:00 PM by Judy Warmington
category: The Mental Side
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