Logistics of Parenting
Today is one of those days that any parents out there can relate to. Where the calendar day is full and it’s nothing short of a military campaign to insure that everyone will be where they are, when they are suppose to be.
Working from home does make some things easier, but at the same time it can complicate things as well. Take today for instance. Emily is home sick. Because I’m at home it makes it easier because I’m already here. But, on the flipside I’ve got meetings and conference calls today and having a sick child makes those harder.
We have a big master calendar that we try to write everything on. Combined with Outlook calendars we seem to keep everything in check, but it’s always something little that gets missed. How do you keep things running smooth? Any good life hacks out there?
Finally we have a sort of jack-of-all-trades coming over today to do some work. He’s going to be scraping and painting all the white trim on the house and then weeding all the old mulched area in the back yard and laying down new mulch. I’m assuming this is something I can just let him do and not have to be bugged to much, but we’ll see. Another logistical piece of the puzzle.
Oh, did I mention that Dylan has a baseball game tonight? Laura will pick him up from school, bring him home and then I’ll take him to the game.
I know this isn’t going to get any easier as they get older. I just needed to brain dump.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:23 am |
I’m hearing that CC. The strange thing is that professionally I can be a little disorganised, but when it comes to domesticity and children I am a freakin’ machine and my shit is pretty much together. The cliche that becoming a parent forces you to reassess priorities is very true and it just goes to show how different we can be iin the different roles we play in our lives…
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:04 am |
For me, it started with doctor’s visits. And now Jack has an afternoon class once a week… I know it won’t be long until school, and little league, and what have you… I am looking forward to it, as crazed as life will become.
I see now that Dylan is sick dude… So I guess you don’t have to worry about his ballgame now… get well soon Dylan and Em!
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:14 am |
I often call myself a pediatric logistics specialist, shuffling work, kids, activities and the like as if I am running Roadway or some other major transportation company. So at least with kids 8 and 12, I can say it continues. And those last minute illnesses don’t help. What does is maintaining a sense of humor, laughing, and realizing you’ll miss this, believe it or not, in a few years. When they don’t need you as much. It’s weird- I love the people my kids are becoming, but I can’t believe they change so fast and James will be in 6th grade next year, puberty around the corner…hard to believe- it does seem like yesterday we were trying to get him to sleep through the night. Oh wait, that was yesterday.
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:24 am |
The hard part about working from home is that sometimes people forget that we are working. Now that I am in an office job, it is a little more delineated, but today is just “one of those days”.
My son was up all night with an earache… the Doc said, bring him into the office in the morning. So, I take him in… but the Doctor is out at a conference untill noon!
So… I brought my son in to work! Let’s see how much I’ll get done today!
Is today Monday???
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:38 am |
Add a third child to the mix, have your wife homeschool the kids and work full time while you’re working from home. That’s my life. Everyday is a logistical nightmare. and those quiet office hours are hard to come by.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:23 pm |
It’s never easy, is it? I guess that’s the price we pay for being parents. It’s supposed to get easier at some point (like after they graduate from college!).
If you’d like a Lifehacker approach, there are a couple of good apps that I can recommend. If you’re a power Gmail user like I am, it’s helpful to have a Google Calendar. But how to get that integrated with your Outlook calendar? Simple solution:
gSyncit http://lifehacker.com/software/top/download-of-the-day-gsyncit-windows-228594.php
And if you’d like to create a set of master calendars for the kids, your wife, work, personal, etc., you can check out AirSet at http://www.airset.com