This morning, I realized the importance of having a disciplined, consistent schedule AND the equal importance of COFFEE.My partner is away attending a conference and I was left to run the household and (3) easily distracted children. Not to mention, I needed to get to work on time myself. Having the additional help in the morning makes a great difference, but (unfortunately) I made a conscious choice to alter the routine to make my life “easier” and suffered.
I woke up late, had to get my daughter in the shower, infant son changed and fed, and fix my oldest son’s 100th Day of School project—all before 7:30am. When routines are broken, the fall-out is often frustration and acting out. I was rushed and my frustration changed the atmosphere of the house. The kids seemed to move at a slower pace than normal and were argumentative. They seemed to need more of my time by asking far-out questions, even though I was in an obvious hurry. This seems to be the rule: When you are in a rush to do ANYTHING, your children will work very hard to become obstacles and fight for your attention.
The last statement is completely subjective, because it is probably true they weren’t acting any differently than normal, but my “norm” changed. Therefore, I responded to the status quo completely different. At least I understood the rush and frustration was completely self-inflicted and didn’t lash out at the kids as a result.
My masochistic morning allowed me to learn a very valuable lesson:
Maintain consistency and routine at all costs. Otherwise, accept blame and suffer the consequences. Murphy’s Law is completely avoidable.
Do you have a personal anecdote of a time when your morning routine was altered and your house of cards crumbled? Please share.
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