Oct 7, 2007

Weekend Weary




The title says it all. We are weekend weary. It seems like every weekend has become a chore. What happened? I remember when weekends were fun and exciting, but right now they seem like too much effort for too little reward.
Don't get me wrong, the weekends aren't all bad...for instance, this Saturday, we spent the day at a local kids expo that was full of crafts, music, and games. Everything was free and it really was a lot of fun. I (Matt) was able to spend a little one-on-one Daddy time with each kids, which was nice for a change. But, Sunday...Sunday was rough. It seems like our kids are never happy unless we are 100% engaged. Obviously this means that someone is always crying, screaming, or complaining. What is going on? We love being parents, but this is insane!
I guess the point of this post is to ask for suggestions. What do other families do on weekends? Is there a way that someone has found to squeeze a little house-work in with fun engaging activity? What does everyone's weekend schedule look like? Seriously, we are open to hear all suggestions. We are feeling a bit lost in this. Thanks in advance.

3 comments:

Stone Fence Farm said...

I was hoping for some wonderful, creative suggestions here.

On weekends we do chores, special projects, shopping (not a lot)and usually one excursion. The excursion is usually related to food (getting apples at the orchard or the local farmstand). We make a game out of trying to avoid real going-to-town shopping.

We try to sleep in and eat a special breakfast on Sundays. Usually pancakes or waffles. Since we both work outside the home we don't usually go anywhere or do anything without the child. I really like it when my husband takes the boy for a hike in the woods so I can get the house picked up and vacuumed and have 5 minutes of clean before they get back. It does lots for my mental health.

Nicola said...

Ditto the comments above about the weekends being when we need to get everything done as we both work outside the home. Our daughter is young, so not easily (or safely) distractable. Even though things take longer as a result, we try and find a portion of what we are doing, to include her in. If we are gardening, she gets a shovel and "helps." I think most important to me, though, is that my husband and I each get a weekend morning...to sleep in, read, whatever. That means when our daughter wakes at 6am on Saturday, it is my job to get up and do activities with her so my husband gets to sleep in and have his own time. We trade roles on Sunday morning. It isn't foolproof, but we always try and come back to that when we get off balance.

Anonymous said...

I think every family with young kids today struggles with the weekends at some point. We find during busy weekend times that everyone actually gets less rested and has fun but generally gets worn out (like you said)!

Remember, it wasn't long ago that kids HAD to watch and/or participate in activies around the house....if they didn't they would be stuck without food/water/shelter etc. It was impossible for parents to 'entertain' them most of the time. They are full and able bodied participants in their own capacity. The Continuum Concept is an excellent read that talks about things like this.

What worked for us was trying to have a month where we really avoided doing much of anything outside of our house/yard/garden. Obviously a few things did come up but it helped us to energized and connect as a family. Now we just try to ensure that we have at least 1 weekend a month with 'nothing planned'. This leaves us to roll with the punches, the kids generally entertain themselves a lot more, mom & dad are more relaxed and busy weekends aren't so tiring knowing that they aren't ALL like that.