Local writer and dad-of-two Gareth Ellis reflects on a busy Easter holiday, which ultimately turned out to be a successful time.
As I write this Jess and I have just come back from taking the kids to watch the new Super Mario movie. My 'shift' of looking after the kids solo has ended and now, I'm happily watching the kids play in the garden while I do some writing.
But why was this two-week holiday so successful? I hear you ask. Especially as the summer holidays were quite traumatic as well.
I think the main difference for me was the headspace I was in. In July 2022 I was fresh off the back of having more time to work on my business, I was relishing the 'freedom' and then that was suddenly brought to a crashing halt.
This time round I mentally prepared myself. I knew I would have to work when I could and lean on my support network to help me through.
I found that breaking the days down into morning and afternoon helped too. This way I could make sure that I had something planned for 'at home' in one half and the other would be spent outside exploring (the improving weather has helped a lot too.)
That's not to say the Easter holidays have been completely plain sailing. Oh, definitely not! I have heard 'Daddy' a combined total of 70 billion times, 'I'm hungry/I'm still hungry 40 billion times' and while potty training Emilia (2) I've changed a dozen or so pairs of wet knickers/tights.
It's been stressful in places but having the right approach this time has helped me to navigate those problems a hell of a lot better.
Planning is one of the best things you can do as a parent. As we all know plans don't always come off and life with children is often 'subject to change' but I found having a loose plan for each day (or morning and afternoon session) really helped me, and made sure that the kids never had a 'boring' day.
This doesn't mean that I spent a lot of money either. I took the kids to different parks that we hadn't been to before, we did crafts and played games at home/in the garden and we went to a couple of soft play sessions.
Yes, at times the tablets came out or they watched some telly, but it was never used extensively and I never tried to work during the day when I was with them.
This was one of my downfalls in the summer. I thought that I could get away with working here and there and then get far too involved in it, so when I was then 'distracted' by the kids, I was annoyed. Instead, I should have worked in the mornings before they were awake and, in the evening, when they went to bed or leaned more on my support network so I could solidly work for a few hours.
Kids are not a distraction, they're the main point of focus for a parent in the holidays. As soon as I both planned for that and accepted it too I had so much more of an easier time of it.
That and the fact it was a third of the time of the summer holidays – that made a difference too.
"Gareth writes a regular blog at www.garethellisblog.wordpress.com and you can follow him on Instagram @dads_the_word_blog. He is also the Owner and Lead Copywriter at Cloud Nine Writing and is open to new opportunities. You can view his website at https://www.cloudninewriting.com"
No comments:
Post a Comment