Live those moments before days go by
Switching off from work at office can be difficult at times. At such times you are preoccupied in your family interactions. But if this is an exception, then the rule that you can switch off from work is true.
There are times when the work was so overwhelming that even after working for 12-14 hours a day, you can not stop thinking about it. Despite the trendy buzz about work-life balance and how simple it seems, nothing works till one puts one’s mind to it. Changing jobs/employer is one option, but not always advisable - nothing to fret about as there are simple solutions for this.
Amongst other things, there is yoga, hiking, skydiving, or Tai chi. Spending time with children is one such stress-buster (when they are not being difficult). The other day I picked up my son’s puzzle which was meant for “3+ years” thinking that it would be easy to do and add some bonhomie to the proceedings on a long weekend. But no, I was in for a surprise. My son got bored because I was not completing the puzzle in his attention span. It was almost forty minutes, when I realised TV had claimed another young victim. Just then the better half appeared and said it was unfair that I was not spending my time with the kids and doing my own thing! Excuse me, that puzzle belonged to my son and I thought by playing with him, I was giving teamwork a boost. From a hero, I had become Nero.
It had got into me that I had to complete the puzzle. Here I was, sitting on the play-mat, way past lunchtime, and still going at it. This attitude comes from work I suppose - the activity takes over your time. Finally after an hour and twenty minutes, I got all the 100 pieces of the jigsaw together and felt like a child who had got his object of desire. This activity was fantastic and bonded the whole family together.
On another occasion we sat with a coffee table book about the Universe. The selection of the book was dictated by the young one’s preference. This was show and tell. When I listened to him patiently (it comes with great difficulty for a husband!) it gave an insight and new angle to every picture I thought I knew all about. Well I never knew that Saturn has 39 moons till my son told me that. Nor the fact that Pluto was almost written off as a planet sometime ago. It was fascinating to hear the two schools of thought about whether Pluto should be part of nine planets or not. And to hear it from the little one (his learning from previous sessions with mommy) was enlightening. Not to mention the pride.
Watching trains is exciting for kids. I realised that once you are a boy, you remain boy with such things. Same goes with being a girl too, I suppose! Get a nice spot to sit and watch the trains with your loved ones. Answer questions about the train, the engine driver – his feelings (?) and then evaluate yourself of how much knowledge you have. Papa, why do you people have to reach anywhere? I also wonder why - isn’t the journey more important than the destination.
Simple acts of spending time with kids, playing their games and answering their profound questions is an experience one would miss out trying to fight the fires in office. The wise would say this is all about bringing up children. To my nerves and sanity, this was balm.
There are times when the work was so overwhelming that even after working for 12-14 hours a day, you can not stop thinking about it. Despite the trendy buzz about work-life balance and how simple it seems, nothing works till one puts one’s mind to it. Changing jobs/employer is one option, but not always advisable - nothing to fret about as there are simple solutions for this.
Amongst other things, there is yoga, hiking, skydiving, or Tai chi. Spending time with children is one such stress-buster (when they are not being difficult). The other day I picked up my son’s puzzle which was meant for “3+ years” thinking that it would be easy to do and add some bonhomie to the proceedings on a long weekend. But no, I was in for a surprise. My son got bored because I was not completing the puzzle in his attention span. It was almost forty minutes, when I realised TV had claimed another young victim. Just then the better half appeared and said it was unfair that I was not spending my time with the kids and doing my own thing! Excuse me, that puzzle belonged to my son and I thought by playing with him, I was giving teamwork a boost. From a hero, I had become Nero.
It had got into me that I had to complete the puzzle. Here I was, sitting on the play-mat, way past lunchtime, and still going at it. This attitude comes from work I suppose - the activity takes over your time. Finally after an hour and twenty minutes, I got all the 100 pieces of the jigsaw together and felt like a child who had got his object of desire. This activity was fantastic and bonded the whole family together.
On another occasion we sat with a coffee table book about the Universe. The selection of the book was dictated by the young one’s preference. This was show and tell. When I listened to him patiently (it comes with great difficulty for a husband!) it gave an insight and new angle to every picture I thought I knew all about. Well I never knew that Saturn has 39 moons till my son told me that. Nor the fact that Pluto was almost written off as a planet sometime ago. It was fascinating to hear the two schools of thought about whether Pluto should be part of nine planets or not. And to hear it from the little one (his learning from previous sessions with mommy) was enlightening. Not to mention the pride.
Watching trains is exciting for kids. I realised that once you are a boy, you remain boy with such things. Same goes with being a girl too, I suppose! Get a nice spot to sit and watch the trains with your loved ones. Answer questions about the train, the engine driver – his feelings (?) and then evaluate yourself of how much knowledge you have. Papa, why do you people have to reach anywhere? I also wonder why - isn’t the journey more important than the destination.
Simple acts of spending time with kids, playing their games and answering their profound questions is an experience one would miss out trying to fight the fires in office. The wise would say this is all about bringing up children. To my nerves and sanity, this was balm.
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