When I went into this IronHead Dad gig, I went in with full intentions of putting a full court press on a whole bunch of stuff. Here is a short list (not a complete list) of things I had in my head to work on:
1) Having daily devotions with my kids
2) Keeping my kids VERY active throughout the day (this one covers a lot of things that I could list separately)
3) Organizing our ridiculously cluttery house (I know some of you would say that I have no idea but still…it is messy)
4) Training for an Ironman
5) Spending more time working on my Fitness and Triathlon Coaching business
6) Helping at the church and volunteering
7) Spending more time with my wife (although I don’t know how I thought that would happen with her still working the same schedule)
8) Potty Training My Kids
Like I said, I am sure I missed something or several things that I had in my head that I was going to do….oh yeah…more time in my shop to organize that and work on woodworking or car projects (HA!).
So, let me break down how I think I have done with these things so far. I will give myself a school grade on each of them.
1) (F) That’s right…an F. I have not done near enough with sitting down and teaching my kids about the Bible. I put it number 1 on the list because that is where it should be but it has hardly been on the list. I know how to fix that.
2) (A) or (A-). Really, I have been doing pretty well here in my opinion. I have something on the schedule for almost every day that gets them out of the house and keeps them active. We go to Play Kitsap, we go the YMCA and swim or do kid’s classes, we go to the playground at the park, etc. The only reason I don’t give myself an A+ is that the TV is still on a lot when we are home. I need to figure out how to get them to play actively on their own without a movie on.
3) (C). I really thought I would get more done here. It just doesn’t happen. This is an area where the title of this post really comes into play. Instead of feeling like I am making progress and I am taking the offensive and working through the clutter and the mess, I end up feeling like I am just barely able to keep it from getting worse…if that. I start on cleaning something up and the kids mess something else up or it’s time for another meal and more dishes or whatever. I know you Moms and experienced domestic engineers are just laughing right now but I am just telling you like it is…I didn’t necessarily think it would be easy…I wasn’t totally dillusional…just thought I would get more than this done. I mean, I am IronHead Dad and all.
4) (B). Not too bad here. Getting some solid training in. In fact, the (B) might be a little harsh. I might just be whining because I had a rough long run on Saturday. Overall, the training is going well. My swimming is almost as fast as it was at the end of last year and it is only the beginning of the season and my running is going well overall. 4 more weeks to Eugene Marathon with my Dad!
5) (C). I would say I spend a little more time working on it now than I did when I had a full time job but not as much as I thought I would. I feel like I could be doing so much more, but then again I don’t know when or how…there is always some fire to put out. I stay up late and do it just like I used to…
6) (C). I went to the church nursery the first week or second week I was home and did a few handyman projects and got some measurements for some others and haven’t been back since. I finally made it to Lowe’s and picked up some materials for the jobs this week and should get back to it soon. Maybe a C is too harsh but it is not what I envisioned.
7) (D). Not happening that much more. We did get to go on a date to see Hunger Games the other night…that was fun. Other than that…it is tough.
8) (A-). This is pretty close to done…they are very good about going potty now. Hopefully all of my feelings of not getting enough done are partially just due to the potty training that has been going on for several weeks. I know it has been much easier recently when not having to worry about them having accidents all the time. They still do but it is maybe once per day if that so that is much easier.
Anyway, I just thought I would put some of my thoughts down about how this first month or so has been and give myself some grades. Not bad overall, but I do sometimes feel like I am just barely holding it together and not making the house and everything look worse instead of actually making improvements like I wanted to. I guess it is just a matter of where you decide to put your time because you can’t do it all….even if you are IronHead Dad.