As I sit here on Sunday evening at nine o’clock, I reflect on my day. The kids are now in bed and it is time for me to exhale and relax a bit. There was so much I wanted to accomplish this weekend like cleaning the house and washing the car and doing the grocery shopping. Of course I always want to work in some quality time with the children as well. How is it possible to work it all in? By the end of the day I sit here with my feet up on the coffee table, a warm cup of tea and a good program on television and I feel unmotivated to do much else but tune out and lose myself in mindless television.
Confession, I did not clean my house this weekend. Yes, the laundry got done and the car was washed. I emptied the dishwasher a few times as well. Hooray! However, I did manage to spend some quality time with the kids playing with Easy Bake Ovens and doing art projects, throwing the baseball around and taking them around the neighborhood for a bike ride. We baked a batch of cookies as well which is always fund.
As a single parent there is just too much to do to get it all done in a given weekend. My suggestion is to make a list of all that you need to accomplish and at the end of the day on Sunday reflect on what you have completed and what yet needs to be done. I say, if you have managed to get fifty-percent or so done you are on track. If you managed to get some quality time in with the kiddos even better.
Be proud of your small successes and try not to fret over the dishes in the sink. It took me a long time to realize that my life was not going to fall apart if the sink had a few dirty dishes in it or if the dishwasher had not been emptied by the time I crawled into bed.