Finding Quality Time
My husband and I have always been pretty strict about the kids’ bedtime. It changes and shifts as we need it to – during the school year it’s 8pm with reading until 8:30 and then lights out. During the summer it’s 8:30 with a 9pm lights out. We’ve found this works best for us because we know the kids are getting enough sleep (and not sleeping until noon), and it guarantees that we get some time alone in the evenings to unwind and spend time together.
Most nights we just watch tv or a movie together, and we’re both grateful for the ability to pause the tv not just so we can skip commercials but because it’s usually at the weirdest moments we remember something we wanted to talk about or because whatever it is we’re watching has prompted a discussion.
Every now and then we’ll get in the mood to play the Wii which works out well because we get it all to ourselves! Other times we’ll be up for some Scrabble or Monopoly while watching a movie we’ve seen before (so we don’t have to concentrate on it too much – we like the background noise).
How do you and your SO find time to spend together?
Hi,
I’m not a mother but I want to share a few thoughts on this. I hope you don’t feel sad about the few events you missed out on;
From age 6-18 I did horseback riding every week at a riding school. Neither my mother nor my father have ever watched me ride, not even at the few competitions I have entered. At the time it was important to me whenever I thought about it but mostly I was so concentrated I would never have noticed if anyone watched. Now, at 21, I am pretty sure that having had the horseback riding as “my own” hobby has made me more independent. I think of that as a good thing.
Ops this was meant for “Missing out”. Sorry about that!