So the new school year has started and it’s back to the old routine of waking the children up early, lunches, constant nagging and then feeling bloody awful as I rush them off to school! Anyone else feel like this?
We started out the term really well, for the first three days that is. Everyone was easy to get out of bed and happy to get on and do what needed to be done to get out the door on time but after those three days the reality of the school term has kicked in and everyone is tired again and ready for another holiday…just 10 weeks to go…and counting! I think it makes it worse that the shops make it feel so close to Easter when you walk in smelling hot cross buns but really it’s almost three months still to go! Noooooo!
Lately, I’ve been waking early to get in some meditation before the house comes to life, this morning I was totally Zen until I couldn’t get anyone to get up then I was ready to throw in the towel! When will they learn to get themselves up and get ready for school? The most reliable one is the smallest one; I don’t have to wake her most mornings and don’t have to nag her she just gets on with her chores. I hope she continues to do this when she is a teenager…good luck!
Whilst having a whinge to my husband I realised that the issue wasn’t so much that I had to do it for everyone, usually I would consider this a privilege, that I have a family to do this for and that they only need me for such a short period of time, but sometimes it would be nice if someone would be my cheer leader. To motivate me to get out of bed and get what I needed to done, rather than having to do that for myself and everyone else.
Enough about that! I apologised to my family members for the rough start to the day and will resolve to wake the sleeping beauties earlier and give them time to snooze…. after all we all love a good snooze don’t we?!
“Emotion is created by motion. Whatever you’re feeling right now is related to how you’re using your body. The fastest way you change your state is to change your physiology. A radical change in physiology will change you faster than anything you can try and think yourself into. When you change your physiology it is like changing the channel on the television from a sad story into an adventure. - Tony Robbins.
Upon reflection, I do find that my state of being tends to drive the state of others in the house. It’s not always the case, but I find if I am cranky or low on energy the people around me tend to be the same, so it is often up to me to lift game. I’ve come up with a few creative ideas over the years on how to get everyone on board and alter their mood in times when they don’t follow suit. Like directing them to take the dog for a walk, jump on the mini trampoline or do 10 star jumps, water the garden or their favourite, fluff the cushions which is code for ‘have a pillow fight with your sisters’ and let go of some of that pent up angst. Perhaps if they are really feeling down in the dumps it might be time to get playful and have them pretend to be their favourite super hero, to stand the way superman would stand when he is fighting evil. Other times it’s as simple as a smile or standing up tall.
Come to think of it perhaps I should take some of my own advice and throw a few pillows around from time-to-time, like this morning for example.
Other helpful questions to help identify causes of a negative mood are:
Are they bored? Are they acting up because they are requiring your attention? Are they hangry (hungry) thirsty or tired? These questions are applicable at any age from infant to adult.
It helps them if you are able to assist your children in recognising what they are feeling and why, so that they can feel like they have a choice in feeling the way they do, that they are not victims of their situation and that they have the power to change their feelings in a moment with a change in action. This is a worthwhile lesson for us all.
Comments