Bent Out of Shape

I had been thinking about telling y'all about my new schedule, then I kept reading articles about the brouhaha of Yahoo's new CEO and her fetus. 

It is always more interesting to write about other people, so allow for my tangent, please.

In some comments made by random Jane and Joe, people were questioning the choice and how Yahoo will get a part-time CEO.  I resent the accusation as a working mother, (even though this working mother really does work part-time.)  And that is the important piece: it is understood that she is taking a full time job, and given her reputation, she probably understands that.  Besides, because she is #20 employee at Google, I am sure she is swimming in money, and she can probably hire a few nannies to take care of her baby next door to her CEO office on campus.  Or, here is a thought, maybe her husband/partner/boyfriend (I don't know what she has, the father of the baby) may even want to- hold your breath- share some baby responsibilities.  It takes a village to raise a baby, remember? 

I wish Marissa all the very best.  We don't hold Yahoo stocks and therefore my opinion is completely neutral, in fact, my opinions are always neutral.

You may laugh at this time, that is ok, I understand.

Back on topic.  For the last 10 work days, I have promptly ran out of my office at 2:50, parked my car illegally at the club, and picked up A&Z at 3:00, give or take five minutes.  Then we did all kinds of super fun stuff, like swimming! Grocery shopping! Kumon! Buying theater tickets at the box office! Hair cuts! Good stuff! I have enjoyed them a lot.  Hubby thinks I am much more relaxed.  All is good. 

Here is the thing: I am making choices that work for my family.  You make yours, Marissa will make hers, and we all need to help one another. 

Changes

After months of dealing with the aforementioned stress, I have made some changes to my life.

Mainly, I am going to take this mothering business more seriously. While it is not that I have been a funny-haha-joking around kind of mother, it is just, let's be honest, I have outsourced a lot of my mothering. To tell you the truth, I didn't potty train my kids. I didn't teach them how to tie shoe laces. I didn't teach Aidan how to read, or add, or subtract, or multiply, or divide. I have tried to love them, but I do get other people to teach my kids stuff. (In case we are keeping score though, I have taught Aidan how to read music and play the piano.)

A whole lot of this is about to change.

I am becoming a tiger mom. A DIY tiger mom. Hear me ROAR!

 This can all end very badly. But with the grace of Jesus, there is hope for this mother.

I have elected to not use aftercare for the kiddos. I realize this is a huge privilege to be able to work as much/as little as I want to, and to "hang" with them as much/as little as I want to. Hubby really spoils me silly.

The plan is that I will work while the kids are at school. (Therefore, as American children are at school for so few hours each day, I will also be working very few hours. I think some of my patients think I don't take my paying job seriously. In case you are wondering though, I take my way of earning money very seriously. VERY. SERIOUSLY.) I will finish my day at 2:30, pick Aidan up at 2:40, get Zoe at 3, and boom. Home by 3:20. We will do homework, Kumon, piano, Chinese, and Scripture memorization! Then we go to hockey/ballet/figure skating! I will be relaxed and they will be happy!

I realize the last sentence of the previous paragraph is completely delusional. I am willing to trade relaxation and happiness for productivity and over-achieving. That's right, I am going to crack the whip, figuratively speaking, of course. Taking time to whip children will decrease one's productivity. (Perhaps you are thinking of calling CPS, don't worry, we really don't spank our kids.)

These past few weeks have been a foretaste of the rest of my life, and I gotta say, it is weird to be with A&Z this much. We are getting so much done! I do feel much less stressed! Yet there are more opportunities for me to annoy them, and vice versa!

For instance, I have to take them with me to do groceries now and when we are at the store, there are lots of opportunities for me to deny their requests and pleasures. (I used to shop while they were being taught something or other by someone else.) On the bright side, I see this as training for endurance, for all of us. We have already decided that we need to pray for good attitudes. I will let you know how it goes.