Frat House Parenting

This weekend my lovely wife went out of town for a women's weekend retreat. I was left to care for my four beautiful children. I didn't know how to really prepare for this kind of weekend. I knew that it would be better not to get up tight over a change in the schedule.  It would be better to not expect to much.  I really didn't want to spend the whole weekend yelling or disciplining the kids. I have in the past put some thought into weekends like this.  I planned out the weekend with a list of events to go to or projects to do. I really like doing that because I feel like I have fun with the kids. 


This weekend the best I could do was to come up with the plan not to do to much. We have had a rough week recently. I had little to no energy going into this weekend. I didn't want to do anything at all but the kids are not old enough to look out for themselves. Case in point is my youngest daughter who is standing below on her side of her bedroom. My wife and I have tried to get her to clean up this side of the room many times this month. I even tried to bribe her this weekend. So far she still considers this clean.

After a few half hearted attempts to get the kids motivated to do anything other than sit around watching television all weekend, I decided I was parenting a fraternity. I was the housekeeper to some wild crazy frat.  Everywhere I turned I found pills of clothes, wrappers, and various other collections strewn about the house. I cleaned up what absolutely had to get cleaned up, but left the rest to wait till the party was over. I am not recommending this style for every parent. I know that my wife may not be happy with somethings when she gets home. I will end up cleaning it up in the end. It just helped to put the whole weekend into perspective. A fantasy to help me deal with the totality of the weekend.

I don't really have a good way to wrap this weekend up. I don't know that there is a theme other than the fact that sometimes we need to allow ourselves to just deal with what life gives us. I made lemonade with the lemons life was giving me. My wife finally returned home, and I am so glad that I don't have to go through life without her. I am so appreciative of the role she plays in my life and in the family. I hope to show her how much. 

Please comment on the ways you deal with difficult weekends and subscribe. Also, I will be sharing my mountain bike experiences again on a separate page on this blog in the header bar above.

It aint easy being a kid

The last few weeks since spring break have finished have been tough for my oldest son.  He is starting his transition into his home room more often than before.  This is preparation for middle school which is coming up next year.  He came home last night with a bad entry in his back and forth folder (daily teacher log).  Nothing of what the teacher wrote was bad.  I can understand why she was upset.  It's nearly the end of the year and she has a new student, essentially, who keeps blurting out random statements in order to get his classmates to start laughing.  Stuff that you would expect during the beginning of the year when you have time to let the student know what your expectations are. 

My wife and I spoke to my son about his behavior.  We tried to emphasize the idea that if he cannot make this transition into his home room he may not be ready for the middle school.  I hate telling him that but it's do or die time.  He will not have summer school this year cause the district cannot afford to send every special needs child.  I feel like such a shumk.  I don't feel like I am being a great dad to my son.  I feel like this overbearing boss man.  I don't want that way but my son really losses focus and needs to be brought back to task at hand.  I wish I could figure out a way to get through to him.  But that seems to be the real issue with being the parent of an autistic child.  Your always wishing your could get through the autism to your child who's just under the surface.  I am prayer that my wife and I can find ways to have fun with my oldest not just be his boss.

My wife is calling me to her side so that is all I have to say for now.  Please comment, subscribe, and let me know if you also struggle getting through to your kids.  What works for you?

Long Silence

It's been a while since my last post.  I have been living life.  I had a great winter season learning a lot about myself and my life.  I had time to work on making my marriage even better.  My family has made its home in a really great church, and I have been growing closer to God.  All that meant that I had to balance out my life.  I let my blogging go by the wayside.

I made some other online life changes.  I dropped Facebook.  I am not going to go through all the reasons now, but I was reminded that before Facebook I had a really life.  I cannot multitask.  Maybe some of you reading this can multitask but I'm not one.  Only focus on a few things you can do really well that's what I am trying to do.  I am still working on the few things I chose.  I hope that I can now fit this blog into that list.  I don't know how I will handle posting or how often, but I want to get back into the practice.  Hopefully, I can hear from those of you who read this blog.  I would love to hear your thoughts on this or any of the previous posts.

Well my wife is calling me to her side.  Please subscribe, and leave a comment about how you may have had to let something go or how your able to multitask your life.