I realise this is probably a result of doing things - we are doing a lot. Or maybe we are doing... anything? We are doing more than we could last year with 18 month old twins.
This weekend we went to the theatre with everyone to see the Welsh National Opera perform Play Opera Live: Shipwrecked. Clara loved the theatre. Ezra was interested. Lily was tired. Aubrey mostly enjoyed the folding seats
It was a kid theme show where they also sang opera. I would say it was about 60/40 too much opera, exposure is good right? I am a total pleb about Opera and at the end it turned out they had sung famous Opera songs throughout. I thought they had just done 4 or 5 opera songs over and over but it was actually... 12 real opera songs.
The weekend was just busy, and the weeks are really busy. There doesn't seem to be any downtime besides anything I carve from work and 5:30-6:30am, where I am writing this right now. Apropos of nothing, I am so behind in photo albums at this point I'm half tempted to give up. 2026 is the year that we did too many things to remember.
I realize I'm moving forward on some small and big goals, which I guess is good? But also many of these are really boring goals.
Last week I managed to get all my passport documents together so I can renew my US passport, which expires in July. This week the goal is to mail it.
On Saturday Andy finished a many-year-long dream of mounting a second shelf in his/our office. And he mounted pegboards for each of us as well. In JANUARY we bought peg boards. Apparently we need a 4 month lead time to drill two holes in our wall
Mostly I am tired. I even got a "tiredness screen" at the doctor which is a blood test that told me I am not sick, which is great, but somehow that doesn't make me less tired. I realize I could probablys sleep more, or eat better, or do more exercise. Somehow I managed to train for a half marathon starting around now last year. Right now, I am failing to ride a peloton once a week. Two weeks ago I did 3 days of a Peloton Strength programme and then got ill for 5 days. In addition to being tired, I am being annoyed at being tired.
In road cycling people used to say "it doesn't get easier, you just get faster". I feel this is somehow the opposite. Parent life of kids age 2-7 is easier than all other age brackets I've experienced so far, and I am feeling more tired than ever at the effort.
I have half the children you do, and they are at much older, easier ages, but I am also so very tired. I feel more tired than the average mom but my therapist challenges me on that statement and says life is just plain hard and tiring. I never used to nap and now I am a person that really needs to lie down for a bit on Sat and Sun to feel at my best for the 2nd half of the weekend days.
ReplyDeleteOpera is not my thing. I've been and I can appreciate the talent of the performers but it's just not for me. I think it's great to expose kids to it in an accessible way, though! Honestly my favorite form of theater to take in is kids theater because it's fairly short!
There are just not enough hours. I know that isn't a real answer, or at least its not a solution, but I think its the truth. You do so much! Please don't beat yourself up for feeling tired.
ReplyDeleteLike Lisa, I have half as many kids, and they are older (and I have hired help!) and still I am generally tired unless its right after a vacation. I've just come to accept that I'm not getting through more than a fraction of the things that I want to do, once I deal with the all things that I have to do. I'll have an organized house and an elaborate exercise plan once the kids are grown and flown.
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteAbout prams - that made me smile, because a few times in recent months I've caught myself thinking - I MISS THE STROLLER. Because I miss being able to strap the kid in and go, instead of having to deal with complaining kid(s) who can't agree on where to go or criticize my choice of park/trail/parenting skills. Meh.
I am with you on being tired. It's a life thing, and while some things with older kids are easier (sleep! Uninterrupted!), there is always something stressful to keep one running around in circles.
I felt very tired last week but my reason was allergies +cold. So I felt very WORN DOWN. I haven't exercised last week due to said cold/allergies and that manifested me being in a foul mood this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I need to regroup, realign my priorities, and start back up next week. I did go to cycling today and it was HARD.
Do you sleep enough hours? What's your average?