Compromise…
Yeah, right! In an ideal world maybe, but in the real world it takes a bit more than compromise to make everyone happy.
This Week…
Has seen Neal finish his summer work at the hotel. Which has him going from working long hours, seven days a week (since the beginning of May), to having some time off before starting his winter work; working ‘normal’ hours and having weekends off.
Having him round again and being able to do things as a family may seem wonderful, but I have to be honest and say it is and it isn’t. We (me and the children) have gotten into our own routine, one that suits us. Ideally Neal would finish work after a long summer and seamlessly blend back into our lives again, happily taking on our routine, but life, as many of you know, just isn’t that simple.
We All Have Our Own Way Of Doing Things…
That we don’t see fit to change.
Over the summer, me and the children have naturally fallen into a daily routine of sorts, none of it set in stone, just a natural ebb and flow. We each have what I would call a personal routine. I like to try and get some blogging done in the morning, although that’s not been working out quite as I had hoped due to constant interruptions. Greg’s likes to check out the sport in the morning before he gets on with his day and Catherine likes to come in from school and wind down by spending some time browsing YouTube videos.
The next week or so is going to be rocky, until compromises are found and routines change. Greg’s is going to have to be prepared for the changes slowly, which may or may not work, depending on how the changes are approached.
Catherine may not be able to watch YouTube when she comes in from school if her Dad is watching something, and Neal is going to have to try his best to be patient and to fit in again without rocking the boat too much.
Me and the children have got into a routine of eating dinner earlier (mid afternoon), but Neal likes eating later and that for me is going to be the biggest hurdle. Sitting and eating together, as a family, is what helps keep us connected, but eating later in the evening means the kitchen is cleared later, eating into the children’s evening (clearing the kitchen after dinner is their job). Which will become a bug bear.
As For Me…
My routine, I use that term rather loosely, will be pretty much non existent as I try to mediate quarrels and differences.
So I Beg To Differ…
That compromise is the secret of a happy family. And I’d like to put it to you that the secret of a happy family is in fact tolerance and acceptance, sprinkled with a few disagreements and the odd rant.
In the ‘real’ world families are happiest when everyone is being who they are and that is bound to end in raised voices every now and again, but what makes it happy is that everyone knows that no matter what they say or do they are accepted and loved no matter what.
How is you family when it comes to having to compromise?
© 2015, Debbie. All rights reserved.
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family • summer • That's life
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