Just Five Minutes: A Challenge

We all have tough days as a parent. Days that seem to never end. There are often days where five minutes after I wake I know it’s not going to be a good day by just witnessing the first few minutes of my children’s behavior. Do you ever try and turn the day around? Start over? I’ve even asked my daughter to please go upstairs and start her day over and I will do the same. We both go into our rooms and we come out saying “Hi sweet girl!” and “Hi Momma!” Instead of “I’m hunnnnnngry!” or “Please get dressed for school.” You all know I was a Negative Mom. It’s a constant struggle for me but I feel I’ve come a long way. I continually jump on and off board of the Hands Free Life motto. If you don’t know what it is I suggest you pick up the book because it has forever changed me. I don’t believe it’s something that will come over night, I agree with the author, it’s a journey. As long as I know I’m on this journey that’s all that matters. I’m calling it, Just Five Minutes.

My kids push, stall and test like you wouldn’t believe these days. All struggles that I know are completely normal and I know I worry probably way too much on how I react to it but I truly believe it’s what will shape them for the future. When I started my Hands Free Life this past Summer I instilled house rules however, after a pretty down day last week I instilled one more that I found was a huge game changer. One I just had to share with you all.

No Phone: Put it down in a place where you can’t hear it or see it. Trust me, you don’t want to hear it. No social media but it also means no snapping pictures of some precious times you may experience. It’s OK, your kids will remember you were there in that moment instead of saying “wait wait wait let Momma get a picture!” Some pictures are worth loosing because the memory will forever be in your heart.

No TV: This one is hard for me. I love my TV and my daughter never really took to it until the past year or two. My youngest is now two and a half and he takes to it BIG time. I always said I wasn’t going to be that Momma that let her kids veg out all day. Well guess what? Sometimes I do and I’m not ashamed to admit it. There are some days where it’s just needed. It’s Winter, we’ve all been sick sharing the same viruses back and forth but sometimes it’s nice to shut it off and just talk! No more TV while eating breakfast lunch or dinner and after each child gets to choose a show in the morning I either put the news on or shut it off to play a game or do crafts.

No Discipline: I am the disciplinary adult in our house. I’m with the kids more so I get it. My husband pitches in when he’s home but for the most part a lot of it rides on my shoulders so to shut this off for five minutes is tough for me but sometimes I just need to be the fun Momma.

No Judgement: This one is pretty self explanatory. You can change this one to something else you may be guilty of but this one is a big one for me. I don’t ever judge others, I’m not one to look down on another Momma because she chooses to do something differently than I do because it’s just not who I am however I find myself comparing myself to others some of time. Like when we are at stores and I walk by a Momma I’m jealous over because her child is sitting very nicely in the cart being a ham and my kid is hanging out the side while I struggle to shop and keep him from jumping out kind of judgement.

No Worry: I worry if I’m making the right calls, holding back enough, disciplining enough, disciplining too much, yelling too much, am I smiling enough, laughing with my kids enough, showing enough gratitude to my husband, teaching enough etc etc etc the worry never ends and can never seem to be turned off but it’s five minutes even I can turn it off for five minutes!

I challenge you. Do this with me. Since I’m home with my kids 4 full days a week I feel as if I have to make “Just Five Minutes” happen maybe more often than say a working Momma but I’m starting off with a few times day for now. Once before nap and once after nap time later in the afternoon when my husband is home for the day. Just Five minutes. No phone, No TV, I do not discipline, I do not judge myself or my kids (yes I sometimes say, wow is that strange that my daughter is doing that? That’s judgement!) and lastly I do not worry about anything. Why? What will happen? You’ll be amazed what will happen.

You will smile.
You will play.
You will amaze yourself.
You will see your children smile in a way you don’t often see.
You will feel complete inside.
Your patience level with be recharged.
You will feel like you are the supermomma.
You will be proud of your children.
You will be proud of yourself.
Your day will turn around all over again.

I promise you all of these things will happen when you follow this simple challenge. I’m actually starting to see that I’m doing it more often because it helps me recharge and connect with my kids. It may sound silly or people may think I’m crazy because I don’t do this naturally on my own, that I actually have to make myself do it but it’s who I am. I get caught up in the house chores, homework battles, teaching my children right from wrong, work emails, appointments, shall I go on? Making it a point to do this a few times a day is a must for me and it’s part of my journey where some day, some day soon it will automatically happen.