Mother's column – How to find your balance between quality time and daily chores
Children play together on an adventure playground. Photo EPA, Wojciech Pacewicz
Christian Life
Quality time with your loved is very important. But so is doing household chores, having time for yourself, and working. And a day only has 24 hours. How can a Christian divide his time wisely in this busy world?
A good family is built on a strong marriage. A good marriage is built on shared memories and quality time spent together. I have also heard some say that the most important thing in raising children is having quality time together. And of course, as a mother of several children, I should not look like a worn-out lady, but like someone who always has time for herself as well.
But has anyone done the math on how to fit all these activities into the 24 hours each day counts? Maths has always been tough for me. But if I calculate the ideal amount "quality time together" for a day, I either miss out on household chores or on full-time work to earn an income. The former can cause family tensions (and even illnesses), while the latter... does the same.
Manage
Our family life is dynamic and full of sacrifices. No two days are the same, no two personalities in our household are the same. We do need to solve the problem of making time for quality time together.
We found out that we can only manage to do so when we combine this with something else. My husband and I either take a walk together for exercise and talk (or just keep quiet), we go shopping together with one of the kids and share what goes on at school, or take the car for a longer drive with only one of the kids. Over the years, the children have developed the need for quality time together, even throughout their teenage years.
Time together, of course, should not be confused with watching a movie sitting side by side with our headphones plugged in. Although that, in some cases, also has a place in our lives. Quality time is more like a need for us, rather than a subscribed obligatory session.
In our consumer society, we are bombarded not only by an overwhelming choice of goods and services, but also by the temptations of social media. And the latter are killing quality time. The time spent on swiping and scrolling through our feeds is no time spent together with our loved ones.
Perfect
In addition, social media presents us with a perfect image, so we feel pressured to conform to that as well. Everyone is happy, everyone is fresh, everyone looks nice.
However, at home, we are sometimes tired and don't always put our best foot forward. But that is what makes home home. We don't have to spend much time on making our house perfect. Instead, we should invest these precious hours into relationships with our loved ones.
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