Spring Goals

I always admire people sitting on the front/back deck chillin, whiling away the warm evenings.

As non alcoholic people I joked to my husband 'do we need to start drinking?'
'cause those people are usually nursing a drink or two.... ha ha ha.

I want my evenings to look like that! {sans the alcohol lol and with people to talk to of course!}
perhaps this is why my evenings don't look like that because what would I do sitting on the deck alone? {ha. Maybe relax and do nothing? what a shock to the system!}

The last couple of years I've been thinking about this dilemma and those people deck chillin.
I've tried several times to just sit outside and enjoy the warm evenings.
I find it kinda hard {I really do think I suffer from Attention Deficit}
Usually I've got stuff to do {clean up, dinner, dishes, put kids to bed, clean up, go on computer etc} Mind wanders, mosquito's bother, I get bored and come inside....

I read a comment the other day about a person who decided to let their {older} kids choose their own bedtime. {yikes!} but said she now chose to read in bed, do what she wanted and let them be too. And ultimately yes they did stay up a bit later but its worked out pretty good and the kids worked out their own rhythm and have learnt when to go to bed.

As a parent with growing kids this intrigued me.

I'm finding it harder to be the parent I thought I would be

I joke that I used to get more done as a parent with babies/toddlers than I do now
{would never have believed you at the sleep deprived time! what?! it gets harder?!}

I'm finding it hard to do all the things we want to do but perhaps its because I'm still hanging on to 'young child routine'
We like to come home from school {occasionally means walking or biking and stopping at park}
Homework and afternoon tea
1/2 -1 hour on computer
Dinner at 5:30
Wash dishes
Bath, books
BED

Bed blessed bed! Yes the older kids don't go to sleep and they read for hours {and hours!}but I get anxious thinking about any other routine. We don't even do extra curricular stuff cause we are too busy eating and getting ready to go to bed. I have friends and neighbours who eat dinner like at 8pm. I'm exhausted by then and definitely not thinking about dinner! Not to mention I'm hungry early too

BUT...

I want kids playing outside, I want nighttime games, I want sunset viewing, I want picnic dinners, I want chatting to neighbours and friends, I want sitting on the deck, I want outings to enjoy all this city has to offer, I want night time strolls, I want swimming in the dark, I want outdoor movie nights, I want.. I want...

When do we get to start doing all these things?

But who is going to be cooking dinner and doing the dishes?


Maybe the trick is to rest in the early afternoon/straight after school and get it cranking again in the early evening? Maybe the trick is just to just sit on the deck chillin and ignore everything?

Is it time to give up the evening 'me' time?
{time that has been steadily shrinking anyway in the last few years due to kids NOT GOING TO SLEEP - unlike when they were little and were asleep super early and I would get so much done}

Or should I just realise that these imaginary awesome evenings are never going to happen, or will happen once all the kids are teens or have moved out?


Will I achieve 'DECK TIME' this Spring/ Summer?

Wait and see, shall we?