What do I do before I leave for my run at 5:30? I prep girls lunch (just need to be heated), Sofia’s oatmeal freshly made, and Lizzy’s apple cake.
I know they could probably do it for themselves but that’s my love language so I enjoy doing it.
Air quality was bad, and I had a hill repeat workout so treadmill it is. I didn’t mind it as my RPE was around 7 for the hill repeats.
While I was running my hill repeats, I got a message from Sofia asking me to tell the helper to dry her short on the dryer. I didn’t respond as it’s not urgent. And then she texted again about something else, again, not urgent. Then I got upset, stopped my watch, and sent her a voice message, semi-angry, that she SHOULD not text me when I’m on my run (my solo meditative state of the day) when it’s not urgent. I felt bad about my tone but I also felt I needed to set the boundary for my sacred time of the day when I really don’t want to be interrupted. Let’s see how long she can remember that.
I often get conflicted with setting boundaries with my girls. I want them to feel free to come to me whenever for whatever. But somehow I really get mad when they interrupt me when I am running. I guess because I take my running time as my solo (no mother duty) moment of the day and I just want to be with my thoughts on the flow.
The rest of the day was filled with meetings that don’t require too much mental energy so the day passed quickly. Tomorrow I’ll have to do deep work, for 3.5 hrs per this book’s recommendation. Apparently big thinkers all spent in average 3.5 hrs on deep work and that was enough to be “productive”.
Workout: 7 miles run with 8 sets of hill repeats (40 secs each), 30 min lower body.
Listen: I watched this, I love watching about other runners when I run on treadmill, and clips of black pink.
Read: meditation for mortals.
Our New Journey 
It’s a tricky balance, right? I want to be there for them, come to me with things, but also, leave me alone to have my me time. They’ll learn eventually.
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oh, that book is on my wish list. Would love to learn your thoughts about the book when you finish it.
Q: have you explained to your kids what running time means to you?
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She knows what running means to me. But she’s still a kid. 🙂
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That is good. Yeah, kids will be kids until they’re not.
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I also make breakfast for the kids and enjoy doing it. Today it was honey and vanilla yoghurt with berries and cashew nuts for R, and a small toasted bagel with cream cheese for L. Sometimes I make oatmeal, too, and I load it up with berries and nuts. Or fruit and nuts. Sometimes they want toasted bread with jam, but not too often. Sometimes a “fruit face” – pieces of fruit arranges as a funny face 🙂
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I think it is good to have boundaries. They need to realize that they are important to you (which I think they do) but that there is a time for everything, and that an emergency and a question are two different things and one can wait. My Dad used to make us wait before we spoke (aka not interrupt him) when we were kids and I thought he was so mean, but now I get it!
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Hi Coco, I think more than setting boundaries, you are teaching her how to be an adult and learn to communicate politely and clearly with different people. “‘How to raise an Adult” was written by the head of admissions at Stanford for decades after she saw a significant decline in capabilities of kids coming in to handle life by themselves and depending on parents to take care of their lives all the time. https://www.julielythcotthaims.com/how-to-raise-an-adult You might enjoy it, she gives some excellent advice.
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I think it is important to learn about boundaries. The trick issue is probably figuring out what is urgent and what not. Most adults can’t do that.
I have to have a closer look at that book.
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Boundaries are important but tricky when we want our kids to know we are there for them. Just maybe not for non-urgent requests when mommy is running! I am trying to teach my kids that sometimes you have to be patient and I can’t help you immediately!
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