Spring Busyness

I know I've been quiet lately and I can't promise I'll be around consistently for the next few weeks, but I wanted to let you know I'm still here.

You see spring is a busy, busy time. (I'm sure many of you can relate!) My work generally gets a lot heavier in the spring months as the rate of sold projects picks up. There always seems to be a rush in the spring and then again in September through the end of the year.

On top of that it is baseball season and, as anyone with athletic kids or stepkids can attest, schedules can get quite hectic.

My stepson is playing on rec, travel, and school teams. There is pretty much a baseball practice or game (or both!) every day of the week.

With the weather turning warm and breezy, I consider baseball games great excuses to spend some time outside soaking it up. I love these spring days.

What are you up to this gorgeous spring? (Or fall for my ladies in the southern hemisphere?)

As we approach the end of the school year, I reflected on math homework at WorkingMother.com. I hope you'll check it out.

Nipping Negativity in the Bud

I'm trying to change how I handle things at home.  I realized I had gotten myself to this bad place of thinking "what is it this time?" when dealing with my stepson and even my husband.  That kind of negativity only leads to bad outcomes.

Yesterday at work I returned from a meeting to find a missed call from my stepson.  In true "what is it this time?" fashion, I thought "don't tell me he's locked out of the house again."

Then I caught myself.  How was I to guess the reason for his call?  Besides, even if that initial theory proved true, my stepson was probably scared and frustrated.  The last thing he would have needed is for me to be cross with him.

So I changed the thought.  I put myself in the "what can I do for you?" mindset and gave him a cheerful, "Hey bud.  What's up?"

His disappointment carried through the phone line as he replied, "I didn't do well on my math quiz.  I left a message for dad, too."

"First," I said, "I'm proud of you for calling to tell us because then we can help you, right?"

"Yes."

I let him know his teacher had sent an email to all the parents saying she had stalled her lesson plan to review the material again today since many of the kids were struggling with it.  I hoped that would ease his mind to know it wasn't just him that was having trouble.

Then I continued, "Tonight when I get home, let's go over it together and get you feeling comfortable with it."

He agreed.  No fuss, no drama.  We went through the questions he got wrong and walked through his work step-by-step to see what happened.  It only took 20 minutes for both of us to feel comfortable that he understood it enough to solve the same types of problems in the future.

With the "what can I do for you?" mindset, my hope is that he feels supported rather than feeling like he's in trouble.  After all, I'm here to help and show love, not to judge.