I've written before about the "Ratcheting Up" and "Ratcheting Down" stages of life. My wife and I are in the Ratcheting Down stage, with our children getting older now. We are back to having only one child at home (a 17-year old son).
An interesting side effect of this is that you have a lot more free time. In the old days, so much of our time was taken up with bands and activities. We took children to craft things (I remember lots of trips to Home Depot on Saturday mornings to make stuff that sits in my garage now). We took children to shows and fairs and such. We always seemed to have a lot of things to do.
Now, not so much.
So, what do you do with all that free time?
Not only do you have lots more free time, but you have lots more energy as well. Not chasing a five-year old around everywhere is very restful. The respite from having to carry conversations with pre-conversational children is very nice.
I can read books, now (better than before, anyway). I can sit on my sofa with a lamp and a cool drink and actually read for an hour or more. I can just go somewhere for the fun of going. My wife and I find ourselves with an embarrassment of time, to be honest.
Now, I am sure someone will write to me about all the "good" things I could be doing. There are all sorts of ministries and services and such into which I could pour my free time. I will, probably, find something like that to do one day. But, for now, here I am.
Part of Ratcheting Down is just getting some time to yourself, plus time to spend with your spouse, without worrying about children all the time. I think there are people who find this difficult, but I am not one of those people. I enjoy an afternoon nap or an afternoon of reading. I do not need my grandchildren coming over to liven up my life at all.
With grandchildren, I have learned that it is nice to see them when they come, and also nice to see them when they leave.
When I had lots of children around, I often wished for a moat so that I could pull up the drawbridge and keep the world out. Now, to be honest, I want the moat even more. The drawbridge would be up almost all the time, now.
I am finding quiet time to be a great gift. Someday, I will find something useful to do with that time.
But not today.
An interesting side effect of this is that you have a lot more free time. In the old days, so much of our time was taken up with bands and activities. We took children to craft things (I remember lots of trips to Home Depot on Saturday mornings to make stuff that sits in my garage now). We took children to shows and fairs and such. We always seemed to have a lot of things to do.
Now, not so much.
So, what do you do with all that free time?
Not only do you have lots more free time, but you have lots more energy as well. Not chasing a five-year old around everywhere is very restful. The respite from having to carry conversations with pre-conversational children is very nice.
I can read books, now (better than before, anyway). I can sit on my sofa with a lamp and a cool drink and actually read for an hour or more. I can just go somewhere for the fun of going. My wife and I find ourselves with an embarrassment of time, to be honest.
Now, I am sure someone will write to me about all the "good" things I could be doing. There are all sorts of ministries and services and such into which I could pour my free time. I will, probably, find something like that to do one day. But, for now, here I am.
Part of Ratcheting Down is just getting some time to yourself, plus time to spend with your spouse, without worrying about children all the time. I think there are people who find this difficult, but I am not one of those people. I enjoy an afternoon nap or an afternoon of reading. I do not need my grandchildren coming over to liven up my life at all.
With grandchildren, I have learned that it is nice to see them when they come, and also nice to see them when they leave.
When I had lots of children around, I often wished for a moat so that I could pull up the drawbridge and keep the world out. Now, to be honest, I want the moat even more. The drawbridge would be up almost all the time, now.
I am finding quiet time to be a great gift. Someday, I will find something useful to do with that time.
But not today.