The good news is that with just a month left of summer vacation, I am finding time every day to write. My latest manuscript is picking up steam and starting to take off. I think it is a compelling work so far and seems to be getting better. Finding time every morning to read and write has been daily therapy for me, and I feel that I am in a good place for the most part.
With that said, summer vacation has also meant spending more time with my six-year-old twins. My wife has been picking up extra shifts at work, so a lot of the time, I am home with the kids, coming up with activities and trying to entertain them as best I can. I am noticing that I am becoming increasingly short with them, and I even lash out at times. While I’m noticing this, it’s hard to address.
The irony is that I have less patience and lenience with my own kids than I do with my 8th graders in the classroom. Most people would say that it is more difficult to deal with young adolescents, with all of their raging hormones, than it is to deal with six-year-olds. I guess the verdict is still out on that, though.
Mostly, what bothers me is their lack of any independence. My wife says that I am being overly critical of them, and I think she is right. They are great kids with a lot of love and energy, and they are just happy that I’m around and want to take full advantage of ‘Daddy camp’. I need to find a way to be more patient with them and enjoy our time together because it goes fast, and before I know it, they’ll want absolutely nothing to do with me.
I feel guilty every time I lash out at them. Fortunately, both have a pretty thick skin, so my shortness doesn’t have a lasting impact on them. My goal for the next month that I am home is to take full advantage of our time together and try to enjoy it as much as I can. I should relish every opportunity to pitch the baseball to my son and do an art project with my daughter. I am a little embarrassed of my lack of enthusiasm for the games they want to play with me, and I have to display the same patience with them that I have with my 8th graders at school.
A Bipolar Life 