Multitasking And Thinking Ahead

The other night, I was fairly organised for tea but just needed to fry some bacon for the potato salad I had made. Not wanting to risk fat spilling on her with such a task, I palmed Sophie (who was due to go back to sleep) off to Paul. “Just rock her and pat her on the bum while you sit down and colour in with Grace,” I told him. As Sophie’s cries became louder, Paul suddenly dropped his bundle, “I can’t do it,” he said. “How can you expect me to do two things at once? I can’t settle Sophie and play with Grace at the same time.”

I laughed. Welcome to my world.

As a Mum to two under two and a half, I’ve learnt that multitasking involves doing a minimum of ten things at once. For example, I find myself hunting around the house for clothes so I can throw on a load of washing while I help Grace do a jigsaw puzzle, carry around Sophie and begin to organise dinner all at the same time.

I no longer walk from room to room with one purpose. If I head into our room to grab a nappy for Sophie, I’ll bring some clothes I’ve just taken off the line and folded with me to put away. On my way out again, I’ll collect a toy Grace has left lying in the hallway.

As well as multitasking, thinking ahead has become routine. I’ll sometimes set out clothes to wear the night before so I’ll make less noise in our bedroom (where Sophie’s bassinette is) in the morning. Plates and cutlery for tea are often waiting on the kitchen bench in the afternoon. Components of meals are made in advance to take advantage of moments when Sophie is sleeping or settled. One morning recently, I had boiled eggs and potatoes for a salad, poached some chicken and cooked some rice all before ten o’clock to make meal preparations for the following three days that little bit easier.

I realise that this pace of life is just a stage and that as Sophie gets older each month, daily life will become easier but I also realise it’s important that each day, I have a little bit of time to just be in the ‘now’. As someone told me recently, I need to sit down and just have a cuppa and take some time for me occasionally too. And so, that is what I’ve been aiming to do more of lately –to wander around in our yard seeing how things are growing, to browse a few blogs or write a post, to sit down with a magazine and a cuppa and to learn to appreciate simple daily pleasures without worrying about whether the dishes have been done or being bothered by a pile of washing yet to be folded… and most importantly, to enjoy all the special daily moments with my two precious girls.