No Such Thing....

Quality time is an oxymoron. There is no such thing as quality time. There is only quantity time. Sometimes the quantity time you spend with your child will be of good quality and sometimes it will be of lousy, painstaking, and truly annoying quality.

~Betty Londergan

I love Betty. She's hilarious, irreverent, brutally honest about parenthood and well worth reading, if you have a sense of humor. I found this particular quote insightful, and alarmingly accurate. In our quest to make ourselves feel better about the time we take away from our children, we prefer to consider the time we give them "quality" since it's not quantity. The unholy truth is that YOU can't decide if it's going to be a quality or not. A child or life with children is unpredictable. Those carved out moments that you have set aside for quality time, may be the same moments your kids have their knickers in a twist about something, and no matter how hard you try, they will not be forced into having MEANINGFUL engagement with you. Such is life.

I'm slowly learning to roll with it, and want to encourage you to also. Take the moments you've been given whether they are many or few and make the most of them. Try not to treat your agenda like it's sacrosanct, and just be with and love on your treasures, even if they may be acting less than jewel like at any given moment. The more you endeavor to enjoy your children and their funny quirks and idiosyncrasies, the more pleasure you'll get out of the bumpy, extraordinary ride of parenthood.

Whether you work outside the home or work in it.... Time is time and it is precious, don't waste it.