tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22908370.post114503363576538661..comments2022-11-16T04:17:43.254-08:00Comments on Robin's Blue Skies: Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297237900094898777noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22908370.post-1145248228861993272006-04-16T21:30:00.000-07:002006-04-16T21:30:00.000-07:00I worked part-time for the first 4 or 5 years of D...I worked part-time for the first 4 or 5 years of DS's life, and there was definitely a HUGE shift in how we were able to spend our time once I was home 24/7. To not live by the clock or a schedule is so freeing!! Being able to make pancakes or cookies at 11:00pm, or to be outside in the dark blowing bubbles instead of being inside getting ready for bed . . . things like that are much more difficult when a parent and a child have to get up the next morning to be at work and school by a certain time. I enjoy having the freedom to do those things other than on a weekend or holiday.<BR/><BR/>On the days when I worked all day, I felt the loss of the time together in a huge way. Yeah, we still spent time together after I got home and before DS went to bed, but I knew, from being home with him all day so many other days, what I was missing when I was at work rather than at home.<BR/><BR/>Like Robin, I'm speaking from my own experience. But I do know **from my own experience** that, for our family, there was definitely a big difference in how life felt when I worked parttime as compared to how it's felt since I quit working. The latter has been very positive for DS, DH, and me and that's the arrangement we'd like to keep in place for many years to come.Glendahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11304081149041159520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22908370.post-1145227952976862892006-04-16T15:52:00.000-07:002006-04-16T15:52:00.000-07:00Well, I can only speak to my own experience, every...Well, I can only speak to my own experience, everyone has to do what works best for them and their family. M. went to school two days a week last term (a Sudbury-model school) and I was simply astounded at how much less time together we had. When you add in the shlepping to and from, it took a lot out of our day. And he didn't have after-school, extra-curricular activities, or any homework at all, that was just the 9:30 - 3:00 school day. And the two years I was a working mom, I felt a huge impact on the time we had together. Those have been my experiences. For me, there's something very very different about spending vast amounts of unstructured time together. With the school schedule or my work schedule, time has to be slotted in here or there on evenings or weekends. <BR/><BR/>Unschooling for us gives us the freedom of big huge chunks of time together, time without an agenda. It just doesn't feel nearly the same to me, in my life as scheduled blocks of time. I won't speak to anyone else's life but mine.Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17297237900094898777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22908370.post-1145213694281276662006-04-16T11:54:00.000-07:002006-04-16T11:54:00.000-07:00What I find interesting is that for all that my li...What I find interesting is that for all that my life with my two kids is filled with school, and work, and after-school care, and extracurricular activities -- it sounds so much like yours. Somehow we still spend a *lot* of time hanging out and doing fun stuff and learning together at home and around. <BR/><BR/>If you ask me, the Cayman Islands ad is targeted at a particular kind of guilt-ridden parent (who probably isn't going to connect all that well with the kid when they get there anyhow) but it's no way an accurate reflection of the family life of most people, even most affluent dual-career family people.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01593639955634717831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22908370.post-1145154432720846712006-04-15T19:27:00.000-07:002006-04-15T19:27:00.000-07:00Yeah, I could do with a trip to the Caymans, anyti...Yeah, I could do with a trip to the Caymans, anytime soon... especially with the rain, rain, rain here. <BR/><BR/>Just dreaming about Seven Mile Beach and a tall pina colada and some snorkeling gear... ahh.....<BR/><BR/>Now if the government would ever pay me the same amount to educate my kids that they give to the schools ($8,000 per kid, per year I think it is here now), maybe we'd be there!Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17297237900094898777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22908370.post-1145146461035589772006-04-15T17:14:00.000-07:002006-04-15T17:14:00.000-07:00I enjoyed this post.I would've enjoyed it more rea...I enjoyed this post.<BR/><BR/>I would've enjoyed it more reading it on the beach in the Cayman Islands, while taking a break from snorkeling and kayaking with my son and hubby (wink)!!<BR/><BR/>Kids are SO cool to spend time with. I'm glad I get to experience that 24/7 with mine.Glendahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11304081149041159520noreply@blogger.com