Keeping Weekends Sacred

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Keeping weekends sacred has been getting more and more difficult lately. Work has been eating up my Saturday nights. But like all else in life, something can be done. One of the ways I go with is to simply go with the flow of what my son wants to do.

Each bedtime, as my son and I are tucked in bed, he would often ask me, “Will we wake up together?” 5 times of the week I would say, “No, baby bear. I have work tomorrow so we won’t see each other in the morning.” “Okay,” he’d sadly say.

I cherish this question on Friday and Saturday nights because I can tell him, “Yes!” Then he’d give me a big smile and snuggle even closer.

Sacred Weekend Mornings

Following my son starts as soon as we wake up.

Following my son starts as soon as we wake up.

Keeping weekends sacred means spending as much time with our son, and that starts as soon as we wake up together. I like being in bed when he wakes up. “Good morning Mommy!,” he’d say with delight. Then we’d play around in bed before heading to the kitchen for breakfast. Sometimes he wouldn’t be hungry yet, so I’d just take my cup of coffee to his play area and we’d play together. See picture above!

Lesson learned: Don’t rush weekend mornings. We’ll eat breakfast when we’re hungry. There’s no need for schedules to follow on lazy days of bonding. But there’s always time for play.

 

There's always time for drawing.

There’s always time for drawing.

Last weekend, my sister’s friends slept over. My son, the natural host, invited them to draw with him after breakfast. It was a refreshing break from automatically gravitating to our gadgets for amusement. That morning, there were three Millennials, one Gen X-er (myself) and my 6-year-old hunched over doodles and drawings. (Can you guess who drew what in the above pic?)

Lesson learned: Draw more. It’s such a relaxing activity. No wonder so many go ga-ga over those adult coloring books. Drawing and coloring is so immersive it pulls you away from distractions and just FREES you. The funny thing was when my son finished his drawing, he declared “Okay! I’m finished! Let’s go read!” He jumped off his chair then ran to his reading area, calling on my sister’s friends and me. But there we adults were, heads down and finishing up our doodles. “We’ll be there!,” one of us exclaimed, as we colored in lines and added more spots to the animals.

 

Sacred Weekend Afternoons

Enjoy the outdoors.

Enjoy the outdoors.

All weekdays for me are spent indoors – behind an office desk, in airconditioning. Weekends are the best time for me to get some sun and fresh air, but I still don’t choose to spend my time outdoors naturally. I’d rather stay in bed. Thank goodness for my son. “Let’s play outside!,” he’d tell me. Fine. We’d run to the park near our home and he’d just run and jump all around. What a spark plug. I take in the fresh air and do some running as well. We go back indoors a little out of breath but always 100% feeling better.

Lesson learned:  Simple. Go outdoors more. 😛 It’s an easy way to keep the weekend sacred because we hardly spend time outdoors together!

 

Sacred Weekend Evenings

Bedtime stories make for keep weekend evenings sacred.

Bedtime stories make for keep weekend evenings sacred.

While we make time for bedtime stories even on weekday evenings, weekend bedtimes are the most special. We can stay up late and read as many books as we want! This is a ritual my son always looks forward to, especially when he gets to choose what books to read. One practice my husband and I have started is putting on background music while we read to Timmy. Recently, Timmy picked out a Star Wars Golden Book for bedtime. My husband played one of the Star Wars scores on his iPad and let the music play while I read to Timmy. What a theatrical effect!

Lesson learned: Read together more and make stories come to life! There’s more time during weekends anyway to think about how we’ll tell stories in a more memorable way for our son.

 

Inspiring image and message from Pocketfuel.

Inspiring image and message from Pocketfuel.

Keeping weekends sacred is getting harder with thoughts of work-to-be-done easily distracting me, but I try to keep them at bay by focusing on how to make the time I have with my son most valuable. A lot of it may be going with my son’s flow, but it’s anchored by a conscious effort to keep still, to be at peace with the moment. It’s difficult but it can be done. And when it’s done, it’s so fulfilling. I feel like the best Mom ever. Now if only I can bring that feeling on to weekdays too!

 

4 Comments on Keeping Weekends Sacred

  1. witsandnuts
    September 28, 2015 at 3:31 am (9 years ago)

    It’s a wise decision to visit your blog again (after a very loooong time that I haven’t hopped), always a source of inspiration. Hi to Timmy! Ang laki na nya!

    Reply
    • Toni
      September 28, 2015 at 3:44 am (9 years ago)

      Hi!!!! Long time no hear. :) Thanks for dropping by and the kind words. :) Yes, laki na nya!

      Reply
  2. Hannah Iway
    October 8, 2015 at 4:05 pm (8 years ago)

    Hello, I’m a working mom and I know how it feels to wake up in the morning not being able to talk to our kid. Good for you that you have weekend mornings to bond. My daughter wakes up late and I am still in the process of adjusting her bedtime schedule. Thanks for your article, it gives me more reasons to continue what I have started.
    Hannah Iway´s last blog post ..Salute to all Teachers

    Reply
    • Toni
      October 26, 2015 at 3:56 pm (8 years ago)

      Hugs! We can do this, Mommy Hannah! :)

      Reply

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