Work and play Children are oblivious to the fact that you have a life of your own. My son wanted to text me his lunch box preference during his school’s morning break, which I could then prepare and deliver. My daughter suggested that I come to school at the end of the day, so that she could then choose between walking and being driven home. Yeah, right. When in the greatest of hurries, requests for homework support / making eggs / playing Monopoly cause me to give – let me phrase it mildly – uncharitable responses. Similarly, when focused on the children, attempts to quickly do something useful have led to shrunk clothes and emails that, on reflection, I would much rather not have sent. At other times, a combination of work and play is possible. Playing tag takes all my attention, but I get many household chores done while playing hideand-seek. As it turns out, I can talk and make jokes while washing the dishes, but attempts to wash the dishes while my daughter is making pancakes causes a level of distraction that makes me break things. Books on childrearing tell you that children can help you with your chores, or even do them independently. This is true. Young children can set the table, empty the dishwasher (if you are prepared to sacrifice a
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