Time Out

Nalley is 19 months old.  She is a beautiful little girl with a huge personality and a bit of a temper.  I know I am biased but I have never seen someone so small make so many facial expressions before.  She is a wonderful child if she is well rested, gets exactly what she wants when she wants it and no one is stealing the attention she thinks is all for her.  Lets just say with a working from home dad and a 5 month old sister her attention gets stolen a LOT.

The past few weeks I have started implementing time out for her.  I have a big leather chair in our family room that is about the most comfortable thing you will sit in aside from the ginormous couch that everyone in my family has asked for at one point in time or another.  I set Nalley in the chair and make her sit there for about 2 minutes (I had heard you were supposed to do time out for 1 minute per year of age).  If she cries or whines or gets up, time starts over.  She usually gets in time out twice a day.  Midmorning when Felicity has taken just about enough of her attention for the whole year and around 5 when Leron steals her attention when he fills me in on his day.  By the end of two minutes, she is laughing, smiling and is totally ready to go back to playing.  (She is required to say sorry to whomever she was being disobedient and she usually throws in a hug for good measure.) 

Her complete attitude turn around got me thinking, I need a time out too!  If I could sit in a chair for 25 minutes twice a day, I would be smiling, laughing and ready to play too.  I mean that is almost a whole hour!  I could do so much introspection with a whole hour to myself where no one is allowed to bother me and I have to sit in one place the whole time.  I am normally a rule follower but in this situation I would probably whine after about 10 minutes just so time could start over.

Leron often tells me that he looks forward to spring planting for so many reasons he can't hardly count them all.  In fact, he has started developing what I affectionately term the itch.  He can't hardly sit still, his hands mime the movements needed to drive the tractors, he is jumpy and ready to go at first light.  It is spring fever full blown.  Ironically with this anxiety itch what he really enjoys about spring planting is the solitude a tractor seat offers.  To be in the middle of a field, completely disconnected (because you couldn't even hear if your phone rings let alone talk on it), with you, yourself and your thoughts.

We all need some type of solitude.  As humans we are used to being in groups and surrounded by people we love or depend on for survival but we need us time too.  I mean heck even in the garden of Eden, Eve had to get away from Adam for a little while (when she was tricked by the serpent) and Eden was a uptopia and Adam was the only other human being around.  Just think of how many situations are not heaven like or close to perfection and how many people we have to interact with on a daily basis.

So today, give yourself a time out... no dishes, no laundry, no cooking, no cleaning, no tv, no music, no reading, just sit still, think and listen.  It will do you some good, I promise!

Lenten Daily Challenge: Deal with anyone in your life who may be interfering with your relationship with God.
Rosary Special Intention: For all farmers with the "itch"

God Bless!
Hannah
The Farmer's Wife