Day 2 - Lessons Learned

So, it's only the end of day 2, but I'm already starting to see patterns emerge in my own, and the children's, behavior.  I'd like to discuss some of these in the following paragraphs.

Nobody's Got Your Back¹

Everyone slept in a little this morning, even the stuffed animals

If we were to believe the common wisdom, or alternatively, some of the stories Hollywood tells us, then "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."  I suppose it's supported by empiric evidence, as well, endocrine reaction, Fight or Flight etc. (tip of the hat to you, Dad), but I'm talking mostly about much more subtly threatening situations, and a respectively subtly heroic response.  What I've noticed over the past 48 hours (and previously when we had special needs in the family), is that the kids feel that now things are not as they usually are, and they set aside some of their petty issues in order to accommodate the amplified needs of the house.  Instead of whining about chores and stalling endlessly, they just go and get it done.  Okay, maybe they stall a little bit.

I've noticed on myself, as well, a similar tendency.  Instead of the typical procrastination when faced with unsavory tasks, such as washing the dishes or cleaning a peed-on corner of the bathroom floor, I unflinchingly fit it into my schedule and nail it.

A Man's Gotta Do What A Man's Gotta Do

Making a toddler vehicle traffic jam is part of Noam's daily routine

A second "survival instinct" I've developed is selective execution of tasks.  That is, only the things that really matter make the cut for my mental "to do" list for any given period of time.  Whereas in the good old days I would have time to chat with casual friends on the way home from taking Amiel to preschool, reading a moderately amusing article someone posted on Facebook, or taking an hour to familiarize myself with a technology I might want to use sometime in the next five years, now I'm more strictly need-oriented.  I don't even have to ask myself, "Is this important?  Is this necessary?".  I've just switched modes, and now I have automatic blinders on to keep myself on task.  For better or for worse...

Blitz Everything

I've come to the conclusion that like most people in Western society, much of my day is spent rather frivolously.  That is to say, even when we're doing things that are necessary, beneficial, worthwhile, or "good" in any sense of the word, we don't do it in the most efficient manner.  We're in no hurry, we're focused on other things, in any case we're not trying to get through the task at hand as fast as possible, without botching it.  Of course not, you wouldn't want to break a nail!

Upside-down pushups, anyone?

Well I've discovered that if you're focused, you're really paying attention, and thinking a step and a half ahead, you can get amazing results.  I like to think of myself as analogous to an ambulance driver.  The ambulance driver has to get to the location of the emergency as fast as possible, but without running anyone over or crashing into anything along the way.  That would be a little counterproductive, wouldn't it?  So how long does it usually take to shower three giggly little boys, start to finish?  You have to get them undressed, throw the clothes somewhere, rinse them down, soap and lather, rinse off the soap, wrap each in his towel, remove them from the bathtub, point him to his pajamas to start getting dressed.  Under normal circumstances, this whole process can easily take ten to fifteen minutes for the all three combined, if they're in the mood to cooperate.  But what if you offer them to compete with each other to see who can get undressed first, separate the dirty and clean clothes out on the way to the bathroom, throw them all in the shower together, quickly shower them and take them out?  Of course, all this needs to be in a firm but compassionate tone and demeanor.  So, how long does it take me?  Three to five minutes, usually.  Not bad, right?  Let's take another example, for instance physical fitness.  If I had it my way, I'd spend at least an hour ever day doing physical training: strength training, flexibility, qigong, balance, cardio.  Lately I've noticed on Youtube a trend of 7-minute workouts, presumably for people with very little free time in their schedules.  That sounds great, but what if you don't allow yourself to indulge in your own physical wellbeing that much because your current headspace doesn't have room in the daily time budget for such lesser activities.  You make a 7-second workout!  In order to retain muscle tone on some basic level, I snatch a few seconds here or there and work on a single muscle group, picking an exercise which I can only do a few repetitions of before I have to quit.  Like, for instance, doing "pushups" in a handstand position, or crouching and rising all the way to the floor, standing on one leg.  Just about the only thing I haven't figured out how to blitz is sleeping...

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¹The catchy titles I give the sections really make me feel like I'm putting together an episode of This American Life ©