My husband will be making several two week business trips this fall, and it will be just me and the kids. Alone. By ourselves. Alone. Am I terrified? Yes. The nightmares have already begun. Please don't judge me, I'm an INFP remember, there is no J in my type (what are these letters anyway). I'm all about flow, fun in the moment, what laundry? and peace-at-almost-any-cost. I cannot stick to a time schedule to save my life, that's a J trait (supper at 5 pm, laundry every Monday, etc). I will be dealing, on my own, with making three meals a day for a resistant eater (usually my husband and I trade-off makes things that he then refuses), nursing a baby, dishes, laundry, no one to hold the baby when I need to pee, and the word that strikes terror into my heart, dum, du dum dum... BEDTIME. That is the pinnacle of all chaos - crying baby, hungry preschooler (I have to stop saying/writing/thinking toddler, this is his last month of being three, sniff, sniff), my patience is spent, the house is at it's messiest, and the list goes on.
But ladies, you may envy me this: I have not taken out the trash, nor put gasoline in my car, for years. I don't even know where the trash bags are. I think I shall rename the two week business trips - Hubby Appreciation Weeks. I don't even think I know all the things he does to keep our household running smoothly, but I'm about to find out the hard way. You guessed it, he's the J.
My mother will be helping me out at times, but she is not available at 11 pm when I will probably need her. Don't judge me that my kids aren't in bed by 8 pm, remember - P. My mom, bless her, is a J. Are you seeing the pattern here? If you are a J and live within 30 minutes of my house, I could really use your help mid-October, because my son will be eating ice cream from the carton for supper in unlaundered clothes while my teething daughter chews on his shoes (she's obsessed with dirty shoes, what's up with that?!) and I will probably look like this:
The way I cope with impending doom is to form a PLAN. Usually I stick with each new plan for a few days, then wander off to do something more interesting. This situation calls for me to come up with some inner J-ness or else the chaos will eat us up.
I have been brainstorming about a method of getting things done that I like and more importantly, maintain. Even though I can't stick to schedules, I do like routines (you know, always drink a glass of water before bed). I have to remind myself that I have strengths too, I just need to find something that works for me.
Coming soon... the One Done system
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