JUST ONE WEEKEND
There are a hundred and one complaints people say about the rainy days. These are coming from both kids and grownups. The kids are often the first to whine when the rain keeps them from playing outside. The grownups also have a similar issue with the rain – it deters their many outside activities, as well.
But it’s mostly the kids and the older boys – dads included – that miss the outside fun during the rains. The moms have a different concern. With all family members holed up inside as it ‘rains cats and dogs outside’, the atmosphere at home can become volatile.
The kids are always fighting, over anything. The grownups, out of boredom, begin to notice all the imperfections around the house, and yet feel that fixing it is somebody else’s responsibility. Everyone tends to spot the flaws of everyone else.
The little ones often complain that one kid has monopoly of the TV remote. Dad nags the older boy about cleaning the garage. The older girl explodes over the wet footmarks that her little siblings leave on the floor in her room.
For her part, Mom protests about everybody being glued to their gadgets. She is so busy in the kitchen cooking anything to divert everyone’s mind from the boredom. And she is not getting any help at all from anyone. Everyone is just so busy!
The family might as well make the most of their time together – not just to keep busy but to make their time full. Being busy is about having something to do every minute. But just because everyone is busy doesn’t mean they are doing anything worthwhile.
Making full use of their time together is about purposefully filling that time with things that will have a lasting beneficial effect for all family members. Just one weekend can make the life of family members fuller than months of after-school or after-work activities. Just one weekend can foster real family togetherness.
The family may set a weekend, when it rains and everyone has no choice but to stay put at home, for good family bonding. They shall decide to make it full, to catch up with one another. It shall be a time to stop, for a while, being individual members – to be one family, with common good plans and intentions for one another.
On such a weekend, the family shall agree to slow down, to take the time to relish one another’s loving company. It shall be a break from their individual day-today helter-skelter. They shall take time to do activities together as a solid team.
While watching TV together can spark meaningful conversations, it’s not the only thing family members can do on a rainy weekend at home. Many common activities can strengthen family bonds and build a strong foundation for a nurturing, communicative, healthy relationship. There is probably no better way to nourish joy in the family.
It goes without saying that family members may have to suspend their individual routines during the designated weekend. If possible, gadgets shall be put off, so everyone exists in a world all their own. The world outside won’t probably change so much in a day or two for family members to catch up with afterwards.
On the practical side, the weekend may also be a good time to emphasize the importance of everyone’s involvement in running the household. Different chores may be assigned to family members, according to age and competence. Older kids may be tasked to train the younger ones, a way to bring them closer together.
Parents shall lead in making all activities to be in the spirit of collaboration. There shall be abundant praise – and an equally abundant opportunity to laugh together. Praise and laughter are key elements of good, quality time together.
Just one weekend, planned properly, can bring more peace and joy in the family. It is also a great way for parents to bring up topics to discuss with their children – issues of good and evil, of making wise and foolish decisions, of the influence of friends, of love and romance, of honor, of truth and lies etc. It can set the course for family members – the kids particularly – to do well on their own, eventually.
In the meantime, the meaningful conversations and the activities shared can go a long way in the relationship as one family.