JoJo Sabbath Rhythms...

Hello, friends! 

Last week I wrote about how becoming a "Dog Dad" has changed some of my daily rhythms. One of the other changes this Fall has been to weekly rhythms, particularly my Sabbath rhythm. This one has some to do with a dog and more to do with a JoJo. 

Both Megan and I take Mondays as a Sabbath. It used to be that we would wake up in the morning, head our separate ways, and be back together for dinner to share about our Sabbath experiences. Of course, that all changed with kids and really changed once they started school. For the past few years, it was one of us taking either the morning or the afternoon and then swapping around lunch time. 

Last year, we tried a new rhythm to try to change the timing a bit. I would get up early and do part of my Sabbath until it was time for the older kids to go to school. Then, Megan would take the older kids to school and JoJo and I would hang out until the early afternoon. Sometimes we'd go to the zoo. Sometimes we'd take the bus to the trampoline park. Sometimes we'd go to the library. Sometimes, we'd just stay at home. Then Megan and I would swap and I'd take the second half of my Sabbath time. It worked out well enough.

However, we had a new wrinkle in the timing of everything when Jonah started pre-school. Added to that, with Phoebe, me getting up earlier to go downstairs and do Sabbath stuff wasn't going to work. Once she heard me, she was going to want to be up. My options were to either get up earlier like it was a work day (not exactly the most restful of options) or get up later and we switch things up. 

The new rhythm seems to be working well. I get up later than I used to (extra sleep? Count me in!) and get the kids (and dog) ready for the day. Megan heads out for her Sabbath as soon as she's up. I take the kids the older kids to school (with JoJo in tow), head home to let out Phoebe one more time, then take JoJo to pre-school. I then have 2 hours to chill before picking up JoJo, grabbing some lunch, and heading home for his "resting time." Megan and I will then switch and I'll have the afternoon.  

Do you know what my favorite part of the new rhythm is? It's not getting up later, although that's great. It's not a more time in the afternoon, although that's also great. It's not even having an extra chunk of time in the late morning while JoJo is at pre-school. It's not the run to Burger King for lunch that JoJo insists we do every week. My favorite part of the day is picking up JoJo from pre-school. 

JoJo's preschool has one door in and one door out so there's a bit of a logjam at pickup. The teachers have all the kids sit on a rug and the parents enter single file to pick up their kids. Usually, I can spot JoJo before he spots me, mainly because he's looking longingly at the other kids around him who are getting picked up by his parents. Those 3 seconds when I see him, say, "JoJo!", he turns towards me, and his face lights up because he knows that he wasn't forgotten and that he's going home, is the highlight of my day. To be loved by your kiddo like that, to be seen as safe and to be happy to be seen, is something that I love and will never get tired of it. 

This new rhythm will just be for the year. After this, JoJo will go to elementary school and his rhythm will change again. But for now, we've got a good thing going and I don't mind it one bit. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Dog Dad Rhythms...

Hello, friends! 

As you know, this summer we got a tortoise as well as a dog. Phoebe the goldendoodle has been with us for just about 2 months and I've been learning about what it means to be a "dog dad." 

See, when we decided to get Gus and Phoebe, I was fairly certain that Megan and the kids were going to dote all over the dog and that Gus and I would spend a lot of time hanging out by ourselves. Honestly, I was totally fine with that. I'm not antagonistic towards dogs, I'm just not a traditional "dog person." 

The thing that changed things was morning rhythms. Since having kids, I've found myself to be more of a morning person. I like to get up early and do my morning routine (hang out with Jesus, practice Mandarin, exercise, extend my Wordle streak, start work) before the kids are up and the day starts. Pre-dog, I would get up around 5:30 (sometimes I'd let myself sleep in until 6:30), head down to our basement, and come back up around 7ish when I heard the kids (read: JoJo... always JoJo) come out of their rooms. It was a nice rhythms. 

You know what you can't do? You can't sneak past a hungry dog. I learned this when I tried to keep my rhythm but heard the very distinctive whine of a hungry dog who had to go to the bathroom. Of course, I don't want an accident so I let out the dog. But then the dog is awake and my whole morning routine is out the window. 

So, I've had to adjust. There are a few things I've learned how to do to get back my rhythm. 

- Get up earlier. I learned that if Phoebe is awake when the sun is up, she's up. HOWEVER, if I let her out to go to the bathroom when it's still dark outside, she'll go back to sleep when she's done her business. So, now I'm up at 5 when it's still dark and she'll sleep until about 6:30 or so.  

- Give up on work. Getting Phoebe out of her kennel, waiting for her to go to the bathroom, and feeding her take up just enough time for me to not be able to get substantial work done. It's OK. I've come to terms with it. 

- Get better at doing things one handed. My number one job when I'm up with Phoebe in the morning is to make sure that she doesn't make enough noise to wake up anyone else in the family. This is obviously easier said than done, especially since she's recently been convinced that the dog she sees on our TV screen (read: her reflection) is her mortal enemy who must be barked at in order to show dominance. The solution I've found, is belly rubs. If I keep scratching her, she stays chill. That means everything else needs to be done one-handed. 

Phoebe and I have worked out a nice little rhythm in the mornings. Honestly, she's a pretty chill dog until the kids get up and she tries to eat their clothes as they're wearing them. This Dog Dad life isn't one that I would have necessarily chosen for myself, but we've worked out something nice and I don't mind where we are. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam