Theory in Practice

John and I had little idea as to what would be expected of us in the role of new parents. We read the books given to us, organized the household as best we could before our permanent house guest arrived and talked at length over the kinds of changes we thought to expect.
Now we are “in it” and I have to say it’s a real race against the clock. Days turn into short blocks of time where it’s important to get the necessary things done to keep your household in working order. The priority, of course, is the little person but we try to meet our needs alongside his, like eating, sleeping, and showering. Before we know it, the hour is 11 PM and we still have a few more things to do before we can retire for the night. Best make it quick because from 11 – 4 is the longest stretch of sleep will get in a 19 hour period. We are up for the challenge most definitely, but there are days when I feel like I’ve volunteered as a high-rotation player in an all day obstacle course.
Parkinson’s Law states “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” and Tim Ferriss, author of “The Four Hour Work Week”, offers a corollary to that statement which emphasizes that a task will swell in perceived complexity and importance in direct proportion to the amount of time you allot to it. Over this last week, we are truly living this theory. It’s time to lower the bar a little bit and just succumb to being Ivan’s couch for the next three months. I’m really going to miss John’s intuitive fathering skills when he returns to work next week. We’ve enjoyed our “babymoon” thoroughly and look forward to sharing a glass of champagne and watching a movie in the next four days. Will it happen though?