halrunkel
“The training of children is a profession, where we must know how to waste time in order to save it.” (Jean Jacques Rousseau)
I will not pretend to fully know what Rousseau meant by wasting time in order to save it. I think it has something to do with the now-trite discussion of “quality-time” vs. “quantity-time.”
By now, most of us realize that just giving our kids “quality” time with us is not enough. At least that’s what we’ve heard. I like to discuss it in another way, however.
I believe family relationships are built through what I call structured agenda-free time. Yes, that’s a mouthful, but it just means that I need to build into my calendar large pockets of time to just be with my family.
This doesn’t have to be doing something with my kids in the same room, or doing the same activity. It just means being around, with nothing particular I’m trying to accomplish. To those driven like me, this may indeed feel like “wasted time.”
But as I see it building a sense of internal confidence and stability in my kids, I feel the need to waste more of it.
Peace begins with a pause,
Hal
