WEBVTT - Everyone can have their fun

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that a good weekend is one where

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<v Speaker 1>every family member has something to look forward to. That

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<v Speaker 1>includes the adults as well. Everyone can have their fun.

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<v Speaker 1>I promise that there is enough time. You just have

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<v Speaker 1>to think it through. So I tend to be the

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<v Speaker 1>weekend planner in my household. Since you are listening to

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<v Speaker 1>this podcast, my guess is that you are too, and

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<v Speaker 1>creating a good weekend can be tough. There are always

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<v Speaker 1>the things you have to do. There are also things

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<v Speaker 1>that certain family members might want to do, like play

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<v Speaker 1>dates or birthday part theaser, various kid activities. Then there

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<v Speaker 1>are the adults. Believe it or not, sometimes adults want

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<v Speaker 1>to do things on their weekends. Though we tend to

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<v Speaker 1>chuck stuff like getting together with friends when the schedule

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<v Speaker 1>gets complicated, or we expend so much energy scheduling other

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<v Speaker 1>people's things that we don't schedule our own things. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>that can be a recipe for feeling like weekends are

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<v Speaker 1>no fun whatsoever, And honestly, they aren't that fun when

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<v Speaker 1>all it is is carting people around and running errands.

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<v Speaker 1>We tend to get our free time with late night

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<v Speaker 1>screen sessions and puttering. It's not as fun as other options,

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<v Speaker 1>but it doesn't require planning, and if we've got enough

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<v Speaker 1>going on, we assume that is the only choice. But

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<v Speaker 1>it's seldom is. And I say this as a veteran

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<v Speaker 1>weekend planner who is dealing with five kids of various ages.

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<v Speaker 1>It does require being a to think through logistics. It

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<v Speaker 1>requires being willing to treat weekends as important and fun

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<v Speaker 1>as important too. So spend some time a few days

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<v Speaker 1>ahead of the weekend thinking through what you'd like to do.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd recommend doing this by Wednesday night. Indeed, you could

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<v Speaker 1>set a recurring calendar reminder for Wednesday night to think

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<v Speaker 1>this through. If your life is more complicated, you might

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<v Speaker 1>need to start earlier. But some stuff isn't clear until

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<v Speaker 1>midway through the week. And unless you live somewhere that

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<v Speaker 1>the weather is always the same, this is going to

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<v Speaker 1>affect stuff too. Meeting your friend with kids the same

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<v Speaker 1>age at that new playground is going to be more

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<v Speaker 1>fun on the day that it is sunny in sixty

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<v Speaker 1>degrees than the day when it is rainy and forty

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<v Speaker 1>degrees best to plan around that reality. One of the

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<v Speaker 1>best ways to ensure that everyone has their fun is

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<v Speaker 1>to plot out combination adventures. Maybe you, the adult, really

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<v Speaker 1>wants to see an art museum it happens to be

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<v Speaker 1>located near an outdoor ice skating rink that the kids

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<v Speaker 1>would like to try. So Saturday, you spend an hour

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<v Speaker 1>at the museum and go to the rink, and then

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you get a late lunch afterwards at a restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>all of you would like. Voila a combo adventure where

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<v Speaker 1>no one feels to put out because you've all gotten

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<v Speaker 1>something to look forward to. Perhaps you can take advantage

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<v Speaker 1>of Half to do is to fit in fun as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Put the bike rack on the car and while one

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<v Speaker 1>child has their ninety minute ballet class, the parents and

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<v Speaker 1>the other kid or kids go bike on a trail nearby.

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<v Speaker 1>Ask kids if there are friends they'd like to see.

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<v Speaker 1>I try to choose certain slots of the weekend for

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<v Speaker 1>play dates and keep track of who has gotten to

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<v Speaker 1>get together with people recently. Look for ways to fit

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<v Speaker 1>in adult fund too, perhaps unorthodox times. If one kid

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<v Speaker 1>has a soccer practice near another softball practice, the parents

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<v Speaker 1>can drive each kid and then meet up for a

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<v Speaker 1>thirty minute walk together before returning to each child's event.

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<v Speaker 1>You could meet a friend during this time too, or

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<v Speaker 1>you can use the early hours if you are willing

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<v Speaker 1>to give up on the idea of sleeping in on weekends.

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<v Speaker 1>This opens up all sorts of possibilities. Each parent can

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<v Speaker 1>have one morning off. You could sleep, or you could

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<v Speaker 1>go meet a friend for a twenty mile bike ride.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are disciplined about your sleep during the week

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<v Speaker 1>and going to bed on time, the bike ride could

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<v Speaker 1>work just fine. If you have really little kids, a

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<v Speaker 1>few hours of childcare can help too. It can be

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<v Speaker 1>a babysitter, or maybe your gym has childcare so you

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<v Speaker 1>can take that class you've been dying to try out.

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<v Speaker 1>You just have to decide to do it. Anyway, come

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<v Speaker 1>up with a rough schedule and share it with the

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<v Speaker 1>others in your house hold. There may be suggestions or

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<v Speaker 1>feedback which you can take or take with a grain

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<v Speaker 1>of salt. I tend to think that if people are

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<v Speaker 1>relying on you planning their weekends, then they have a

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<v Speaker 1>certain obligation to go along with what you plan. Perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>some might disagree with this, but a party who wishes

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<v Speaker 1>to do nothing on a weekend. Cannot foist this choice

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<v Speaker 1>on everyone else either. There has to be compromised, and

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<v Speaker 1>no matter what happens, there will be some downtime. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just a question of how much. But one of the

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<v Speaker 1>best ways to bring a grumbler along is to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure that you have planned in time for him or

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<v Speaker 1>her to have some fun too. My husband doesn't grumble

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<v Speaker 1>about the plans I make, but even so I always

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<v Speaker 1>make sure there is time for him to go to

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<v Speaker 1>the gym and go for a run. He may need

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<v Speaker 1>to be flexible on when it happens, but I do

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<v Speaker 1>make it happen, which means he can cover for me

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<v Speaker 1>at other times. Everyone can have their fun, and on

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<v Speaker 1>a good weekend everyone does, so why not challenge yourself

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<v Speaker 1>to make it happen, including some fun for you. It

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<v Speaker 1>takes a little creativity, but time is vast. It can work,

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<v Speaker 1>and even a few hours on a weekend can go

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<v Speaker 1>a long way towards changing the narrative of life being

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<v Speaker 1>a slog to life being pretty cool. That is worth

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<v Speaker 1>some planning work in the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>At i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.