In Uganda, children get a long break from school over the Christmas holiday. Most kids are out of school from the beginning of December to the beginning of February. My husband and I decided it would be good to have Harunah, the boy my mother-in-law takes care of, come stay with us in the city and experience Kampala. But in a moment of brilliant thinking, I recommended inviting another boy who is Harunah’s age to stay with us too. My logic was they would have each other to play with. It seemed harmless, but I wasn’t prepared for all that comes with taking care of two boys. After three weeks of temporary parenting, here are the lessons I learned as a mom aka meal-making machine. 1. I’m the one in charge Because I was trying to juggle working from home and keeping kids alive, I had a rule to only come in my room if there was an absolute emergency. I guess the word “emergency” is vague because I heard knocks on my door every fifteen minutes. Sometimes Harunah would come in, tell me what Jeremy did wrong and then I would say, “Oh, that’s too bad.” Until it dawned on […]
What I learned during three weeks of temporary parenting
