The Post-Tea Slump

I’d like to think it affects millions worldwide. You return home from a hard days work. Then take the kids through the bedtime routine. Finally get them down so you can eat tea. Then it hits you…the post-tea slump.

I could have ten important jobs to do once our eldest Ayla’s been put down and tea has been consumed and I’ll overlook those tasks to sit and ponder which NFL franchise I’ll follow this year.

In my minds eye, I’m a self-motivated, driven individual whose productivity is through the roof. I’m quite the ambitious go-getter. In reality, after a long day I generally just want to vegitate in front of trash TV and google inane cack. An example of my last three internet searches being – ‘What is Ant and Dec’s net worth?’, ‘What are Rebekah Vardy’s medical grounds’ and ‘Who is the youngest ever professional footballer?’ Important stuff, right?

We’ve been very fortunate that Ayla sleeps all night and as our second child, Daniel is still so young he stays downstairs with us snoozing until we go up. At the moment he generally keeps Rachel up feeding (as much as I try I still can’t breastfeed!) for a few hours per night.

Even with both children asleep literally everything and anything gets put on the back burner when I am in this comatose state – this blog, work stuff, housework, financial stuff all gets dealt with using the “meh” approach. I get so tired it seems nothing could wake me – a foghorn, a screaming baby or my wifes foot in my ribs.

The most annoying thing is when I head upstairs, get a second wind and sit wide awake on my phone thinking of all the jobs I haven’t done.

I tell myself I’ll be pro-active and go to bed earlier the following evening but I cant say this happens very often.

Add to this the early morning wake up call and the fact that I’m way too dependant on coffee and sugary biscuits. Probably the main reason why I crash in the middle of the afore mentioned trash TV. I can imagine I’m quite annoying to live with.

I suspect its not just me who goes through this a few nights a week. When I’m off on a weekend I find parenting just as tiring as as going to work all day. It’s not inexcusable to have a post-tea slump on an evening although I’m going to start making a conscious effort to eke my energy levels to beyond tea time.