This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Between the Dog and the Wolf

Moms offer advice on how to make the day's end more peaceful—or at least more manageable.

After school, my girls buzz with the day’s energy. The little one rushes toward me as I arrive to pick her up from her toddler haven of discovery and delight. Bursting through, from the inner world of kids, chaos, and creativity to the outer vestibule where family ties and time awaits, she rushes my legs. Her eyes, her face, her whole body, really, offers her greeting: “Mommyyyyy!”

The moment is infectious, and no matter the quality, or lack thereof, of my day, I’m aglow in her little beam of perfectly piercing light.

Across town, the after-school reception repeats with my preschooler. “MommyMommyMommy!” comes the rally cry, followed by a leg-hug tackle as she catapults from her chair, her beadwork, her painting, her wee tribe.

Find out what's happening in Athenswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 Then, smile shining: “Did you bring me a snack?”

And for us, that trips the timer on the hours the French poetically and pointedly dub entre chien et loup, between the dog and the wolf. The expression defines the time when day becomes dusk and dusk becomes night. But I am partial to the explanation memoirist Jean Genet offers in his posthumously published Prisoner of Love:

Find out what's happening in Athenswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“… The hour when street lamps are lit in the city, and which children try to drag out so that they can go on playing, though their eyes, suddenly active, are closing in spite of themselves. The hour in which—and it’s a space rather than a time—every being becomes his own shadow, and thus something other than himself. The hour of metamorphoses, when people half hope, half fear that a dog will become a wolf.”

Dogs, wolves, dinnertime. It’s easy to imagine the wild-child whirlwind that whips up, if you haven’t lived it lately in your own home. Harder to imagine, in the moment, is what to do about it. Flexibility, grace, humor, nonattachment, outright bribery—they all have their place and time, depending on whether the day is more dog or more wolf. How you do it is how you do it, and it never hurts to have a new idea in mind. Maybe you'll find one in this collection of Athens-mama wisdom:

  • We take my little one on what my husband refers to as her “daily constitutional”—meaning a long walk around the neighborhood or park.—Greer Caldwell
  • My son likes to get in a hip carrier and watch my husband cook dinner. It’s his favorite early evening activity!—Carrie Bishop
  • We try to save our media time for this time of day, and we try to choose our media wisely. We don't have television but prefer our Roku for streaming Netflix. We keep things in the instant queue that we’d love for our daughter to witness. She can choose one show a day, programs like National Geographic India and Africa, Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers films, that lovely documentary “Babies,” and some live music. We try to integrate media intelligently instead of taking an all-or-nothing approach—and at these witching hour times, it honestly is helpful!—Baraka Elihu
  • I block off the kitchen door so my young son can’t escape. Then I get out his favorite kitchen items—spoons, pots and pans, cups—and let him go at it!—Lisa Dibble
  • We play music while we’re cooking dinner. My 1-year-old plays with a spatula and measuring cups on the floor or in her high chair. Occasionally, so she can see what we grown-ups are doing, I bring her over to the stove to see what’s cooking—and we remind her that it’s hot! My 5-year-old helps mix something, chop with a butter knife, retrieve ingredients from the fridge, entertain his baby sister, and toss scraps in the compost pile out back.—Stephanie Stuart
  • I’m no expert, but giving my son fresh fruit, Elmo on the TV, or an easy dinnertime task—like separating grapes from the stem—helps us get a meal on the table.—Allison Kennamer
  • We don’t watch TV during the day, so that’s the time we generally turn on the TV and relax while waiting for dad to get home. If that doesn’t work, we do bathtime early to change the pace.—Brittany Purcell
  • We have dance time! My son is very musical and he loves to dance.—Fatma Kazanci

---
Jennifer Derryberry Mann blogs about navigating the labyrinth of motherhood one breath at a time at Mamahhh.com. Her Nurture + Frolic column appears biweekly on Athens Patch.
---

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?