In my world it used to be between 5 and 6 in the morning. If I had to go up then it felt like torture.
That is still torture like, but there is an hour that is worse. From 4 to 5 PM. A bit too many bad things add up at that time of day.
I am usually alone with five kids this hour. I have picked up L from school and S from daycare. (And EOF is off course here too.) Five kids at once is something I'm quite used to now, so that is not the problem. But the kids are getting hungry and are tired after a long day. And with hunger and tiredness comes crying, falling over, fighting, refusing to do normal things, and so on. With five kids that can take turns in crying or doing bad things it gets quite noisy.
I could probably use the full hour just carrying kids around, comforting and in other ways keep the situation calm. But I don't.
In the long run one thing makes it all go away. Food. So I usually take a deep breath, pick my fights and cook dinner. That way the next hour won't be worse, but much better.
It so happens that it during the hour after 4 PM is quite common that someone calls us. (I guess lots of other families also have come home and find the time to make a call or two. And sales people try to make good use of the situation.) Those of you that have tried this know that conversations at this hour rarely are long or uninterrupted. If you haven't tried, please call at any other hour!
