6:30-9:00 Mom time. Wake up, make coffee, eat breakfast, do morning chores and reading, exercise, and shower.
9:00-9:30 Wake up Evan
9:30-10:00 Devotion
10:00-11:30 School time - Direct interaction with Evan. Caitlin is independent in her schoolwork and I will consult with her on an as needed basis. Her dad teaches her French--I am not sure when they have decided to do that.
11:30-12:30 Free time for Evan
12:30-2:00 Lunch/quiet time/rest - Independent reading and listening for Evan; maybe a nap for me in there somewhere!
2:00-5:00 More school time if necessary, chores, activities for kids, piano students for me.
5:00-7:00 Prep supper, watch Fox News, eat, clean up.
7:00-9:00 Evening rehearsal several nights per week; otherwise, free time for kids or do any remaining studies/chores/tasks.
9:00-10:00 Help Evan get ready for bed, read, say prayers
Each day has some items that are specific to that day:
Monday
7:30-9:30 Geometry (Caitlin) at homeschool co-op; Dad home with Evan
1:30-3:30 Homeschool Bowling
4:00-5:00 Piano students
Tuesday
6:30-8:30 Chamber Singers (area youth choir) (Caitlin); I am hoping the times will line up to allow me to attend our church's Confessions Bible study while she is at choir
Wednesday
3:30-4:30 Schola Cantorum (children's choir) (Evan) at church
5:00-6:00 Piano students
Thursday
4:00-5:00 Piano students
7:00-9:00 Adult choir at church
Friday
1:00-3:00 Homeschool co-op--geometry lab for Caitlin; enrichment class (this fall it's a class about Australia) for Evan.
Saturday
11:30-12:30 Tae Kwon Do (Caitlin)
As I look over this schedule I am blown away by the reasonableness of it. In addition to the regular daily stuff listed above I will have periodic accompanying responsibilities at a local junior high school, but those wax and wane. So there are some crazy weeks here and there, but they pass and normalcy returns. I think back to a few years ago when we were homeschooling not two but three children and I was working part-time playing piano at a local high school that was a half hour's drive each way and Trevor was taking a college class in the opposite direction. I would wake up at 5:00 each morning to get to work by 7:00 and leave by 10:00 several days per week to drive to another town to pick Trevor up (his dad dropped him off) and bring him home. By the time I was home I felt like I had already done a full day's work and everything else was just getting started. I really don't know how we got through that year. Oh, yeah, we had a cleaning lady every two weeks. That was nice, but I would not trade this schedule for that one in a million years. I am SO looking forward to a normal schedule and home school life this year. I think the above leaves plenty of room for the occasional whirlwind trip to Nebraska, don't you? Another benefit of homeschooling is the ability to cancel school and take the student body to see their big brother whenever you darn well please. :-)
8 comments:
wow, wish I had that schedule
5am - up breakfast, fix dh and my lunches, shower, dress
6am - leave for work
7-4 work - listen to issues etc. at lunch
5pm - home, unwind, fix my dinner and then set up dh dinner for when he arrives home at 11
6pm - clean house (rotate rooms per night)
7pm - dishes washed put up, dog and cats fed/medicated
7:30-9pm - study or work on work I brought home or internet
9-10pm devotional time
10-11pm bed
weekends are
recycling run, laundry (3-4 hours to do bedding, clothes) grocery shopping, pick up meds, fill up vehicles, oil changes, mow yard, trim bushes, church, internet time, more housework, change cat boxes and a little tv time.
Sage, the schedule I am anticipating looks positively luxurious to me, although I know it will fill up with all manner of things. But I love that I do not have nearly the number of scheduled activities and paying jobs that I have had in the past. I am looking forward to being able to take better care of my husband, mom (who lives with us) and children and hopefully better care of myself as well, both physically and mentally/emotionally/spiritually. I would like to do more exercising, homemaking, reading, piano practicing and writing. I have felt for years now that I have been in survival mode, and I am tired of it. There have been times when I have had the equivalent of a full-time job (made up of multiple part-time ones) combined with trying to run a house and homeschool my children. As mentioned, sometimes I look back and wonder how we survived.
I think we all go through phases of our lives that tax us beyond what we think we are capable of. Hopefully there are other times we get a breather. May God bless and encourage you in your vocation now and in the future!
Cheryl, I totally understand. When my kids were young and at home, I slept probably 4 hours a night and worked two jobs. I have no clue how I made it. Cherish the times you have with them now.
It will fly by all too fast.
We're looking at the retirement days shortly and are trying to cut back and down to what is really important, scaling down the acre yard which is monumental in time for upkeep and maintenance and moving to a smaller, easier to keep up house. If we hold up and out, in under 10 years we'll be there.
For now, it's a matter of plodding along and praying we make it through. I never thought that after age 50 you'd slow down as much as we did or have health issues as we have. My mother warned me before she died that your 30's were the best years of your life. She was right. Healthy, energetic and able to go and do with little sleep and lots of dreams. Pushing 60, no energy, dreams are history, and we just look for security and safety.
I don't want to sound depressing, just realistic. We were blind-sided by reality and it was a hard wake up call. So, be sure to have that time for yourself in there, or you won't have a you to work with. Your kids will appreciate a mom who is able to "be there" for them more than a just there mom (which is what I was for too long).
Enjoy, treasure and record as much as you can from these years. They are what you look back on with joy as you age. :-)
Sage, I know what you mean about slowing down. I feel every day how much less I am physically able to handle than I used to, although so far we have been blessed with relatively good health. Just celebrated my 47th birthday and we too are trying to think in terms of preparing for the retirement years, even as I still have a 7-year-old at home. These days I am totally understanding what is meant by the term "sandwich generation."
I was hoping I could sleep in until at least 12pm every day. :)
Jane S.
Jane, I looked for you on Facebook but couldn't find you. Do you hang out anywhere else? I like you. :-)
:)
I'll send you a message.
J.s.
I like her too. :)
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