Though my husband's alarm went off at 5:30 am, my eyes are now fluttering open at 6:20 am when he kisses me and heads out the door. He's already had coffee and a light breakfast that I laid out the night before. I get up and pull on comfy pants and a hoodie. I head out to the kitchen, grabbing my Kindle and journal on the way. It should be noted that I do this bleary-eyed and crazy-haired on auto-pilot.
That's probably the best way to have your quiet time ~
make it so easy, you don't even have to think about it.
I'm cozy in my chair, when the big Blossoms, ages 12 and 10, join me on their respective couches with their Kindles. It's our together, yet individual, quiet time and it's what's working for personal devotions in this season.
The little Blossoms, ages 4 and 8, wander out at 7:00 am and join us for a snuggle or two before we move to the island for breakfast. We eat and chat about the day ahead. They always want to know what's on the agenda. The little girls sometimes listen to the audio Bible on the YouVersion app, if I remember... because I have mom brain, ya know?
Afterward, we have together devotions using the Bible for Children and Godly Character Traits. Focusing on one character trait a week seems to be working for us. Then, they finish getting dressed and head outside with our dogs to care for our micro farm animals... yes, in the rain, sleet, snow or hail... because animals gotta eat.
If we need wood, I bring it in now. Otherwise, I jump in the shower and then tackle my daily chores. The Blossoms are back inside by 8:15 am. They slam out some inside chores like vacuuming or cleaning bathrooms...
and we hit the school books at 8:30 am. Everyone opens up their independent work drawer and gets started immediately. These days my 8, 10 and 12 yr olds are pretty independent, but I help with internet research, essay editing, tough math spots, spelling tests, cursive curlicues and whatever other questions arise. At this point, I shoot for doing three things with our youngest Blossoms - writing copywork, phonics and math. When we hit this trifecta, she's happy and I'm happy. She usually heads off to play quietly afterward. When she feels included, she plays better and that means our school day goes better.
At 10 am the happy snack time timer goes off. The girlies grab a snack and usually a book and spend 15 minutes off the school clock. Then, it's back at it again. We do history and science together and this is normally when we knock that out. The girlies work til lunch at 12:30 and I am 100% available in the school room during this time.
We gather around the island again for lunch. The girlies clean up afterward while I return to my chair for read aloud time. We've cranked through several Trixie Belden books this year and are currently trying out a Nancy Drew book. The Blossoms get upset when I stop after only a chapter or two. The meal's not complete til the kitchen is neat, so when it's neat, read aloud time is over. Our youngest Blossom then gathers up some books and heads back to her room for rest time. The other girlies get about 15 minutes of rest time. They grab books and head to separate rooms. Afterward, it's back to whatever school work still needs to be done. I use rest time to read. Sometimes I miss the naps I used to snag occasionally when they were younger. Motherhood is tiring, but I find it emotionally and mentally tiring, moreso than the physically tiring it was in years past.
I correct work, record grades and record the school day at this point. It's my administrative time. Once that's done, I answer emails and tie up all the loose ends that seem to be a homemaker's job, whether at the computer or around the house. The Blossoms are usually still finishing up school work, depending on how focused they were/are today. I feel like one of the best character lessons we drive home on any given day is that
the best way to do schoolwork is to just do it.
It's perseverance in its most basic form. Oh, and I'm always dealing with character issues too. That's par for the course.
Around 4:30 pm, I start supper. I'm really trying to always have at least one of the Blossom helping me, actually doing parts of the prep. I love that they often have down time by this point, but since it's really important to me that the Blossoms know their way around the kitchen, I try to remember to call one of them in to help... if they aren't already hanging out with me in the kitchen.
The "DADDY'S HOME" announcement at 4:40 pm is still the biggest event of the day. No joke, having four girls is no hardship for the Rugged Mountain Man, who presides over his girlie fan club with class and his unchanging trademark humility.
By 5:00-5:30 pm, supper's ready, the Blossoms have set the table and we all sit down around the supper table. I love the supper time conversation, which usually has something to do with animals - what rabbits they want to get next, whether or not goats are in our future and the overly optimistic cries of "Let's get a cow!!!!" The girlies clean up the kitchen and pack Daddy's lunch. I lay out tomorrow's coffee and a light breakfast for him and then, I hang out on the couch with Rugged Mountain Man for a little while.
By about 6:30 pm, the kitchen is pretty tidy and we move on to what could be best described as family time, I guess. At this point, there's been a lot of ice-skating rehearsals in our living room. The girls have found the Olympics to be inspiring, so I grit my teeth and hope the knick-knacks on the walls don't get the worst end of all the lifts, spins and jumps that have been going down around here lately. As I said, I'm always tying up household loose ends, but I try to keep them minimal in the evenings so I'm available. We doodle together sometimes. One night it might be coloring. One night we did gymnastics together. Sometimes it's a card game. Sometimes it's reading books. I just want to soak up all this quality time with the girlies.
A timer goes off again, this time at 7:30 pm. It's our nightly clean-up and it's all hands on deck. All rooms get tidied. All clothes put away. The stuff basket gets emptied. The desks get a dose of neatness. EVERYTHING. And, oh, does this ever keep our lives moving in the right direction, because every day we are focusing on the work and goals for that day, instead of always playing catch up from the previous day. I can't take credit for this idea; I borrowed it from Abbie at M is for Mama. It really doesn't take that long and it's so worth it. Plus, it should be noted that it is keeping my Mommy-ometer from plunging. This mama doesn't feel quite so overwhelmed every night at 8 pm!
I usually plop down on the couch with the Rugged Mountain Man; sometimes to read and sometimes to chat. I like to hit the high notes and the low notes of the day with him. He always has some quiet words of wisdom or encouragement for me, something to the tune of
"Steady plodding makes good progress."
I'll just hold on to that thought, when it's time to do it all again tomorrow.
Dominique
PS - You can find my other day in the life posts here.
