The Rhythm of Life

In the past couple of weeks I have noticed how much the rhythm and routine of our daily life here at home truly impacts us, especially since it has been greatly altered lately. The whole idea has got me thinking.

Now first let me spell out the things I have been grateful for during these holiday weeks (both before and after Christmas):

* The fun and excitement of the hustle and bustle of the season and the preparations involved.

* The additional visits and outings with family and friends.

* The celebrations of birthday and Christmas.

* Having my dear husband home for an extended period of time!!!!!! (one of my absolute favorite things about this season)

* The opportunity to accomplish projects around the house.

All these things are wonderful, fun and a welcome change that comes with this Christmas season. But no matter how wonderful, they are changes in the routines of our life nonetheless. The structure of our days are altered, bedtimes are sometimes later, naps may get missed and things that we normally do in a typical week get set aside for the time. Sometimes more than others I feel the strain of these changes, but still I know they are not permanent and I try to focus on enjoying the here and now - the joy of the moment. I try to have a thankful heart for all those things I mentioned above and so much more. In reality Christmas lasts such a short time each year.

I do feel the joy, but I am also looking forward to the return of our routine - me waking early (let that one slip), getting back on track with our scheduled chores and duties, starting our schoolwork, etc. It will even be nice to just know what day of the week it is with some amount of surety. :)) I have lost all track!!! Maybe some of this longing is due to the fact that I know that in two very short months our schedules will undergo more drastic changes as we welcome our new little baby into this home of ours. I do believe it will be a different sort of change in routine - possibly a little slower paced than the Christmas season. I am only guessing, seeing as we probably won't be running around shopping and visiting with a flutter of activity.

So with all this in mind, I have been planning and planning to plan. Brian goes back to work on Tuesday (boo hoo for me - can I talk him into Wednesday???????), but we don't pick up with school lessons again until the 8th. Right now I want to focus on schedules, routines and lists. Some things might need a little rethinking or reworking, but mostly I just need to get my mind thinking in that mode again. I have been working on a little organizing and cleaning out here and there so that I can start off the New Year with things in order, which for me brings a lot of peace. Like I think I said, I cleaned out toys already and reorganized all those things, but I need to revamp my toy bucket rotation list. I finally bought the boxes I have been needing (2 more underbed boxes) to pack away a couple more loads of kids clothes - size 5 too small for Jacob and size 5 too big for Nicole. I have straightened some closets. I would like to clean out my craft shelves and, as Michele said, "let go" of some things I haven't used in years and probably won't any time in the near future. This would free up some plastic storage boxes needed elsewhere. And of course Brian has been working so hard on painting our master bath - I can't thank you enough, sweetie. One other thing I would like to work on are some "to do lists" for the children. This is not really a to-do list as we tend think of them, but a tool for guiding the children when they seem idle or bored (how that's possible, I'm not sure) or just looking for something to do. My idea is to make some lists for each child, and some for the whole gang, of toys, games, manipulatives, craft ideas, etc. that they may just not think of doing on their own. I am hoping this will be a great resource for me, for instance, during lesson time when Andrew is getting restless and Nicole seems a little tired or bummed out. Hope it works.

All this said, I must end by reiterating that I couldn't be more pleased and thankful for the wonderful Christmas break we have enjoyed together. I am thankful for Brian's job and the time off they allow. I am thankful for my little family and the fun we have had together. Sometimes things get crazy and difficult, but, oh, what a bore this life would be without my family. I thank God for our routines and I thank God for the interruptions to them. Help me to remember that any and all of these moments are opportunities for me to learn and grow "in wisdom, age and grace before God and man."