Change of Pace

It crept up on me over a long period of time. It actually took me a while to notice. Things were not going how I wanted. I was loosing control of the situation, and it was stressing me out.

School was taking forever!

Why? Well, the biggest culprit was that the girls, Bailey specifically, would take forever to do their chores in the morning before school, sometimes a couple hours for something I could do in about 15 minutes. It would set the whole day off to the wrong start. They would be hungry (because it was almost lunch time) before they started doing their school work, making that take longer along with a lot of whining. Blake would be bored. I would end up chained to the kitchen, which also made me edgy. And so it went.

Then, one day while complaining about this to my spouse, he suggested that I do the cleaning last. I resisted at first. I've always done cleaning before school after all, but then I started seriously thinking about it. I decided it wouldn't hurt to at least try it out.

My husband was a genius! It has made a huge difference. We still start around 9, but I've added a short 15 minute workout (calisthenics or yoga) at the beginning of school. The kids like that. It helps get their wiggles out and helps them focus. Then Sierra is off to piano while I work with Bailey on reading and Blake heads out to play. When I'm done with reading, I fix a snack for the kids, which they eat, and then I busy myself cleaning the kitchen while they are doing their school work. I even make lunch. Then the kids are free to play until 2 when we have our afternoon school work. When that's done, they are sent off to do their chores, and they can't play until they are done.

It has made vast improvements to out family life. I, who am a control freak, can keep the schedule I want. I can also make a lot better use of the time that I am stuck in the kitchen. Both of these help keep my stress levels and annoyance way down. The kids get to do their school work when they are still energized and in a good mood. Blake isn't left alone for as long. Another surprising thing for me was that the house is nice in the morning because it was cleaned after all of the days activities are over.

As an added bonus, if Bailey wants to take two hours to clean, it doesn't bother me one bit. It's only her time that is being waisted now. Not mine. Not Sierra's. Not Blakes. What a relief. I think I'm going to like this.