Funny How That Works Out...

We are not a family who is good with keeping a schedule.  We clean whenever it gets to the point that its dangerous.  We cook whatever is in the freezer.  We do laundry when we need it.  We go to church at a different mass every week.  For the past five years, my work schedule has changed every day of the week.  Some weeks, I worked Monday, Wednesday, Friday, the next week I'd work Tuesday, Thursday. Throw in a couple of nights at the retail job or a weekend day just for a little more fun.  This worked for us.  It allowed us to not have to put Builder Boy in a stranger's care, it allowed me to be a part-time SAHM, part-time WAHM, part-time work outside the home mom.  I was able to bring in my portion of the money AND be active in the day to day aspects of my son's life.  It wasn't easy, but it worked.

All summer, the thought of school starting loomed over us.  For the first time in Builder Boy's life, I would not be here any morning to get him up.  This also would be the first year of full day school.  We dreaded the consistency of it all and the pressure it added to an already stressful life.

Well, aren't we surprised!

We are on week four of our new fall schedule.  I am working full-time at the one teaching job (still with two part-time jobs, too) and Builder Boy is now in kindergarten all day, every day.  I am no more tired than I was with the old schedule, although I do miss the every-other-day-getting-a-full-night-sleep aspect of our old schedule.  And while it is tough to keep up the momentum of getting everyone ready every day of the week, we are so pleasantly surprised that we like this new schedule.

For once, we feel like a normal family.  We go to school/work, we come home and eat dinner, we hang out, then we go to bed.  I do have the ominous feeling at times of living like Bill Murray's character in the "Groundhog's Day" movie, but there is something nice and reassuring about a consistent lifestyle.  Strangely, the house is staying cleaner, more meals are being cooked, more quality time is being spent with Builder Boy, and more bills are being paid on time and fully. 

So, that's where we are.  How's your new school year going?

Comments

[Grace]

It's funny how sometimes you can predict exactly how something will go...then other times, be really off and pleasantly surprised. So, so glad that the fall schedule is working for you. I've been thinking ahead to the next few weeks, getting everyone up, dressed, fed and out the door by 7:40, and I have to admit it seems a little daunting to me.

[Porsche Nut]

My favorite schedule is still getting up late everyday, heading to the pool at some point, and being completely lazy. I am kicking and screaming all the way to fall.