In my mind I have visions of what a perfect day in the life of a homeschooling Mom looks like. It goes something like this:
- 5:00am – alarm rings and Mom quickly springs from the bed, wide awake, rested, and full of energy for the day ahead.
- Bible study, prayer, exercise, shower, dress, comb, make-up, cute shoes, some lace and a flower in her hair.
- Breakfast is fixed in a cheery kitchen that was cleaned to a spotless shine the evening before.
- Hubby’s lunch gets packed, with a cute note written and tucked inside, kitchen is straightened and tidied up, fresh flowers in the center of the table.
- 6:30 breakfast is ready.
- Girls come to the table, having dressed themselves after getting themselves up.
- Breakfast is a bright, festive, cheerful time, everyone in a good mood
- Everyone helps clean up, Hubby gets out the door for work after a round of hearty hugs.
- Chore time – beds are made, floors swept, bathroom cleaned up, laundry started, supper started.
- The day is lovely, and time moves smoothly with everything being accomplished in a timely manner and there is nothing but smiles and sunshine. And fresh flowers. In every room of the house.
- Mom grinds some wheat and starts some bread dough rising.
- 8:30 After a time of prayer to start the day the girls can be found sitting at their respective computers, dvds loaded, all ready for some intense learning.
- An occasional break here and there but by noon everyone is finished with school. Grading is easy and quick because they are all just so smart they don’t miss anything and nothing needs re-explaining.
- 12:00 – lunch is fixed, eaten, and kitchen cleaned up once more.
- The girls spend the afternoon helping out with laundry, playing nicely, doing crafts, and the occasional chore here and there. Mom bakes the bread, gets lots of sewing finished, blog posts written, boxes ready for the mail, and any other chores that await her.
- 5:30 table gets set for dinner and final preparations made to the meal.
- 6:00 Dad arrives home from work, is met at the door by 4 females ready to see him, and the smell of dinner all ready to be dished up.
- Mealtime is a relaxed time of sharing and laughter.
- 6:30 dishes are done cheerfully by the girls while Mom and Dad relax on the couch and discuss their day.
- The evening is filled with fun and laughter, the girls helping with any work that needs done,or games are played.
- 8:30 girls head to the shower/bath and get ready for bed, stories are read, prayers are said.
- 9:00 Girls in bed, lights out, all is silent till morning.
- Mom makes sure everything is neat and tidy for morning, spends some quiet time reading or blogging then heads to bed for a solid 10 hours of sleep. To start the wonderful process all over again the next morning.
Sounds lovely doesn’t it? It’s such a great plan – great picture of the perfect home. And I’m sure there are homes out there that look pretty much like that. But not mine. You didn’t think I was describing reality around here did you?? Of course not, you know me better than that 🙂
This would be more like it:
- alarm rings at 5:30. Hubby turns it off or hits the snooze. Since my sleep has been interrupted I lie there thinking I should get up. But I really don’t want to – it feels so good to snuggle down under my down comforter for ‘just a few more minutes’. (actually, at this point I’m telling myself I don’t have to get up for at least 2 more hours.)
- at 6:30 hubby finally gets up. Unless he’s really tired and waits till 7. Which is not pleasant because waiting till 7 to get up puts him very far behind schedule.
- some mornings hubby asks for his lunch to be packed if it didn’t get packed the night before. Most times when he asks I silently get up and pack the lunch then head back to bed. Some days he has to pack it himself – because
I’m too selfish and won’t get up and do itI fell back asleep.
- The kitchen is seldom spotless – at any point during the day. Neither is the rest of the house.
- At 8:30, or 9, or 8, or 10, or 7:30, I do manage to pull myself out of bed. Grab a cup of coffee, doctor it up with milk and maple syrup and head to the couch. Since the girls will sleep late it’s easy to convince myself to have quiet time.
- Most mornings I read my Bible. I’m in Deuteronomy now. If I have a book I’m reading I’ll read some of that too.
- By 10:00 I know I should wake the girls so I grudgingly call them. On a good day they will come downstairs and fix their own breakfast. On a not-so-good day they will whine and pout for me to do it for them. (this happens most days)
- On a good day they will get dressed as soon as I tell them too. Most days they want to stay in their jammies.
- School work gets done at whatever time we get to it. Good thing it’s mostly dvds or it wouldn’t get done.
- We do laundry almost every day. In a half-finished laundry room that never looks like it stepped out of a magazine. That is coming though, I can just feel it 🙂 If you squint really hard you might see it too.
- The laundry is never all clean, all folded, or all put away at the same time. Not anymore.
- projects get started and then they sit for weeks. or months. or years. Don’t ask about the ones that have been sitting for years.
- sewing gets done around everything else. If I have a deadline looming, everything else falls apart rapidly while I sew away totally oblivious to the chaos and clutter piling up around me, or the fact that the kids are fighting – again. (and that was said so tongue-in-cheek. The clutter and fighting drive me insane)
- Instead of neatly stacked projects and fabric everything is piled together helter skelter.
- Dinner may or may not be ready when hubby comes home. I am trying to pass off some of the cooking to The Teenager. She is a bit resistant to it though. She helps but doesn’t like to have the whole of it handed to her while Mom does other things. Someday. We will keep working on it!
- One thing I pretty much never do is the dishes. With 3 capable girls why should I? I just wish their idea of a clean kitchen and my idea of a clean kitchen were the same. Again, someday!
- Evenings tend to have not real schedule at all. I spend a lot of time on my computer as most days I don’t spend much time on it during the day. I’m still working on getting it all figured out when it comes to organizing my business and blogging time.
- Bedtime is …. hmmmm…. let’s call it flexible. And peaceful is not really a good word to describe it most nights. Might have something to do with the fact that they sleep so late in the morning? Maybe implementing the above plan would be beneficial to everyone?? DON’T ANSWER THAT.
- I’m a night owl. Even if I get up early, unless I’m really really tired, I find myself still up and doing stuff at 10:30. And then suddenly it’s 11. Then 12. And I can’t handle those hours like I used to. Thus the sleeping past 7:30 in the morning. And the vicious cycle starts all over again…
Whew. I get depressed just reading about my typical day. To make me feel better I’m posting a pic of this pizza. It was made on a typical day here not on a too-perfect day that never happens anyway. We topped this yummy culinary delight with shredded mozzarella and fresh mozzarella. It was yummy. Comfort food.
So if you have days like my typical days, now you know you are not alone. If you never have days like this, consider yourself extremely blessed. And strive to keep it that way!
What DOES your typical day look like? Care to share??
Hey- Your reality sounds like my life did when I had kids home…lol…enjoy it- it goes fast and pretty soon you walk up in an all-too-quiet house…and you still get nothing done- lol xo Diana
🙂 Thanks Diana! I know it is fleeting! I can’t believe I have a teenager already. I could be a grandma in less than 10 years. Gulp. Maybe they will all be like me and not get married till they are in their mid-twenties!
You have described my typical day almost to a ‘T’. Almost. And I’m talking about the second description, not the ideal, first one. Our children are all up by 7:00 (hubby’s choice) and I have a baby to feed every couple hours. And then there’s that child who lives here that causes all manner of stress, and the three year old who has developed a serious attitude. 🙂 But…we’re still getting meals brought in three days a week (though I fear that’s about to end) and my husband is here most days to help out where needed. I am spoiled, I know. Glad to see a little ‘dirt’ on someone’s blog other than my own. 🙂
🙂 Jody, I forgot to put all the fit-throwing, whining, screaming, totally unreasonable attitude my 9 year old can have. And though we are not dealing with the issues you are some days I know JUST how you feel! And I well remember those sleep deprived days of having a newborn. So glad Jason is around a lot right now – that was what I wanted most – my hubby there with me!
Heaven. The first description is what heaven will be like. Oh, I know that really, heaven will be so, so much better than even that. I have often thought of how much I enjoy my life and everything I do, but I just wish it would be like the first description and then I think about how it would be like that without sin in the world.
oops. Didn’t mean to post that as a reply, but just as a comment. Oh well! 🙂
🙂
Amen. And it always looks like the next person has it all together and all figured out! When really they are thinking the same thing of us!
Your “perfect” day cracked me up, lol. I may have had 5 total days like my whole married life. If I can sleep in, I do. I rarely wake up with Mr. Steady. He has Bible study 2-3 times a week with different guys and I have no idea what time he even leaves, because it’s different each day. If we had leftovers from dinner the night before I packed them up and when he wakes me up to kiss me goodbye I remind him of what is packed and where it is. I have tried waking up and making him a hot breakfast but he prefers to sleep until the last minute and eats a bowl of cereal when he gets to his office, lol. If I don’t have any plans I naturally wake up at 9, devos and Bible reading have NOT been happening lately, that MUST change. By the time I wake up my boys have been awake for about 1-2 hours so they are all wanting breakfast. My typical answer lately has been “whatever you want to grab”, sometimes they’ll eat cereal, sometimes it’s toast, and maybe once every 3 weeks (wow – I’m sounding lazy) I’ll make them a hot breakfast. I used to be a lot better about that but a lot of things went out the window with this pregnancy. The boys then get dressed and make their beds and we start school, usually by 10. I do the older two boys together and then The Entertainer, I usually switch who I start with. Sometimes we’re done before lunch, sometimes we break for lunch and then go back, sometimes we work late and eat lunch late. After lunch the boys all go to their room for “quiet time” which is either completing school work or reading. I sometimes start dinner, do dishes, do laundry, but I usually sit down and put my feet up or take a nap for at least an hour, if not more. I also pay bills, clip coupons, make menu plans, etc. during this time. Then the boys get up around 4:30-5:00, go outside to play while I finish up supper or whatnot. Mr. Steady can come home anywhere between 5:30-7:00, then the boys shower and are ideally in bed by 8:30-9:00. Sometimes it’s 8:00 if behavior hasn’t been the best. Then I am just like you and typically say I’m going to be in bed by 10:30 but the next thing I know it’s 11:30 or 12:00. When I’m feeling more disciplined I get up earlier, start school earlier and everyone is generally happier. I know if I can get up before the boys the day goes much better. But that just hasn’t been happening lately and that has to be okay for now :o)
Oh Jenni, it makes me happy that you can just let things happen and get the rest you need right now! And knowing I’m not alone in my rather haphazard schedules makes me feel so much better! Take care of that little girl – your boys can fend for themselves for a few more weeks!
I also have to ask if you suffer, like I do, from time-reality, lol. I giggled that, on your perfect day, you could do Bible Study, exercise, shower, dress to the nines, AND prepare breakfast all in an hour. And your girls all three only took 1/2 hour to get through their showers and ready for bed. My husband always says I have no concept of how long things take which is why I am always running late, I think I have time to do just “one more quick thing”.
*waving hand furiously!!!!!! I SO underestimate the time it takes to do things and want to fit it all in these nice tidy time blocks, using much less time than is actually needed.
🙂 I know Jenni! Amazing what I can get done in a daydream huh?!!!! haha!
I so enjoyed reading this! Both the dream day and reality. Working from home today, I finally jumped in the shower at 4:00 so I would at least be dressed before my husband came home! LOL! Didn’t bother with the makeup though.
🙂 Sonya, I’ve done that so many times in the 15 years we have been married!
Ha! For a few minutes I thought that was your day, I was so impressed! I relate to your reality much more! As the saying goes, “Misery loves company!”
🙂 Pam I don’t know anyone in real life who actually has the first scenario as their reality! I’m sure there are some around, I’ve just never met them! And yes, ‘Misery loves company!’
Oh, and you forgot to add into the perfect scenario about the warm loaf of bread that you delivered to the neighbors along with a beautiful bouquet like the ones scattered throughout the house! 🙂
🙂 There are probably lots of things missing from the perfect day. There are also lots of details missing from the REAL day too!!
haha! In that first list, I was wore out just reading it 🙂
And I’m a night owl too, I don’t know why, but I am most productive between 7-11 pm. Which really sticks, because every other week I am getting up at 5am to babysit. :/
Ah well, I don’t believe any one has a schedule like your first one 🙂
Wears me out thinking about it so I just take a nap!!!! LOL!!
Nailed it. On. the. head. I, too, have an unrealistic idea of what my day should look like and then constantly feel like a failure when I don’t live up to it. And yeah, the whole time-reality thing too…sigh. I’m a night owl, always have been, and will sleep as long as possible. School gets started around oh, maybe 10? Sometimes later, sometimes earlier. I could go on, but suffice it to say YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!
🙂 Thanks Laura! It’s always so nice to know we are not alone huh!! My house being a torn apart mess is what really gets me down. When trying to do school and all my sewing it just doesn’t stay neat and tidy for some reason!
Jill your reality of a typical day is so refreshing. Life is far from perfect, isn’t it? But the beauty of it all, is that we can appreciate and love even the most imperfect days. I loved each and every word of this post.
Thanks Amy! It was fun to write – just keepin’ it real!
Loved the review of a perfect day! I must admit I knew it wasn’t reality as soon as I saw the 5am jump out of bed eagerly part!!! No daughter of mine could possibly do that if she inherited any of my genes! That perfect day sounds so….I don’t know, just so perfect. But reality is more real!!! LOL
🙂 yeah, about the only thing that gets me up that early is leaving for vacation or a shopping trip!!
Hummm. I wrote a little essay something like this a few years ago. Yours just reminded me as I sit here to “plan out” our new school schedule. We start next week. I love to dream of those warm, bitter-sweet days of back-to-school too. Whether dreaming of the future or dreaming of the past, there doesn’t seem to be alot of difference…reality is what remains. Cute shoes? Gray came down the other day and asked to wear some new tennies that I bought her recently. I told her “Not today, let’s save them for a special day, maybe school?” With a most exasperated look she replied, “Oh, so you want me to wear them to the basement?” Yikes. Enjoyed your lovely little dose of reality. Dreamers love company.
🙂 thanks Wendy! Somehow when I think of you and your school days I picture my first scenario!! You always seem to have it all together – might be the fact that you actually put together a plan and I just wing it!!!
Just found your blog.. it’s beautiful! I just started a few weeks ago, it’s a lot of work, especially with young children around, but also so rewarding! Love your style and the layout! Will follow 🙂
I’m sorry, still trying to get to this thing.. not sure why that Vintage Trifari thing appeared at the end of my comment. Definitely not meant to be there! Not sure how to take it off..
The link to your most recent post it because I have the plug-in ‘Comment Luv’ installed on my blog. It links people to your blog and to your most recent post unless you choose a different post to have linked. I love the option because it is one more way to get traffic to your site. If you don’t want it to show up you should be able to unclick it. Or don’t use the http:// in your blog name in that line – that won’t let the comment luv work. but can I ask you why you don’t like having your blog linked to from your comment? I’ve never had anyone complain and I love it when blogs have comment luv installed. So I’m just curious as to your reason for not wanting it!
thanks!
Hi Dana! It is a lot of work but it’s fun 🙂 Thanks for your sweet comments about my blog! I designed it myself using Genesis as the framwork and a purchased theme and I am quite happy with it!