Being organized is a relative thing, so I've come to observe. I used to think that I was pretty organized, at least on a functional level, until I married the SUPREME ORGANIZER. It's funny, because Ryan is not a neat freak, but when it comes down to organizing time or information, he's your man!
I really couldn't function without his amazing abilities. At the beginning of each semester we sit down and have a little "pow-wow" about the "State of the Family." We discuss the things that did and didn't work from the previous semester of schooling, and we take into account the changing needs of each daughter as she progresses into a new phase of responsibility in her education, character, and home skills. We also discuss my sanity level, and what I need to make it through the day.
Well "Mr. Amazing" out did himself this past semester by implementing the "Quiet Hour" into my afternoon...you know the time of day when you feel the energy slipping out of you through your toes. Well by 2pm I'm pretty much done; done with schooling, done with 3 yro (she's down for a nap then ;) ), done with the limit of words I can intake and process in a day. I need re-fueling. I need peace. I need time to reflect, read the Bible, pray, and get creative again. So Ryan scheduled a quiet hour from 2-3pm every day. The girls are allowed to quietly play...NO TALKING! And I get a chance to stop and re-fuel.
It is bliss...and you would think that it would be the one hour of the day I would guard with all my might....but in the last few weeks with all the holiday madness I have totally forgotten to hold QUIET HOUR...AM I insane? When things get the craziest, that 's when I need that hour the MOST! Then why, if it is so precious do I throw it away trying to get more work done? An exhausted work horse can only do so much without rest. Do I really think I can do it all, EVERYDAY, without re-fueling? Apparently so...and THAT may be why I have been so easily flustered and agitated the last few weeks...ya think?
Want to know what's even funnier about all of this? Today Dawson county schools were closed for a dusting of snow (gotta love GA) ...and my teacher husband, now at home, said at lunch..."AND there WILL be a quiet hour...or longer...Mama calls it" I had totally forgotten about Quiet Hour until just then... and a fiendish Grinchy grin came over my face, and I realized what a resource I had all along that I hadn't been using. What other resources am I forgetting to implement into my life? How about you?
AHH....QUIET HOUR....how I've missed you, how I NEED you, how I LOVE YOU!
Cathlyn, I am totally with you. I saw that you had quiet hour on on of your facebook updates and I thought- oh! so "naptime" does not ever really have to stop! And then I smiled. For my daughter, who is five, naptime is time for her to quietly play or get creative with art in her room. For me, it is time to recharge. I LOVE naptime! One other thing, I think so often as Christians we do with our Bibles what you did with quiet hour- we forget that the Bible and prayer recharges us. We forget that if we work all the time and never sit in the presence of God we get to the point where we cannot function properly because we have run ourselves in the ground. Thanks for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love it, too! My son was born in Jan 2009, and it wasn't until around Jan 2010 that we had an established sleep and nap time each day for him. I had been exhausted for about a year, and I am now rejoicing in "room time". I started getting our oldest to go to her room while little guy took his daily 2pm nap. I love it...and even one day when our son doesn't nap...he will have room time! : )
ReplyDeleteWe did this. : ) Hannah and Naomi enjoyed it. : )
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