With the transition in seasons, I try to transition my life a bit. Summer is always so busy. Autumn is the perfect season for me to get my life back in order. To the dismay of my friends, I stop accepting invites to hang out and scheduling play dates. As a person who loves connecting (and honestly, people pleasing), it is hard for me to do this. But the truth is that we need our weekends at home.
The school season comes in like a whirlwind full of events. Just this month alone, the kids have been busy doing art projects for the fall fair, making costumes, and part-taking in fall school fundraisers. Work also picks up as people stop their summer slacking and start revamping projects and committees. So we need our weekends to rest.
Yes, I said rest.
I don't always say no to something because I'm busy doing something, but because I'm busy doing nothing.
I actively work not to set any plans in stone right now because I'm busy trying to be unscheduled.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not forsaking my friends altogether. I need them to fill my spirit as well. But we've been doing things more in passing. "Swinging by the farm today if anyone wants to join." No expectations for anyone to rearrange their lives or leave the comfort of their home for a scheduled event.
We are currently going on 3 weeks straight of no hard plans on our weekend agenda. It has been marvelous. You see, something amazing happens when you stay home for an entire weekend. You get to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather without rushing off somewhere. You get be present with your kids.
It is so hard to get more than a sentence out of a preteen in passing. And yet, we used the past few weekends to read The Outsiders, watch the movie, AND discuss it together. This reaffirmed that saying no to that extra outing was worth it.
I finally taught my five-year-old to tie his shoes. He came up to me over the weekend because he was "bored", and we tied shoes for half an hour, then he went off to draw a crayola masterpiece.
Down time at home is so important. I truly believe this is why God insisted on us keeping the Sabbath. And yet, in this society we insist on working ourselves to death 24/7. Everyone seems to have such a busy schedule filled with sports, activities, and clubs. We've been there too. We decided its not for us.
For the past few months, our Friday night through Saturday evening has been exclusively reserved for resting and connecting. I'm not going to pretend that I keep it as strictly as instructed. We still cook or occasionally go somewhere fun. But the key is that at the end of the day on Saturday, I feel rested and connected with my family (and when the stars align, friends).
To pull this off, I'm trying to stay disciplined and accomplish housework and chores on other days of the week. I've been getting up earlier to squeeze in a workout most mornings so that I can sleep in on Saturdays. We have an intricate schedule of chores that we stick to during the week. Sundays, between church and evening groups, we cook massive amounts of food and do a deep clean of the house, which I have dubbed "Power Hour". It's not as fun as it sounds, but it sets us up for the week and it feels good having that space during the week to operate.
I know the holiday season will creep up on us before we know it. And again, there will be dozens of volunteer events, family meals, parties and birthdays. (Why is everyone's birthday in December?). In the spring, we'll sign up for swim or dance lessons. And in the summer we'll meet up with friends, camp, travel and have a blast.
But for now, we're enjoying the simplicity. If you need us, we'll be watching the leaves change colors.
The school season comes in like a whirlwind full of events. Just this month alone, the kids have been busy doing art projects for the fall fair, making costumes, and part-taking in fall school fundraisers. Work also picks up as people stop their summer slacking and start revamping projects and committees. So we need our weekends to rest.
Yes, I said rest.
I don't always say no to something because I'm busy doing something, but because I'm busy doing nothing.
I actively work not to set any plans in stone right now because I'm busy trying to be unscheduled.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not forsaking my friends altogether. I need them to fill my spirit as well. But we've been doing things more in passing. "Swinging by the farm today if anyone wants to join." No expectations for anyone to rearrange their lives or leave the comfort of their home for a scheduled event.
We are currently going on 3 weeks straight of no hard plans on our weekend agenda. It has been marvelous. You see, something amazing happens when you stay home for an entire weekend. You get to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather without rushing off somewhere. You get be present with your kids.
It is so hard to get more than a sentence out of a preteen in passing. And yet, we used the past few weekends to read The Outsiders, watch the movie, AND discuss it together. This reaffirmed that saying no to that extra outing was worth it.
I finally taught my five-year-old to tie his shoes. He came up to me over the weekend because he was "bored", and we tied shoes for half an hour, then he went off to draw a crayola masterpiece.
Down time at home is so important. I truly believe this is why God insisted on us keeping the Sabbath. And yet, in this society we insist on working ourselves to death 24/7. Everyone seems to have such a busy schedule filled with sports, activities, and clubs. We've been there too. We decided its not for us.
For the past few months, our Friday night through Saturday evening has been exclusively reserved for resting and connecting. I'm not going to pretend that I keep it as strictly as instructed. We still cook or occasionally go somewhere fun. But the key is that at the end of the day on Saturday, I feel rested and connected with my family (and when the stars align, friends).
To pull this off, I'm trying to stay disciplined and accomplish housework and chores on other days of the week. I've been getting up earlier to squeeze in a workout most mornings so that I can sleep in on Saturdays. We have an intricate schedule of chores that we stick to during the week. Sundays, between church and evening groups, we cook massive amounts of food and do a deep clean of the house, which I have dubbed "Power Hour". It's not as fun as it sounds, but it sets us up for the week and it feels good having that space during the week to operate.
I know the holiday season will creep up on us before we know it. And again, there will be dozens of volunteer events, family meals, parties and birthdays. (Why is everyone's birthday in December?). In the spring, we'll sign up for swim or dance lessons. And in the summer we'll meet up with friends, camp, travel and have a blast.
But for now, we're enjoying the simplicity. If you need us, we'll be watching the leaves change colors.
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| The joy of taking walks every morning is watching the world transition before your eyes. |
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