Chief Executive Mom

Visit me at my new website - anniecrawford.com In an effort to recover from my post vacation blues (which I beleive is partly from emotional exhaustion from laboring in spirit over my sister) I am going to work (again) on a family daily and weekly schedule. Having thoghtfully designed order to my life helps the days feel as though they have purpose and relation to long-term meaningful goals, instead of a kind of repetative circle that feels like it will go nowhere and never end. I heard a story somewhere, at the moment I cannot remember where, of some men who had set out to row across the Atlantic (now I am adventurous, but that endeavor in no way sounds appealing!). Mid-way across they lost their bearings totally and found themselves lost in an infinite blue. In order to keep sane they divised a routine to give order to the day. They scheduled times to talk about certain topics and perform exercises or certain activities. For example, from 1-2 on one day they would discuss politics and then perhaps schedule personal stories from 2-3. I have also heard that those in prision and confinement create schedules for themselves in order to maintain their sanity.

I have also noticed, with the back to school season, a few posts on daily schedules. I find it extremely helpful to read about the daily routines of homeschooling moms and mothers with more children, so that I can begin to order my home early with the future in view. I want to build up a foundation of habits, expectations and routines that will stick with my children throughout their upbringing. If I am going to expect my children to help with morning chores for example, I don't want to stressed our and irritatingly announce that 7 year old susie must get over here and help me. I don't want to have to make dozens of family meetings about how things are going to have to change around here. If susie will need to have some morning chores, she is going to start at age 2, while she still will think it is a fun game. I am a zealot for habits and order, largely because I didn't have much growing up and the few that I did were foundation stones of strength and sanity that the Lord used to preserve me and prepare me for "real life".

Sherry over at Semicolin shares her daily routine (start here), as does Holly at My Three Pennies Worth where they have asked for homeschooling moms to share their daily schedule, among other back to school topics. I look foreward to reading other "daily's" and will link to the most helpful ones I find later.

I am, alas, but a simple, naive mother of two, so I can get away with chaos when I feel lazy, but with another one on the way, I feel it is time to get in gear and shore up the loose ends. This will mostly mean getting the mornings going before 9 am. We have a very lazy 2 hour gradual wake up around here that really wastes time and teaches Elise a lazy morning cartoon habit. Perhaps later today when I have a few more moments, I will post our current habits as well as how I hope to revise it, for my own sake and to fellowship with any other young mommy out there who reads the routine of a woman with 8 kids and wants to share ideas on how that wisdom translates to life with but a mere 2 preschoolers.