I’ve Got a New Attitude: Kids Go Back to School, I Get Back to Routine

by | Aug 17, 2016 | writing

I've Got a New Attitude (5)

I just want to start off by thanking the good Lord for school. Now, don’t get upset at me yet. Do I miss my kids during the day? You bet! I miss them like crazy. But I know a couple of things that make it easier: they are getting the peer-to-peer social environment I just can’t provide every day when they’re at home and they are back to a routine in which my one with ADHD and my one with autism really need and thrive in. As do I.

schoolhouseSo, as they get back to the rhythm of school, I get back to my own routine at home. It’s a new frontier this year. My child with autism has gone off to kindergarten (one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do) and my littlest one is in preschool two days a week. So, our house is more quiet than ever before. We even have more of a routine for the little one on the days he is at home. But I’m finding my own rhythm with writing and caring for the home and the after school stuff and the various responsibilities outside the home I have committed myself to.

onceuponatimepaperWriting. Just as the school year starts, I am on a deadline. Yep, that’s how I plan things. So, I am writing and editing like a mad woman. I stay locked in my office pretty much. But even here it can be hard to focus. Trips to a local coffee shop have helped with that as I ease back into full time writing mode. There is no substitute for a good writing schedule and some old fashioned bum glue for writers who want to meet their goals. You won’t always feel it, somedays you just have to sit down and find that muse yourself.

flyladyHouse and Home. This gets a bit trickier. For the past two years, I have had a mother’s helper/nanny to help me stay on top of laundry, cleaning, general housework, etc. But, alas, as my kids get older, she is better suited for another, younger family. So, I am needing to take up these extra duties as she is here less. And I’m settling back into a cleaning routine. I love Fly Lady! If you have not met her, I cannot say enough about her. And you should probably hear it from her own website. Great cleaning plans, reasonable expectations, phenomenal advice for housekeepers of all levels.

busy momOutside the Home. I love being involved in things outside the home. I co-lead a writer’s critique group. I’m a leader in my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. I help in a 3-year-old Sunday School Class at my church (when my kids and I are all well enough). And I attend writer’s conferences and manage appointments for 5 people. And I can’t forget time out with family and friends! It can be craziness sometimes, but it’s a good crazy, you know? I wouldn’t have it any other way. I thrive on the busyness, but it can cause me to come crashing down when I’ve taken it a step too far and committed to too much. Only I don’t see it coming until it’s too late. “No” is an okay word.

So, there’s my life in a nutshell. Somehow, I’m going to get into a routine with all of it. And then, the magic will happen.

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Sara R. Turnquist