In The Process

How do you do it all? Part 1

How do you do it all?  This is a question I get asked a lot by friends who are just starting the home school process.  How do I keep the house clean?  How do I get the laundry washed, dried, folded AND put away?  What do I do with the baby?   How do I get all the subjects in?   How do you manage when Oscar works so much?  The list could go on and on.  My simple answer is I don't and you won't either, something will have to give!   My next answer is PLAN or that other evil word SCHEDULE!    (more on planning and scheduling later)  But relying on God is truly the only way I make it!

Let me say, for the record, I am not an expert on any of this and I feel truly humbled when people ask me these questions.

 Now, I will attempt to share what I do when my dear husband works a lot.  My husband lately has been averaging 60 or so hours of work per week.  This is nothing new for us especially since he is the boss of a small architectural design firm.   When there is work to be done he must be there to do it so we can eat and pay bills!  No 9 to 5 hours for us.  Spring, summer and fall tend to be the busy times for him.  During the winter things do slow down a bit, thankfully.   So how do I handle this?

Well, over the 9 years we have been married, I've tried grumping, whining, complaining and nagging.  Never good things to do!  Proverbs says a lot about nagging, complaining wives.  Needless to say I did not want to be that kind of wife!  So I changed my attitude, with God's amazing help.  Now don't get me wrong I still complain sometimes.  And there are times I must say "You need to be home for X,Y or Z".  But all in all I truly understand that this is our life and when we said "I do" this is what I signed up for.   I have decided, again by God's grace, that being thankful for the work we have is much better than complaining about all the work.    When I do feel like complaining I must stop and ask my self  "why not enjoy the life God has so graciously given?"

Now  how do I deal with the long hours?  My answer is God! 

**My husband by the way is very good about taking time off when it is really needed and he is very good at scheduling work things at times that don't conflict with family things.