As long as I can remember, I have been a night owl. There is nothing I enjoy more than the quiet of the night. When my kids are tucked in tight, all the water glasses have been filled, and the last-minute bathroom runs have been completed, I breathe a sigh of relief.
We’ve made it through another day!
This time is for me. I can sit and stare. I can read with no interruptions. My mind starts to race with all the possibilities.
My nighttime excitement turns into exhaustion by morning.
I want to slowly enter the day, but my kids are ready to run. As we began a new homeschool year, I discovered a few things that are currently saving my days.
Beginning the day in quiet
I began intentional quiet mornings out of desperation when my kids were young, but somehow last school year, I lost the habit. I decided to find it again.
Upon waking, I sit up in bed. If I leave my room, my children will hear me and I risk losing my quiet. I open my curtains so I can look outside. I find my journal, Bible study, and book. I stare out the window, write thoughts as they come, and read a few sentences.
Sometimes I wake up to a full hour of quiet, but often it’s only twenty minutes. Either way, my mind has been given time to wake up and realize it’s a new day.
I’ve written down things I need to remember or release, and I’ve read encouraging words. I’m ready to enter the day because of these small acts in quiet.
Beginning the day outside
Sometimes I only step outside to feel the temperature, and other times I bring my yoga mat with me as my children run around.
Two mornings a week my husband is at home. On those mornings I go for a run around my block to add some outdoor time and movement to my day.
I’ve found that when I begin my day outside, the grass and trees remind me that there is a wider world beyond our walls. This helps me to greet the day with joy.
Embracing different daily schedules
Often I think each day needs to look exactly the same. In my mind, completing the same schedule each day means I’m successful. But the last couple of weeks I’ve found this is not true.
Outside influences have forced my Mondays and Wednesdays to look dramatically different from my Tuesdays and Thursdays.
When I was confronted with this new schedule change I was filled with dread, but I now find that I adore it.
Mondays and Wednesday are our home days. This is when we can move more slowly in our homeschooling, and I know I can get more done around the house.
Tuesdays and Thursdays we have to be somewhere at one o’clock, so we have to be more timely about school. But we have space for errands or fun activities in the afternoon.
There is a purpose for each day, although not the same one. So despite a lack of my control, there is time for what is important.
What freedom this simple change of perspective has given me.
