Working part-time and writing a book has taken a toll on my homemaking routine. I work a marketing job three days a week and loved having my Tuesdays and Thursdays available to really do the business of running my home. Cleaning, shopping, errands, making and keeping appointments, all that stuff that often falls to us moms. Well, my hat is off to those of you that work full-time. Now that my Tuesdays and Thursdays are full of sewing and writing, things were starting to fall apart a bit.
What I needed were some new routines in place. First up, I switched my grocery shopping day back to the weekend. I sort of hate to do that, since it is so much busier, but I love having it out of the way during the busy week. I’m trying be a bit better about spending some time in the kitchen prepping food for the week. Just this morning, I made chicken stock, chicken noodle soup, hard boiled eggs, almond milk, chai concentrate, and a container of cut-up veggies. I know it will make eating healthy meals and snacks a lot easier.
Two days a week I’ve got a blissful two hours to myself while my youngest son has soccer practice. This team is too far away to drop him off and go home, so I’ve got two hours to fill. I thought it was inconvenient at first, but now I realize that it’s a gift. I’ve fallen into a routine of going for a 30 minute walk on some nice trails at the park, then I sit in the minivan with the laptop and have time to write! It is time that I know that I wouldn’t be taking if I were at home, so it feels special. I’m starting to blog more regularly, I’ve written a few magazine submissions, and edited some work for the book. It is a peaceful time that I look forward to. And to top it all off, the drive gives me an hour twice a week to be able to chat and connect with my son. So, what looked like another to-do item to add to an already busy schedule has actually created a little space. Win-win.
