As if I needed a reason to rearrange furniture

I spent the entire week thinking it was Friday. 

Nervously I shall admit to you that as a stay at home mom I do lose track of the days frequently from time to time, generally knowing it is Wednesday because I get custody of my husband on those evenings and Saturday because he wakes up in our bed and I do a quick check-in with him to find out if it is actually Saturday, or if possibly it is Friday as I have believed for most of the week and he has been fired. 

Don't bother re-reading that twelve times to make sense of it.  You'll only waste your time.  And it is indeed Friday, now.

Hoo-ahh!

I dressed and fed the crew early Friday Wednesday morning just as I always do, and hurried them all out the door in order to have KJ to school by 8:34 8:30.  It was his last day of kindergarten and without really planning to make anything of the last two-child morning, I returned home and decided to get to work.  Suddenly I had the urge, sensing the change in the air, to tear apart the boys' bedroom, followed by our family room, followed by part of the kitchen.  Finally it was time (though, okay, not actually time) for me to get this homeschool show on the road, because after this very last day of kindergarten I was getting my kid back from the local school system. 

I sent upstairs all of the miscellaneous toys that cluttered our family room- the designated soon-to-be school room, and I organized shelves of teaching materials, homeschool references and workbooks that I've collected.  I dusted and vacuumed and pulled all of the picture frames off the main wall for good measure, deciding in the moment that I should do something school-ish with the space.  And I rearranged the furniture.  (The second set of living room furniture we bought, that is, to fill the second living room we have at this house.  The room I knew we didn't need, and we don't use at all.  But these damn houses come with these rooms, and the next thing you know you're clearing the extra stuff you bought to fill the extra space in order to bring in a giant family heirloom table at which you shall now educate your children because why not, for Pete's sakes, you've got the space.  And isn't THAT the American way?)

I spackled nail holes and touched up paint, and then I spackled everywhere else and touched up more paint, and the children ran around filling backpacks with wooden castle blocks and crayola markers playing homeschool all afternoon, also sensing that it was finally time.  (Or sensing that their mother had finally slipped, time to pack.) 

**

I woke up yesterday morning, Friday for the third time, and realized that I no longer had a routine.  I made coffee and jabbered at the baby and allowed the boys to lay around in their pajamas until it was time to leave for our playdate.  I was sort of lost without the morning drop-off and kept asking the blonde-haired little boy what he was doing here.  It was very much like standing with toes at the edge of a mountain cliff with all familiarity behind you and the unknown before, at the moment you speak aloud, Now What? 

I wondered briefly if I was sure of what I've gotten myself into with all of this Pull Your Kids From School business, and the answer, of course, is no.  What I do know, however, is that I am up for the challenge, and for fun with my kids, and that I really enjoy having the three amigos around all day.  This morning KJ told me that he wished we could do high school and college at home too, because this is going to be so great.  (I kindly declined taking on some sort of professorship, but thanked him for the vote of confidence just the same.)  I think that there are a million effecive ways to raise children, and this happens to be ours for the moment. 

**

This morning, finally the actual Friday, I got up at 4:30am with Marin.  Then I put her back to bed just as the boys got up at ten til seven.  I wished them well with legos, markers and notebooks and morning cartoons, checked that the doors were locked and crawled back into bed for another hour and a half until I heard the baby again.  No alarm clock, at last.

Today is the third day Jackson sits at the the table making his own dot-to-dots and cutting feverishly, and the third day KJ has built and rebuilt armies and aircrafts for lego Star Wars characters.  As we sat around the table with bowls of oatmeal this morning Jack asked twice if we had to finish up so we could go.  And I said no.  When I showered he asked what I was getting ready for, and I said nothing. 

Well, except to repaint the main family room wall.  The color I used to retouch was a shade darker than what was there and it seems I've created my own dot-to-dot.  Oopsie.

Comments

[Tina]

isnt living without an alarm clock a nice life? =)

[AJU5's Mom]

In August when I finished up having to go to work, I didn't know what to do with myself. Now, I love not having a schedule each day. I do like some schedule, but flexibility is very, very nice!

[Parker_B]

I can't wait to see photos of your new arrangement! Please say you're doing photos?