Ah, the lazy days of summer… The warm glow of the sun peaking through my window serves as nature’s alarm clock. No electronic screeching. Just the sound of chirping birds enjoying an early-morning feast. The sound of Grieg’s Morning sets the mood.

Scratch that! Fast forward to today!

The tranquility of lazy days has given in to craziness. School is back in session. Most days are filled with an extracurricular activity of some kind that is supposed to make my children better people, better musicians, better dancers, or whatever their current ambitions drive them to do.

Scouts, band, dance, Bible study and other activities all occupy time on our busy calendars. Some of these activities have a sneaky way of throwing monkey wrenches into the best-made plans. Those like mandatory, afterschool peformances that always seem to happen on Wednesday evening. In my house, Wednesdays are for worship service, so whenever the children’s schools decide they want to meet me on this evening, they’re putting me in a bind. On other days of the week when I find that my ferrying service has been double-booked (eek!), I have to use the on-call chauffer – my husband. Thank goodness for backups!

With so much going on this time of year, organization is a necessity, so calendars are posted on walls, online, and on our telephones. One of these days, I may just find that I’ll need to write appointments on our foreheads or some other body parts.

Dinners are cooked and eaten on the fly! With all of my might, I try to stick to the monthly meal plan that’s posted in our kitchen, but life happens, and so does fast food.

Would I change any of part of this hectic pace in exchange for an opportunity to sit around the house – or better yet, do chores? No way! The lessons in which our children partake and the groups to which they belong are molding them to be well-rounded people. Most weekends in autumn are laid back in our house, so I try to remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel every week. This former Type A mom is trying her best to leave weekend days open for simply bumming around the house or spending time with the family taking in some kind of event or scenery, or just seated around the table playing a board game. Of course, Sundays are always set aside for morning worship and Bible study. The rest of the day is treated like a staycation.

Life is back into full swing, but downtime has been scheduled as a priority in this palace that I call home.

How hectic is your life? Share any tips that would help other readers find peace in the crazy, raging storm.

CC