More about those resolutions...

One thing I have particularly noticed in my resolutions is a desire for more routine, more order. I find myself wanting a better- run household, but also having the time to exercise, the time to write, the time to just hang out with my boys. Time certainly seems to be the operative word there. And yet, I do have the same amount of time in each day as any of us. Clearly I need to be better at managing it.

I don't work out of the home, I don't have deadlines to meet, but I do ramble throughout my days without much structure and while I can usually get by, there are times it absolutely does not work. I have "gotten by" for a long time, but it is so much harder to do when others depend on you and eventually something misses the cut.

I try to rationalize a goof up as a one time occurrence, but if I sit back and think, more and more things seems to be falling through the cracks. Like when I miss a bill (or two) by a few days because they went into my "mail pile" instead of a set time to "pay the bills" or a permission form is forgotten and a special note needs to be written to the teacher or a myriad of other examples where we just skate by instead of being ahead of the game. I know there will always be mistakes, I know I'm not perfect but Covey would say there's a lot of reactive around here and not much proactive.

And he'd be right.

So one change I'd like to make is changing how our afternoon snack goes. It may not seem like a big change, but I think it could have a big effect. Usually we all pile in from the car, the boys throw off their backpacks and rummage through the snack closet to grab the quickest carb they can find. Maybe a piece of fruit gets thrown in, but everyone scarfs something down on their own and goes about their business (video games, homework or outside play...me...I usually hide in the office).

I've realized we don't have any order here. Nothing is planned ahead for snack, therefore nothing really healthy is eaten. There isn't any chance to hang out and chit-chat, because we are all going in different circles, and I'm missing a pretty good chance to interact with my boys...to see how their day went without being intrusive and to make sure they fill their bellies with healthy food instead of just crackers and cereal.

So...this next week the goal is to plan out snacks. To have something ready to go so that when we get home, a healthy option is already out and available. So we can sneak in a few minutes of around the table time, without them realizing we are having "family time". And maybe, I'll have a new peg to organize my day around.