Two Hours of Rest

Back in the good ole' days when I was a homeschooler, we had this magical time of the day that lasted for around two hours, and it was called... Reading Time, or something like that.

Honestly, it didn't really have a name. But it had a time--one o'clock till three o'clock in the afternoon, and I loved it.

I remember doing different things during those two hours, based on how old I was at the time. Sometimes Mom would read us chapter books, or we could read by ourselves--through our tall stacks of library books. Sometimes hot tea was involved, or writing in my diary, or working on a crochet project...

As I said, the activities during that time of the day varied. But one thing remained constant: the house was quiet. Peaceful. Calm.

Well, my kids are still little, but I'm determined to carry on the tradition of this "restful" time in the afternoon, however it shall look for us.

Right now, Jemima and Matthias are still needing a nap every afternoon, so that counts as their "resting" time each day. Rachel is happy to sit in her room and play, or look at books, for two hours.

And as for me? Yes, I definitely need a rest every afternoon, too. It's always been my goal that my kids should go to sleep at generally the same time every day--both so they can be on a schedule, and so that the house can be quiet for a solid couple hours each day.

When I was first a mom, I used to use these hours for extreme productivity--which was okay, except that it meant by evening, I was tired, tired, tired.

Don't get me wrong: I still am [somewhat] productive in the afternoons, but I'm more relaxed about everything. I make myself a cup of decaf coffee, read blogs, print off new recipes, make grocery lists, straighten or curl my hair (depending on my mood ;), reply to emails, write blog posts (like this one), organize something fun, etc.

I'm trying to keep the house quiet, which helps limit what I could do, anyway (definitely no vacuuming!).

I don't want to waste those two hours, either--even if I AM trying to relax a bit. So I'll often write up a "Nap-time" to-do list--to make sure that I accomplish everything I want to, while the kids sleep.

And then, BANG. Before you know it, the kids are waking up, and Mom is back to the wheel! But at least, I got some refresher time, so I'm more prepared for the busy-ness of the rest of the day!