If you work, chances are that you and the kids arrive home together. It is especially hard to transition when you only have the drive-time from work to childcare to regroup. Take advantage of this quiet time in your car to pray and listen to Scripture, Bible teaching, or praise music on CDs. (I would caution you against listening to talk radio! LOL!) Remember that the kids will need transition time, too! Upon arriving home, you will feel most welcomed when you have taken some extra time each morning (or the night before) to get your house and dinner plans in order.
Children. Kids of all ages need an evening routine. For older children, it should include homework, chores, and some time to play outside. For younger children, quiet activities like coloring and reading set the tone for winding down.
Housework. Be sure your appliances are working for you during the day by putting in a load of clothes to wash while you are gone and drying and folding them when you get home. Set the timer on your dishwasher to run while you are sleeping, and unload it before leaving in the morning. I do this every night! My sons take turns unloading, alternating every other week. When they were little, I moved my dishes to a bottom cabinet right next to the dishwasher so that they could all learn to unload the dishwasher by the age of three. My husband fussed only once about the dishes being down in a low cabinet! I reminded him that if we put the dishes where only we could reach them, then only we would be unloading the dishwasher! LOL! Also, before we moved, I had an oven with a timer that could be programmed to begin cooking at the time you set. The next time I get a new oven, I will be shopping for one like that! (I hope the people that bought our house have enjoyed that oven! I sure did! LOL!)
Retreat. Welcome yourself home by keeping your bed and bath neat and clean. I know this is hard for some people, because it is hard for me. But it makes such a difference in my whole attitude when I walk into a clean bathroom, with the counter cleared off and clean towels out. Ahhh--yeah, that's a good feeling! Light a few candles, get out your fluffiest towels, and take 15-20 minutes to shower and change into something comfy. A lot of times I will also put in a teaching CD to listen to, or turn on praise music. This keeps my mind focused on "things above" and it helps me to stay balanced in what I am thinking about.
The end of the day can be the best part of family life. A little planning, a lot of routine, and your house becomes the safe, comfortable place it was meant to be. Welcome home!
Check out part one of this post.
2 comments:
It's true how walking into an unclutterd bathroom is SO much nicer.
Thanks for another great post.
P.S. Don't start the clothes dryer and leave the house while it is running. I've been to quite a few house fires that resulted from this :)
OR while you are asleep! I do not even go to bed with the clothes dryer running because of an article I read some years ago where a house fire started while the folks were sleeping with the dryer going.
I usually start my dryer first thing in the morning. A few years ago, I was having my quiet time when I HEARD some weird noises (didn't smell anything at that point), and when I went to investigate, the dryer was on fire! (Now, you need to hear me say that as the true Tennessean I am: My drar was on far! LOL!)
Our wonderful fire dept folks were at my house in a wink, and thankfully, there was very little damage done!
THANKS for the reminder, friend!
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