Home Alone, 28 August 2013

Today is a major milestone in the life of Rachel.

Why?  Because for the first time in my life, both of my children are at school.

Give it up, what!!

Did I shed tears upon leaving little Z at his Kindergarten class today?  Not a one.  Is it because I'm heartless?  Not at all.  See, the deal is, the kids are only in class for 4.5 hours, 40 minutes of which is spent by me driving back and forth to the school.  Furthermore, Z is only in class two mornings a week, so we still have puh-lenty of time together.  (For any of you not familiar, my kids go to a school that is about 70% in-class learning and 30% homeschool.  Teachers send a packet of work home at the beginning of the week and the parents guide the kids through it.  We've already been doing the homeschool work for the past two weeks, which you can read about here and here.)

So what have I done with the first morning on my own??  I'll give you some hints.  Not this:

They've been there for less than 24 hours, so hey.

Or this:

Well these are already clean.

Or this:

Would you believe me if I said we're studying jungle ecosystems in my backyard?

Or this:

This stuff has been on the floor of our guestroom for over a month; what's another day?

But neither have I done this today (although I did eat two muffins):

Wish I knew who to credit for this photo!  Thanks Internet.

What I did do is actually fairly mundane--I took a walk with a friend, showered, snacked, read my devotionals, and puttered on Facebook.  Oh, I also trimmed down some potted chrysanthemums, which took all of two minutes.  Oh, and I put away the cereal boxes left on the table from breakfast.  And now I should really eat some sort of lunch before I leave to pick up the kids in 10 minutes.

But while this morning wasn't a red-letter day in terms of what I did--or didn't--do, it IS significant that I did those things without my kids.  This little introverted gal is very appreciative of the people teaching my kids this morning.

Once they get home, I'll be back "on" with homework and chores and whathaveyou, but I get to have this "free" morning again next week.  And the next week.  And the next.  And I just might find myself doing even more exciting things with my time than blogging about it.  Singing, volunteering, organizing, working on a foreign language...who knows!  The sky's the limit!

Well maybe not the sky.  I guess 4.5 hours is the actual limit, but right now that feels pretty vast to me.  Look out, world!  I'm coming to get you!  And sit tight, G and Z; I'm heading to the car to come get you in a minute.