Our Monday Mornings are special. This is the morning that the kids and I get to sleep in. Saturday morning is the morning Dad would like for everyone to sleep in, but it is just too exciting to have Dad home!
So Dad leaves for Monday morning work and the three of us are still snuggled down in our beds. Now is my chance to set the tone for the whole week ahead. The schedule for the week is pretty well set. I have in mind what I would like for us to accomplish. If I play my cards right, I can have the attitudes we need to succeed. Here’s what I’m talking about:
1. Peace. Our family thriv
es in a peaceful environment. We don’t do stress well… at all. Peace rides on the shoulder of the Momma. We begin every morning snuggling and chatting. After Dad heads off for work, the kids come to our room as they wake up and crawl under the covers and we share what we dreamed and catch up on anything they want to talk about from the day before. We have our morning Bible time, with one of the kids reading from one of the Gospels. We pray together, and then I tell them the “Super-Duper-Pooper-Scooper-of-the-Day,” or what’s on tap for the day. These peaceful starts culminate in a serious tickle war that gets the blood flowing and the old ticker thumping.
2. Normal. Life isn’t always exciting. We love spending time with family and friends! We can’t/don’t do that every day, though. We do try to have 2 days a week when we have time goofing off with those we love, but these come after completing our responsibilities. Because of this, I try to not plan Monday activities. There are exceptions, but Mondays are the day to get things in order; introduce new information for school learning; and set challenges and project assignments.
3. Goals. If there is an area we need to work on in the house, like “get the basement swept and in order” I let them know on Monday morning. Then in addition to regular chores/responsibilities, they know that they will be getting special assignments. When there is a big project, like the basement, I break it down to bite-sized chunks so we can see our progress. Making well-defined assignments (I like writing the details of the assignments on a card, so the child can be reminded what exactly needs to be done), leads to a clear understanding of when the task is complete. There are school goals, too, and these are well-defined and written out as well in a step-by-step order to avoid confusion or wasting time.
4. Working alongside. I work from home. More specifically, I work 3 jobs from home, not counting my jobs as wife, mom and home-manager. This requires coordination and forbearance. Our children have grown up with me working from home and they are used to business calls, conference calls, and mom-needs-quiet-to-complete-paperwork. When I am not working on outside stuff, I am working alongside the kids. We laugh, play loud music, plot tricks on each other and have heart-to-heart talks. When we work alongside we are doing more than just showing the child how to do something, we are showing them the attitude we want them to have as they serve: A humble Christ-like attitude that puts other people first. I can’t effectively put that on a card. I need to teach that by doing it myself.
Ah… Monday Morning. A focused, purposeful start to the week. I hope yours gets off to a good start.
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