It has been quite an eventful month!  It’s been so wonderful to have had all the kids home together, it makes my heart so happy.  Now everyone is trickling out…dd17 left to Jerusalem on Saturday night, dd19 left to the States last night (Mon), ds20 and ds15 left yesterday morning (Weds.  When dd17 was getting ready to leave she was feeling really sad about it, and I told her, it’s a good thing to be sad because it means you have something good that you’re leaving.  If you wouldn’t have a family to feel connected to and miss when you’re gone, that would be really sad.  I told ds15 something similar, when he commented to me about how sad it is that everyone was leaving.

It’s been wonderful and at the same time we’ve been out of our normal routine, so the positive aspect of life going back to normal is that we can get back to a more predictable daily flow.  While everyone enjoys vacation, there’s something grounding about our regular schedule that is really appreciated by everyone.

I started easing into our regular schedule by making a menu plan for the rest of the week – we’ve had too many days lately when it’s 5 or 6 pm and everyone is hungry, and we kind of look around and wonder what we’re going to eat!   Having a plan means that chicken can be taken out to defrost and beans soaked in advance – little things like that make such a difference.  When the prep steps are done in a timely way, it’s lots easier to have meals prepared on time – I got the chicken and chickpeas started cooking for two separate dishes early in the day and they simmered away while I was reading/doing academic work with the kids.

The house is already much cleaner, meals are on the table on time, the kids are going to sleep earlier…ah, the beauty of a routine!  We’re not yet totally back to normal but it’s pretty close!

Avivah