Structuring My Day Around Relationships...and Beverages

As you've probably figured out by now, I'm a schedule person. I love creating them and writing them down. I love to see my day carefully-planned-out on paper. Actually doing my schedule? Not so much. But that's for another post.

Since "me time" is such a popular idea, I carefully scheduled my morning devotions in my first time slot of the day and my computer time in the slot where my children are having quiet time. I put my reading time and bath in the slot after the children went to bed. I was all set!

Then, my son started waking up in the middle of my devotional time. I must admit my attitude wasn't very good the first few times he did this. "Ugh! He's awake so early? Lord, don't you know I'm trying to have time with You? I mean, if I don't have my devotions, I will be irritable and cranky and....um...yeah."

I kind of got used to that when my daughter would pop up during my computer time. "Hi, Mom! Can we have a tea party and just spend some time together?" Again, my attitude went something like: "Ugh! This is the first time I've gotten to sit down all day. I mean, I need this time to unwind and just sit and have a...cup...of...tea....um...yeah."

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Then, my third child would need a drink just when I was filling the bathtub. And my newborn would wake up just as I was crawling into bed. When I got him settled down, my husband was ready to talk.

I finally realized that if my schedule went as I had planned it, the only one I would soon have a relationship with was myself. Sounded kind of lonely. It sounded like it would be especially lonely when I turned 82.

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I am a full-time mom so I can teach, train and build relationships with my children. There was a certain irony to spending time in prayer asking the Lord to help me do that, then complain when He sent me the opportunities.

So, I am trying an experiment. My morning devotions is always accompanied by my cup of coffee, so when my son joins me, we have "coffee time"--my coffee with a tad of sugar and cream, his milk with a tad of coffee and cream. If I'm going to fix a cup of tea and talk to friends on the computer, why not fix an extra cup for my daughter and talk to her? My newborn and I have "milk time"--frequently. Then my second son and I...well, we're working on "juice time", I guess. Then, there's always evening coffee with my husband.

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Of course, too much caffeine is not good for one's health and can render bedtime useless. But again, that's for another post!