Routine, Routine, Routine

If you know me well at all you know that I'm all about the routine. I have my daily housework and cleaning routine that I am really good about following - it makes me feel organized and like I can get things done in a timely and efficient manner. I love my calendar and marking things down on it. We have a pretty set bedtime routine for the kids that I'm convinced makes our bedtime go more smoothly. I love a good routine.

This part of my personality is one of the reasons why I look forward to school starting again in the fall (just a few more days). It's a good chance to rethink and refine our daily routine. Getting everything done that needs to be done after school requires some organization on our part and it always feels good. We still have our routines in the summer but we're not as strict about them because, to some degree, isn't that what summer is all about?

My love of routines collided with a lesson that we had at church and I'm all gung-ho about getting back into the swing of things. I know that some people set new goals around the beginning of the new calendar year, but I find that the beginning of the school year is a great time to do this as well. So tomorrow night's Family Home Evening lesson is all about getting back into some good routines. Some of them are school-related - when homework will be done and what time lights will go out, for example. But some of them are things that we haven't been good about doing recently, like reading the scriptures together as a family. We did well for a while about doing our family scripture study at 6:30 every night, right before the kids' snack time. But then stuff happened and before we knew it, the habit was broken. So starting this week, we're back at it.

The only part of the routine that I'm worried about implementing is William's bedtime. William is a heavy, hard sleeper. It's a great quality and I love that if he stays up a bit later for whatever reason he will sleep in a bit the next day (unlike "I don't need an alarm clock to get me up at 6:45 every morning" Henry). But the bus comes at 8:25 this year and he has to be on it. If he isn't waking up on his own by 7:30, things will be ugly. So instead of hanging out a little later with Henry (who is typically in bed around 8:45), he will really need to be in bed about 8:15. Which means reading and bath and all that stuff needs to start at 7:30. He won't like it one bit. But a well-rested William is crucial to a good start to first grade. So to bed he'll go. Reluctantly, I'm sure.

Wish us luck. We may need it.