Time Warp

These last two days have been strange for me, and I feel like I have been sucked into a time warp. My kids are still in school until Thursday, but I am free! Yesterday was a full day in school, but the rest of the week consists of half-days. After this last year of getting up at 6:15 and getting myself and the kids ready every morning, it is very strange to still be sitting in my PJs at 9:47 am. I have eaten breakfast, but that's about it. Yesterday I was able to take the time to read some books that were recommended for the boys (I have been trying to keep up on what they are reading more lately, and some of the books written for children are really good!). Today I took the time to catch up with a good friend's blog. In some ways, it's hard to enter a slower-paced life. I like to-do lists generally speaking, but now that I'm not teaching every day, a list of things that haven't gotten done for a long time keeps popping up. I plan on having a semi-structured day with the kids this summer, but for just this week, I am trying to detox from an addiction called busyness. I realize this addiction may not be as bad as others, but its grip is tight. Making a choice to become less busy was the right thing for me to do (I'm not returning to the high school next fall - just one job at the college for me) but replacing the busyness with the things that I value isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Taking the time to spend with people, enjoying a bike ride with the kids, reading a good book, spending the time to make some really good food for supper, or just spending some time thinking are things that are valuable, but not necessarily "productive." There are things that need to get done, and a big to-do list is forming in my mind right now for the summer. BUT...just this week no to-do lists. OK, that's not counting the five baseball games between the boys, the presentation on archery that Isaac did for which I needed to deliver the poster, toy compound bow and crossbow that couldn't be at school other than the presentation time due to the fact that they are "weapons," the after-school parties that kids need delivered to, the swim practice, the swim meet, the baseball game of our local minor league team, the 4th grade graduation ceremony for Avritt,....