MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR HOURS

School is officially back in full swing!

Your kiddos are gone for roughly eight hours of the day for school and sleep another eight or so hours. That leaves only eight hours, at most, to spend with them. In my case, we homeschooled our children so while we are together all day, we are not necessarily together because we are still working.

Let's look at that eight hours left in the day. And remember that the eight hours is being generous because most kids sleep more than eight hours. Within that eight or so hours is homework, dinner, showers, chores, preparing for the next day of school, etc. So let's take that eight hours down to about five. Again, being generous as sometimes that homework can take a long time.

Five hours. Five hours to be with your children each day. That is all.

That is not figuring in sports, music lessons, etc. On the nights your children have activities, your five hours is drastically cut down.

What do you do with that five hours? Is the tv on? Is everyone off in their own world of cell phones, iPads, gaming systems, and computers? What are you doing during these short hours to connect with your children? What are you doing to invest in their life?

It can be so easy at the end of a long day to unwind in front of the tv. It can be so easy to catch up on social media and share about our day with the world around  us. But what about those precious faces right there in your home?

A number of years ago when our kids were still young, I bought a 1000 piece puzzle. We hadn't done a puzzle in a little awhile and I wanted an activity that required us working together. We sat down that evening and worked together on this puzzle. For the next two weeks, each evening after dinner we would sit down and work together. We would laugh and joke, share stories of our day, and tease each other. The tv was off, computers were off, cell phones we in the other room. It was just the family connecting as one. And it was beautiful. My husband and I looked forward to that time as a family all day. I cherish that time and the memories.

One day you will look around and our children will be grown, it will happen, believe me. The house will be silent. You will wonder where the time went. You will think back on those memories filed away. What will your memories be of? Laughing over a board game? Working a puzzle together? After dinner walks with the family? Or everyone off doing their own thing? Everyone quiet because someone had to see a tv show?

You only have a few hours a day to be a family. Don't waste it.