What do I do all day?

Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do that day which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know.

~Charles Kingsley~

quoted in The Family Home Evening Resource Book, p. 231
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Have you ever wondered what your grandmother's days were like when she was your age? I have and so for the sake of my children's children I wanted to post what I do with my time.

I wake up, three or four mornings a week at 5:30 and go for a 3 mile walk. Some people are impressed by this. But really it is the buddy system that makes sure it works, so I do it for my friend and she does it for me. I know that she is either in my driveway waiting for me there, or on the weeks that I drive, she is waiting for me at her house with her shoes on and all bundled up for our walk. Plus it is fun to visit. I really, really enjoy walking, once the hard part of getting out of bed is over with.

I come home from my walk and start getting things ready for the kids to go to school. Dennis and I work in the kitchen together to get lunches and breakfast ready. I mainly make the lunches and he mainly makes breakfast. Jeffrey, Brandon and Camille are supposed to get their piano practicing done before breakfast. When they are done and ready they are supposed to come help assemble lunches and set the table. (On really good days everyone does what they are supposed to do!) I also try to get into the bathroom to help Camille and Alexa fix their hair. They are getting good at fixing their own hair, which is so nice! The kids get on the bus at 7:30 and Dennis leaves shortly thereafter for school.

At this point my tasks usually happen in a slightly different order each day. I clean up the kitchen,

(here is our Friday morning breakfast. And of course that is not booze, it is Mona Vie, a nutrition juice--a nice side to sugared cereal, don't you think!) start laundry, bathe Drew and Mary, make my bed, (but this day, Dennis made the bed for me!!!! He does a more exact job than I do)plan and clean up whatever needs cleaning. Lately Mary has been insisting on story time even before she gets dressed.
I get our lunch about 11:30. After that Mary takes her nap and Drew watches PBS kids or a movie and sometimes even falls asleep during that time. Today he did snooze. I thought he looked most uncomfortable! (Do you feel sorry for him? He needs a blanket and a pillow!)It is so nice and quiet if he sleeps. This is my favorite time of day! I sit on my bed and read my scriptures, write in my journal, read conference talks and anything else of a spiritual nature. Then I either work on a creative project or read a novel, if I have one going. If I don't get a little time to myself I start feeling a little grouchy.

I love love love the days I don't have to go anywhere. I am such a homebody!
Today was a bit busy. Tomorrow we are feeding the missionaries and I wanted to make a pumpkin pie for dessert. (I might add that this is home grown pumpkin that I froze a couple of years ago.) Plus I am taking a potato salad tomorrow to our ward craft day. This is just the cooked and cut up potatoes. Veggies and dressing coming soon!So this all happened during nap time. I still had time to work on some cards. For some reason I'm showing my messy craft table. I don't know why. (For posterity's sake perhaps, I mean, wouldn't you like to see something like this of your grandmother's?) Cleaning it off happens every so often. Should be oftener.

The kids get home about 4:00. I give them a snack and then they to do their homework and their chores. Sometimes Jeffrey and Brandon go to work for people in the neighborhood. The past couple of days they have been helping a couple in our ward get ready to sell a house. I'm so glad they have a way to earn some money.

The kids each have one night a week they help with dinner. We eat whatever time Dennis gets home, unless he has an away game. Evenings are so different, depending on whether any of us have things going on. but we do try to read scriptures as a family at 8:15 and have family prayer. Then the kids go to bed. I like to read or craft after they get to bed. I usually try to get to bed by 10:30.

Jeffrey prepared our lesson in home evening last Monday and gave the quote that is at the beginning of this post. I have been thinking about it all week and it is what prompted me to type this all out. It's been fun!

So I end where I began. Here is another quote from Jeffrey's lesson:

Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that power to work is a blessing, and that love of work is success.

~David O. McKay~