When the Cats are Away

This past week my husband, Terry, was sent on a business trip to Jackson, Mississippi. That meant the the kids and I were left to fend for ourselves. In some ways, that's a good thing. In others, not so much.

A down side to Terry being gone was of course the fact that we missed him like crazy! More difficult than that though, his absence demanded that I temporarily step into the role of dad, as well as having my everyday duties as mom. His occasional business trips certainly provide me with a glimpse into what life would be like without him. Let me tell you, I don't like that idea one little bit!

On the plus side though, the kids and I used his absence as an excuse to do some things we don't normally do.  "When the cats are away, the mice will play."

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but Terry and I home school both of our kids. A typical school day in our house consists of lessons between 9:00-12:00, an hour for lunch, and then finishing up the day from 1:00-2:00 or 3:00. We usually do lessons here at home. This past week however, I threw routine out the window and we shook things up a bit. That's one of the beauties of home schooling. School works around us instead of us having to work around school.

A few days this past week, we gathered up some of our lessons and headed off to either the park or McDonalds. One day we went to the park and a couple of the days we went to McDonalds. Tyler's curriculum is on-line so he can do his work from anywhere that has internet access. Since McDonalds has free wi-fi, he was able to do his work there. Most of Serenity's work is on the computer as well, so she was able to do most of her's there too. A couple of the days, after completing the kids' lessons, we rented a couple of movies from RedBox. We don't normally rent movies during the week so this was a nice treat for us.

This past week really made for a nice break in routine. I have found that sometimes it's really nice to shake things up a bit. I think we can get so caught up in life's everyday demands that sometimes we forget to stop and smell the roses. I believe it's important that we try to avoid falling into that trap.

As a mom, I'm of the opinion that there is so much more to my relationship with my kids than making sure their physical needs are met. It is vitally important that I meet their emotional needs as well. That's what this week was about. It was about fellowship. It provided me with the opportunity to build some memories with my kids that I otherwise wouldn't have had.

I encourage every parent out there to shake things up now and then. Don't get so caught up in life's everyday demands that you forget to stop and smell the roses. Take some time out of your everyday routines to plan a special family outing. Maybe it could be a trip to the zoo or something as simple as a picnic in the park. Whatever you decide, the important thing is just providing an opportunity to be with your kids in an environment that's different from what you're used to so that many great memories can be made.