5 Things to Put Back on the Calendar Besides Soccer Practice
This fall, I want to be intentional about making our family feel connected, rather than booked and busy
This fall, I want to be intentional about making our family feel connected, rather than booked and busy.
Naturally, fall brings more activity as we settle back into school routines, extracurriculars, weekend commitments and all the things that seem to multiply once September hits. As mothers, most of us are very good at scheduling what our children need to do.
But are we scheduling how we want our family to feel?
An average September day in our house looks like morning commutes to get everyone to work and school, while the baby and I run midday errands and come home to prepare for the after-school rush. Restocking the snack drawers. Moving over the laundry. Power-cleaning the bathrooms. And, on a good day, maybe squeezing in a nap somewhere along the way.
Once school lets out, it’s go time.
Our girls have dance and gymnastics, and soon our son will be enrolled in boxing. Some nights, we lean on crockpot dinners to save time and make sure everyone is fed and nourished before bed. Other nights—mostly Sundays—I’m able to cook a big, hearty meal that we can all enjoy around the dining room table.
Those Sunday dinners fill my heart.
We catch up on our weeks, talk about the things we’re looking forward to, work through challenges and simply sit together without rushing off to the next thing. I can only hope these dinners become the kind of memories our children carry with them, memories that make them want to create the same feeling of home for their own families someday.
So this fall, there are five things I want to protect on our family calendar, no matter how busy we get.
- Dinner Together Once a Week
Having dinner together in our formal dining room almost feels like a mini holiday.
Especially on Sundays, when we know the girls will be heading back to their other parents’ homes for the upcoming week, that time together feels especially important. It gives our son some quality time with his big sisters and gives all of us a chance to slow down and reconnect.
No extracurriculars. No school emails. No workday noise.
Just us.
I don’t think family dinner has to happen every night to matter. For our family, once a week is realistic and that’s enough to make it something we can protect.
- Family Prayer
This season, I want us to find more moments for prayer together.
Our current routine includes praying before dinner and before bed, but I think we can be more intentional about it. We can protect prayer time on our calendar just as we protect extracurriculars, appointments and weekend commitments.
Church isn’t something I want our family to experience only on Sundays. I want faith to become a mindset and a habit, something we practice and protect in the ordinary moments of everyday life.
Because when life gets busier, I don’t want prayer to be the first thing we stop making time for.
I want it to be one of the things that grounds us.
- Reading Time
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Reading is fundamental,” and we are true believers in that in our house.
With my grandmother being a retired English teacher and my father-in-law a retired history teacher, my husband and I both grew up understanding the value of opening a good book. I hope our children grow up to love reading as much as I do.
So far, bedtime stories have been a staple in our home.
We’re also currently working through a devotional that includes Scripture and conversational questions for us to talk through before bed. It’s become more than just reading, it’s an opportunity to slow down, learn something together and hear what’s on our children’s minds.
I want reading to be something our children associate with comfort, curiosity and connection, not just something they have to do for school.
- Evening Movement
If you’re anywhere near HOTlanta, you know this summer’s heat has been borderline unbearable, with temperatures climbing above 95 degrees for days at a time. And when the temperatures weren’t too bad, the thunderstorms often were, leaving tangible damage in their wake.
So now that we’ve entered the “ber” months, I’m looking forward to the evenings when an after-dinner stroll is finally within reach again.
Walking around the neighborhood. Collecting fallen leaves. Pointing out colorful trees. Letting the kids ride their bikes or scooters. Talking about absolutely nothing.
It doesn’t have to be a workout.
It doesn’t even have to be a long walk.
It’s simply a few minutes outside together before everyone heads back inside and starts winding down for the night.
Sometimes movement is less about fitness and more about creating another opportunity to be together.
- Self-Care
I’ve grown to realize that choosing to make time for myself is also setting an example for my children, and giving my husband permission to do the same.
I can’t wait until everyone else is completely taken care of before I finally fill my own cup. If I do, I’ll always be waiting.
Taking care of myself isn’t selfish. It’s part of taking responsibility for my own well-being.
Sometimes that looks like getting enough sleep. Sometimes it’s moving my body, taking a shower without rushing, doing my hair, reading, praying, getting out of the house alone or simply giving myself a few quiet minutes to mentally prepare for the day.
I show up better for my family when I take care of myself.
And I want my children to grow up understanding that caring for yourself isn’t something you do only after you’ve cared for everyone else. It’s something we all deserve to practice.
This fall, I’m teaching my family self-care by example.
We spend so much of our time scheduling the things our families have to do.
School.
Practice.
Appointments.
Homework.
Work.
Errands.
Maybe September is a good time to start scheduling some of the things our families simply need.
A meal around the table.
A few quiet pages.
A walk around the block.
A moment of prayer.
An hour to yourself.
Because our calendars shouldn’t just tell us where our families need to be.
They should help us make room for who we want our families to become.
Pictured above, my youngest daughter with my grandma, Big Mama. The woman whose house will always feel like home to me. With sounds of live music from her and my dad playing their guitars or keyboard, smells of a home cooked meal, and the feeling of a fresh breeze from the backyard.
