Rest Margin

I spoke once before about margins and how they helped us financially. Right after watching that video series I was convicted of how I needed a margin. I was squeezed so tight, and I still am, that I didn't have any margin: emotionally or time-wise. I realized then that something had to change.

Ray has always been a good provider, but that has meant that he has worked 6 days a week most of the time. That in turn has meant that he has done yard work on Sundays, which has meant NO TIME OFF. Our kids looked at Sundays as a work day. They did not look forward to Sundays at all. Church in the morning and then yard work in the afternoon.

As I know, that is not Biblical. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. But how do you rest when you have a yard to keep up, a house that seems to never get finished being built, and business banking and school reporting obligations to fulfill on Saturday and Sunday?

I decided to formulate a plan. I was not going to write about this until I had seen it in action long enough to report that it was actually working. Time has gone by, and I can safely say: I love it!

Monday to Friday we school. We fluctuate how much we do and when we do it but those are school days. When I have to do the banking the younger ones do what they can and then have a 'Pro-D' day. The older ones can proceed without me. That banking day only happens about once every two-three weeks, so it works perfectly fine. No more Saturday banking. The school observations (that I have to send to the school where we are registered) are done in an afternoon. No more Saturday observations.

The boys are now cooking dinner most days, so I can also find more time to do the banking and observations within my weekdays. Then the big change is Saturday. This is a new day for us. Right now there is nothing Ray can do outside due to the snow, so he continues to work on Saturday. But once the weather breaks he will work at home on Saturdays. But for the rest of us Saturday is a big day and I love it.

I have never had a scheduled cleaning day. I am not into it. Who knows when I am going to feel like going to the beach, shopping, to the library, caught up in a project, or who knows what. Well, then my cleaning day falls away and I feel lousy. I used to clean here and there through the week, but not one complete scrub-down in one day.

BUT, now I have this plan. Saturday we clean the whole house. The girls are (well, Mesai) helpful. They clean their room. The boys clean their room. One big boy cleans the bathrooms thoroughly. Another big boy washes the floors, and I vacuum the floors and carpets.

As well as this, I have been using each Saturday over the last month to purge and clean out. Last Saturday, I was reorganizing bookshelves: putting things back where they go, cleaning out doubles of books, etc. By the time I was done the shelves were tidy, and I had a pile of books for the second hand shop.

As well as cleaning the whole house top to bottom, I am putting together two very simple recipes. One of the recipes is for Saturday night and the other is for Sunday. Saturday is a chicken and rice recipe and Sunday is a stroganoff (or one other alternate). They go in the fridge, until I need to put them in the oven.

And finally, the laundry is running constantly. I am finalizing all laundry that needs to be run through before the end of the week: church clothes, emptying everyone's basket (each child has their own basket to make laundry easier to do). As the loads come through during the course of the day, my laundry committee comes together: Gadisae, Cooper and Mesai. They fold and deliver.

The kids all have their Saturday night baths/showers and make sure they have their clothes ready for Church for Sunday.

We have a quick dinner on paper plates and then we have our Saturday night family movie. The kids love it and it is a reward for work well done by everyone.

On Sunday, the way we go through the day is to do only what is necessary. No laundry. No real cleaning. Vacuuming as necessary. (Sorry, I can't stand a mess, and if I was to ignore the crumbs that eight kids make I would fill a dustpan on Monday morning!)

Get up, I bead the girls hair at the crack of dawn before everyone wakes up, eat breakfast, go to Church, come home and eat lunch, naps for littles, big ones sit around and read books, play games, watch a hockey game, kids wake up, play, eat dinner on paper plates, throw out the dishes *grin*, get kids ready for bed, then Ray and I go to our Couple's Group with three other couples, while the big boys babysit and put the kids to bed.

We have done this for four Sundays now, and it has been liberating!! Absolutely marvellous! There is time to just simply 'be a family' and not 'be doing'.

As time goes by, we will be challenged by the busy building season and Ray feeling the need to work on Saturdays, but hopefully we will be able to remember how rewarding our six day week has been and we will stick to it. My plans include beach days, ski times, zoo trips, day trips.

And God did intend for us to recharge our batteries. Everything has a season. Remember even God took a break on the 7th day. He knew we would need time off to enjoy what He had created and to do what we love to do!
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