Busier or not so busy?

Tomorrow my husband and boys all go back to school after three weeks off. It will take a little adjusting to again. My pastor said to me this morning that then I'll be able to rest! Which is sort-of true and sort-of not. The older they get the easier it is to rest when they are around.

This is the puzzle we're trying to do right now in the last
hours of our holidays. It's really hard!

Less busy
We've enjoyed wonderful sleep-ins. Yesterday we were eating breakfast at around 10am! And now that they can all read, we've had good "SQUIRT" times after lunch most days for at least an hour.

In fact we've been so lazy that a number of projects that I'd thought about doing have just not even been started (organising photos and scrapbook of our Uluru trip; small sewing projects; starting a larger cross-stitch project, etc.).

Busier
But in a sense they do make us busier when they're home. They all seem to eat more, for example. Five "meals" a day on the table! Including morning and afternoon tea. Thankfully we've had them all helping out with various chores around the house, more so than usual, so I haven't been washing up as much as I usually do on holidays.

In accordance with our EF philosophy of parenting boys, we try to get them out for exercise each day. That isn't always that fun in winter, but once we get moving it isn't as painful as it is on the hot summer days. And at least you don't have to put sunscreen and insect repellant on each time!

I find I'm enjoying the boys now they're older. I'm wondering if I'll enjoy the next 10 years of parenting more than the last 10 years. As they get older parenting is generally less physically demanding (except that it takes more to wear them out), however it is more emotionally demanding.

Less busy
We've both put most work things on hold, so that means we've been less busy. I've had less stress headaches over the break (except for these last couple of days while I've been battling a cold).

Still a bit busy
I have still been answering queries from OMF Japan website, and I've had some curly ones! People have more time to think at this time of year, I guess!

Back to busy tomorrow
But from tomorrow it is back to the usual busy. Getting up at 6, before the sun and in the cold (though, it was -1.5 C at 8 a.m. today) Then everyone off to school before 8.30 and I'm on my own again for seven hours. Enough time to restock the larder and dig back into my magazine editing work, and try to figure out where I'm up to before the rest of the week rushes upon me (a day of prayer on Tuesday, meetings on Wednesday, Bible study Thursday afternoon etc.).

The good part about them being at school is that it is easier for me to get to writing here (which I miss when they're at home). It is also easier to get to the gym (to work off the excesses of the season), so I'm looking forward to that.