If you have 0-2 kids at home or a very calm morning, what does your morning routine look like?

[PeterPan]

I sorta got out of routine with doing so much HBOT, now I want to get back in the swing. What does your morning routine look like? And it's not that moms with more are not helpful, but I probably have a bit more time on my hands. I don't think I've been "off" homeschooling for so long (3 full months!!) in years. We've always schooled year round with just brief breaks, so this was really different and restful to be off so much, eat lunch out, etc.

I sort of lived this intense life of worrying about doing enough, worrying about this and that. Right now I feel so at peace and I want to keep that while easing back into things that need to happen. I completely neglected the house, have done no school work with ds, etc. But I want to find a new way, a peaceful way. 

Does that make any sense? And ds doesn't live a real intense, fast, zip zoom life either. Like he likes to wake up and watch tv for a while. He can work, but he needs breaks. I've been watching tv with HBOT, more tv than I've watched in YEARS. I think it's part of why my brain is so zen. (Well that and it's just doing better.) 

So fess up, what do you really do in the morning and how does it promote calm? And I guess even that's assuming that having 0-2 kids your life is more calm, sorry, lol. So I guess explain if it feels calm but productive and how you get there and what your routine is.

[Spryte]

We have very calm mornings.

DS (17) gets up between 6:30 and 7:00, and pops his head in to tell me he’s heading downstairs.  He makes himself breakfast, sometimes watches a show, always gets to work on a project. He likes to have accomplished something substantial before school. 

DH gets up and heads to the home office after that.  Sometimes that wakes up DD (10), who reads in bed until I get up, or she sleeps in.

DD and I head downstairs together, she makes breakfast, and draws, reads or watches a show for a short time while I have coffee and wake up.  I don’t always eat breakfast.

Then school.

Some days, DS will bring coffee upstairs to drag me up early, if he’s not feeling like hanging out alone, and I’ll go downstairs so we can hang out.  This means me sitting blurry eyed on the sofa, coffee in hand, and probably not much company, but I try.  And sometimes he will work out before school starts, once we are all up.

DS is a morning person, and starting around age 6, I would leave his breakfast things out with a note giving him a project or challenge, so I could sleep a bit more. He’s sleeping in later these days - 6:30 - 7:00 is late in his world.

[wathe]

Our mornings are very calm, because we're all asleep 🙂

( I work late shifts and the whole family has time-shifted to match.  School starts around noon.)

I know, I'm not much help!

[Melissa Louise]

On WFH days:

Wake up around seven. 

Drink a cuppa, read the news. 

Put laundry on/ soak oats for porridge.

Do yoga. 

Eat breakfast + more tea. 

Wash dishes (sometimes).

Shower/dress. 

Hang washing out. 

Start work. 

~

Importantly, my youngest is 17. He's either asleep or getting himself ready for work. I don't have to worry about anyone else in the morning. 

 

[Arcadia]

My kids don’t wake up that early. DS16 wakes up closer to lunch time. For me it is wake up, make coffee, read MarketWatch for fun and think about what to cook for lunch. I am taking a community college class for fun so if I have homework undone, I would work on that. My husband works from home and his conference calls can start as early as 7am sometimes because of collaboration with Asia. 

[regentrude]

No more kids at home. My mornings feel calm and unhurried.
Get up at 6:30. Coffee (in the summer on the porch), check email, chat with DH.
7:15 shower, dress.
7:30 leave for work (3 days a week) or: do some housework (dishes, laundry) and leave at 8:30 (2 days a week)

Edited May 19, 2021 by regentrude

[MEmama]

The kitties are in summer mode so they usually wake me up before 5. Feed kitties, drink coffee and read news/Reddit/etc.

DS gets up around 7 and gets ready for school. Virtual classes start at 8:15 and go until around 11, depending on the day of the week, so I often don’t see him again until lunch.

DH wakes up whenever and is working from home. He either works in the dining room, which generally gets in my way, or the office upstairs, which allows me to get actual housework done.

I typically have breakfast at 8, and exercise (rowing) soon thereafter. 
 

The rest of my day is whatever, no particular routine. Run errands, putter in the garden, go for a walk. 
 

DS is 18, wrapping up the final weeks of his senior year.

Edited May 19, 2021 by MEmama

[HomeAgain]

Morning routine from 5:30-8am:

Wake up, open the dishwasher, set up the coffee pot, drink a glass of water

Spend about 20 minutes checking email and watching whatever is on pbs.

Start the coffee before going down to the basement to practice violin

Come back up, grab a cup, watch the local news.

Dh wakes about 6:30-7, ds2 wakes around 7:30.  Each starts their morning by making the bed, tidying their things.  I empty the dishwasher once everyone is awake. (DS1 is working late evenings and is set up at the other end of the house, so he sleeps through it all unless he has an 8:30 class)

The news stays on until it changes to national coverage.  Dh switches to ESPN, ds watches tv in the basement after a light breakfast.

8am - I check youngest ds's chores, We assess at this point what is on the calendar for the day, either an 8:30 school start or family activity.  Today we're loading the bikes up and going to the state park to ride trails.  Tomorrow is early morning grocery shopping and then I tutor, and Friday is yard work.

[1234]

I’m up between 6:30-7 and make a pot of tea (and have at least an hour to myself).

Around 8-8:30 I make breakfast and dh usually comes out of his office to join (he starts work around 7). If the weather is nice and he has time we’ll take a walk after we eat. 

9-11am - I workout, shower, and get ready for the rest of the day.

[Carrie12345]

I technically have 3 at home, but one’s almost 18 and doesn’t come out of her cave until after 9. Often well after! And the other two have had self-sufficient mornings since they could open a step stool.

I wake up anywhere between 4 and 6, usually naturally, occasionally due to the dog. From then until 10am, I alternate between getting some morning chores done, goofing around on the internet, exercising when I can convince myself, looking ahead at my list for the day, seeing what’s going on in the world, cuddling with the dog, balancing budgets, prepping school work, touching on a project or two, catching up with dh...  I usually manage to get quite a bit done, but it always feels very laid back because I’m not in any sort of rush.

(On days when appointments get scheduled before 10, I wind up hating my whole day.)

ETA: Kids get a reminder to get ready for the day around 9, but we don’t really interact before that, lol. We all like quiet mornings

Edited May 19, 2021 by Carrie12345

[Faith-manor]

I have no young children at home. Our son who is a college senior in the fall is here. He does his own thing throughout the day so it does not impact me.

7:00 am dh gets up, I read or today, fighting a mild headache, came here to surf instead of read.

7:30 am, coffee coffee coffee, man my brain needs coffee don't forget my coffee, yeehah! ☕☕☕ Then a boiled egg and a celery stick. (I am nor much of a breakfast eater.)

Then after that I have certain things that I do before noon if my mother does not have a medical appointment she needs me to take her to, but these are not regimented. I just do them when the fancy takes me. So usually, two hours of piano practice, a 2-4 mile walk or hike, a load or two of laundry, and then tidy up the kitchen or bath, and take the dog to a quick walk.

I used to be at my Community fine arts director job on Tues, Wed, and Thurs from 9-4 pm plus then some evening commitments such as choir rehearsal for the community choir I directed, the community children's music class I taught, etc. So that changed my routines a lot. So the above is kind of what I have fallen into for now. I am sure it will change since I have also been taking college classes this past fall and winter terms. I have an aerospace engineering courses, hybrid and online combo, that is in the 2nd summer session, and I think if I am not driving to the in person session, I will be studying/completing assignments a lot. The piano practice may end for that period because I really, really want to keep up with the walking/hike routine.

[PeterPan]

7 hours ago, Spryte said:

He likes to have accomplished something substantial before school. 

This is such a good point. Dh has been assigning ds work tasks (I'm not sure what, simple things that get him moving and not playing video games) and then he has his tele sessions. I don't know his new summer schedule that will start in June, but that's a good point that we might want to continue these work habits. As I think about it, what's stressful is to wake up every day thinking I need to cajole him. That has been the break, lol. We've been working on getting him to use a list, which is a big deal. I kept meaning to ease us back into academics by adding school tasks to the list and never got it done. But he's acknowledging the list is a helpful way to know the plan for the day, which is a step. He used to rip them up, lol.

7 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Eat breakfast + more tea. 

When I cruise I drink tea, especially at dinner, usually also at breakfast. Then I get home and fall into my old boring habits, lol. I need to think about this, because you're right it slows it down. That might be the time when I bring in those other thing like news/tv/reading. I got word searches that I enjoy. I have a silly logistics problem I probably haven't solved there. (the sunroom where it would be lovely to sit is far from the kitchen) I can think through that. I might be able to get brilliant with a solution, lol.

7 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Do yoga. 

You know in the past I had done some running in the morning. I banged my head up so much that running was not a good idea. I was watching a cleaning video last night that said to take a brisk walk every morning. I thought I could do that right now, with the weather so nice. I could drive to the park and walk. Or I could do a video that is peaceful, like you're saying. Or I could do both, nuts. I'm trying to ease back into exercising. I dropped everything to focus on healing, so I'm looking pretty fluffy and without tone. This week I'm just doing *2* things each day, just working up slowly. (10 burpees, 10 split squats, 5 minutes on a bike, whatever) I've been thinking about buying a tv for the greatroom where I sit a lot. If I did that, I would be there in the morning anyway and could stream an exercise (yoga, pilates, whatever) video. That might be kind of smart. I could do it on my computer screen for now, see if I like the habit.

Well this is good. I'm getting a nice little list here of things to try.

6 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I am taking a community college class for fun so if I have homework undone, I would work on that.

My brain is actually good enough I might be able to do that again. I had gotten so banged up over the last few years, I had kind of given up hope. I think, as you say, boredom is an issue with me. So your goal is just fun? I had assumed I ought to work toward a degree, but I'm not sure I'd actually want to work significantly at anything starting at 52 (when ds is done) and there wasn't the return on investment even if the degree (ma or phd) was billing at $100. We did the math this weekend, and there just wouldn't be enough working time left to make it work out. I would have the same return if I did a certificate and worked at a lower billing rate ($35). But I hadn't thought about FUN, haha, scandalous thought. I'm concerned I'm gonna hit 52 and have way too much time on my hands. And as much as I enjoy sewing, etc., I really don't think I want to do that a LOT, kwim? Maybe I will and I don't realize? I don't know. So if fun got me somewhere, that could be good. 

3 hours ago, regentrude said:

7:30 leave for work (3 days a week) or: do some housework (dishes, laundry) and leave at 8:30 (2 days a week)

Do you like going to work? Is there a point where you are considering pulling back from that? Or you work from necessity, not pleasure? And you already had the degrees, right? I don't know, it's just stuff I've started thinking through again. When I considered grad school last time I got pregnant with ds, haha. But I'm a little concerned about being 52/53 (in 8 years) and having a lot of time on my hands. I like to travel but am not terribly motivated to work and am not typical enough that most people would want to put up with me. So even if I have skills in an area (which I do from working with ds and will improve from working with ds, pretty significant in fact), I'm not sure I'm hireable or what people would want. I might be more trouble in a field than I'm worth, lol, and I'm not likely to enjoy any sort of rigamarole (IEP process, working in schools, etc.). So I don't know. I just don't think I should spend the last 20 years of my life doing NOTHING for the world but am not sure what is sort of low key and in the middle. 

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

The kitties are in summer mode so they usually wake me up before 5. Feed kitties, drink coffee and read news/Reddit/etc.

You are so right on the kitten!! We often have them and I'm sort of a cat lady. Right now we're between, with no kittens. I have an indoor dog but I'm not enough of a dog person to connect with him, even though he's fine. My one outdoor cat adores me and has just the right personality to be pleasing (sort of take it or leave it). My dog is always more demanding, wanting to be petted just right or attended to. 

You know, I could develop a habit of brushing the dog each morning. He could use it and it might satisfy his social needs. My mother brushes her cat every morning and I just, I'm not sure why I don't brush my dog, lol. Blame it on head injuries and getting busy, lol. But you're right, I could have tea, brush the dog...

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

I typically have breakfast at 8, and exercise (rowing) soon thereafter.

Oh that's smart to exercise AFTER breakfast!! I don't know why I was trying to do it before, lol. I clearly have a one track mind, because it was well if I'm exercising in the morning, wake up and do it. LOL 

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

putter in the garden

Yeah, this needs to be on the summer list.

2 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Start the coffee before going down to the basement to practice violin

That's a good point. I had stopped playing piano and ukelele. I'm just starting to take them back up. I'm such a night owl, I tend to dump everything to night (exercise, music, reading, etc.) as if I'm waiting for everyone to leave so I can have my peace. So essentially y'all are saying I could do in the morning things I've done at night, lol. I don't sleep a lot (6 ½ hours) so that leaves a lot of hours to fill when your brain is good and you feel well. 

2 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

watching whatever is on pbs.

You watch the news or something else? I thought about maybe working through a series of cooking dvds I had bought. When I exercise in the morning I watch TCM and get sucked in, which means it takes 2 hours, lol. Cooking videos at least would be shorter.

2 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Today we're loading the bikes up and going to the state park to ride trails.  Tomorrow is early morning grocery shopping and then I tutor, and Friday is yard work.

I like this rotation. You're right, I've just been snagging groceries in odd moments, not really planned. And Saturday is such a lousy day to be out shopping. 

49 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

looking ahead at my list for the day,

Oh dear, you may have found what I dropped the last 3 months, lol. Like seriously poof. Point well taken. I haven't really landed on a method that suits me. I'm not much of a write it out, journaler type, even though I admire it. Sometimes I've scheduled my plans as recurring events in the calendar. I use my phone for EVERYTHING, oh my. When I hurt my hand and couldn't write for a couple months I learned to do everything in apps via voice commands. I use Things a lot to keep project lists and ideas, shopping lists, etc. I don't know if I could do that to do my daily lists? And I don't remember if there's a Things for my desktop either to get them to sync. I'm not sure it's set up to do recurring daily lists easily. And daily life is that mixture of daily routine and modifications. Things is great for special lists, the bomb in fact. 

So I guess if I found a daily list thing that could schedule and recur and use Siri voice commands, that could be really good. Something that could be on both phone and desktop. Hmm. Anyone have something they love? Or you just write it out on paper? The only paper I like is post it notes. But it's because I'm such a, well I don't know what it is. I just end up with paper EVERYWHERE if I'm not careful. I keep a spiral notebook to write all my notes in. Like right now it's here and I'm generating a whole list from this thread. And when that notebook is full I file it. If I make post its, they either go in my purse or get stuck in there and filed. So I'm not sure I can handle ANOTHER notebook, kwim? Or maybe I would like it and I don't realize. I know people who jut use a spiral notebook, but that would be two.

I will start a new thread just for this, lol. Could be interesting.

58 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

cuddling with the dog

Yes, I realized, as I was getting so much better, that I could do more to make my house cuddly. I bought some pillows for the couch, a console table, am thinking about getting a tv. And when I sit on my now more cuddly couch, the dog appreciates it and jumps up, lol.

54 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

if my mother does not have a medical appointment she needs me to take her to

You know, that may be the explanation for what happens in 8 years, sigh. It's likely by then my dad would be in a nursing home and I'd be bringing him closer to me. If that happens, my whole world could be unexpectedly different. He's 70 and his care needs are increasing. 

59 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I have also been taking college classes this past fall and winter terms.

Are you working toward a goal? What do you want to do with it?

 

59 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I really, really want to keep up with the walking/hike routine.

Yeah, that's one of the things I had been doing last summer/fall. We have some lovely paths near the park where you can walk almost as long as you like and back. There are ducks to look at and water, so it's very peaceful. If I were even smarter, I'd have a friend to do it with. I'm thinking about trying to snag in ds, but we'll see.

 

[regentrude]

5 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Do you like going to work? Is there a point where you are considering pulling back from that? Or you work from necessity, not pleasure? And you already had the degrees, right? I don't know, it's just stuff I've started thinking through again. When I considered grad school last time I got pregnant with ds, haha. But I'm a little concerned about being 52/53 (in 8 years) and having a lot of time on my hands.

It's complicated. Yes, I got my degrees before I had kids (had my PhD at 26).  Overall, I like my job (of course not every aspect of it), but I am very bored and would like to start something completely different. If only I could figure out what that is! I struggled with this since my DD left for college in 2014.
I could quit once DS finishes college; we could live on DH's salary - but I would not want to do that without having an alternative plan. 2020 was going to be the year to explore different things over the summer - yeah, we know how that went.
I have toyed with the idea of grad school for an MFA; however, I don't need the piece of paper, I don't really want to do it online, and I don't want to teach English , so and quitting my job to attend an in person program plus paying tuition is financial lunacy.
So in a nutshell: I fantasize about quitting periodically, but am too rational to follow the fantasy without having a clear alternative.
And I know from experience that quitting my day job in order to write all day is a dumb idea; the uninterrupted chunk of time does not make me more creative or productive, just produces massive writers block, and that is quite a common experience.

 

[egao_gakari]

At this point, DS is getting up with me around 6:50. I do a Bible study Zoom while DS trains and feeds his puppy. Then I answer emails/texts, check the Forum, weed the garden, generally putter until about 9 when I consider the "real day" to have begun. Get DD up (I think she's awake but prefers to stay in her room and read until she's forced to do something else), make sure they've gotten their breakfasts etc. and then we do school. I try to get the hands-on teaching (math for DS, math and grammar for DD) done by 11 so I can prep for my work day which goes from noon till... whenever it's done. Usually 6, sometimes more like 8.

[PeterPan]

1 minute ago, regentrude said:

And I know from experience that quitting my day job in order to write all day is a dumb idea; the uninterrupted chunk of time does not make me more creative or productive, just produces massive writers block, and that is quite a common experience.

Ironically, I've had several people suggest to me I write about my experiences with ds. Hmm. But as you say, not a full time thing. More just a sneak/accumulate. There are other people who would write more interestingly anyway, sigh. But that's something I think about, what I could do with what I've learned without trying to pigeon me into something I'm NOT. And it's a very good point that people at a point what to redefine themselves anyway simply because it has been a long time at one thing. 

I don't think I care about storytelling enough to do it in a way that anyone would like reading, lol. Oh well. That's why I thought maybe letters behind my name would let them excuse any abruptness. People like credentials, lol.

Anyways, thanks for sharing. 

[PeterPan]

1 minute ago, egao_gakari said:

I do a Bible study Zoom

Well that's highly social. How did you connect with this? It would be sort of beyond what I've done, haha, but this is about expanding...

[egao_gakari]

2 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Well that's highly social. How did you connect with this? It would be sort of beyond what I've done, haha, but this is about expanding...

I started it! Very spur-of-the-moment, called up my mom on New Year's and said, "Do you want to do the Bible in a year?" And she said sure 😄 We invited other family members to get involved but so far no one has taken us up on it. So I guess calling it a "Bible Study Zoom" makes it sound more social than it actually is!

[Jenny in Florida]

My nest is empty now (except for one dog and two cats), so my routine is entirely kid free.

I wake up in theory at 5:30, but honestly more like 6:15, make sure the morning podcasts are downloaded and queued up, then head out for a walk with the dog. We aim for at least 4K, which takes me close to an hour. Once back home, I chug water, make my coffee, take my own pills and give the dog hers, feed the dog and then do the leg and arm exercises recommended by the physical therapist. 

On a good morning, when I've gotten up on time and/or been efficient with my time, I take a shower and get dressed before sitting down to work. Otherwise, I just grab coffee and something for breakfast and head into my home office in time for the check-in with my team at 8:45.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Jenny in Florida

[Wheres Toto]

My kids are all teenagers or older so my morning doesn't really involve them.   They were always slow to wake up though, so when they were young, they'd sit on the couch drink their chocolate milk and do their reading for the first hour of the morning.  So I could still have a routine for myself, but I didn't.

I started my current routine because I wanted to have a slow relaxed morning instead of having to rush around. 

I get up at 6am or 7am depending on plans for the day.   I put my tea kettle on and head to the bathroom to do the usual early morning stuff.  By the time I'm done, it's usually ready.   I have one cup of tea sitting on the couch with my Happy Light beside me, having either oatmeal or eggs for breakfast, looking through my emails, Facebook and these forums.   When my Happy Light goes off, I get my second cup of tea and go back to the computer, sometimes reading a book if I've finished surfing.   After my second cup, I get up and get ready for the day and wake the kids before I leave the house.

Three times a week I leave the house at 7am to meet up with my oldest daughter (usually I have one cup of tea at home and bring one with me to have later on these days).  We take a walk around the science center I work at, then do some yoga.  Days I don't meet my daughter, I usually leave the house around 8am and do some Tai Chi and yoga on my own, sometimes I'll walk as well.  

Edited May 19, 2021 by Wheres Toto

[PeterPan]

3 minutes ago, Wheres Toto said:

I get my second cup of tea

You definitely seem to have found the secret to a relaxed morning! 

[Sneezyone]

It is currently 9:36a. My kids are older. I wake up between 5:15 and 6:00, teach 4-6 ELL students. Then I clean my kitchen (do last night’s dinner dishes) with Morning Joe and take something out of the freezer for dinner. Finally, I harass/wake my kids for the day...basically, now. Fortunately, I just heard footsteps so I only need to wake one of them.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Sneezyone

[PeterPan]

1 minute ago, Sneezyone said:

I wake up between 5:15 and 6:00, teach 4-6 ELL students

That's an interesting point about having your work in the morning to let the rest of the day feel like you want it to. Sort of the total inverse, but a good point.

[Jenny in Florida]

58 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

My brain is actually good enough I might be able to do that again. I had gotten so banged up over the last few years, I had kind of given up hope. I think, as you say, boredom is an issue with me. So your goal is just fun? I had assumed I ought to work toward a degree, but I'm not sure I'd actually want to work significantly at anything starting at 52 (when ds is done) and there wasn't the return on investment even if the degree (ma or phd) was billing at $100. We did the math this weekend, and there just wouldn't be enough working time left to make it work out. I would have the same return if I did a certificate and worked at a lower billing rate ($35). But I hadn't thought about FUN, haha, scandalous thought. I'm concerned I'm gonna hit 52 and have way too much time on my hands. And as much as I enjoy sewing, etc., I really don't think I want to do that a LOT, kwim? Maybe I will and I don't realize? I don't know. So if fun got me somewhere, that could be good. 

I'm a few years ahead of you. I absolutely would lose my mind staying home and crafting or gardening, etc. I know it works for some people, but I do not do well without external goals and accountability. I went back to work when my kiddos were done with me, and in the last few years I've earned two certifications and completed a graduate certificate at the state university. I'm actually due to start a second graduate certificate next month.

Is there ROI on all of this for me at the point? Strictly economically, probably not. I was recently promoted, based in part on that grad cert, but I am unlikely to hop to a different employer before retirement, and my current employer isn't especially focused on academic attainments beyond a certain level. (My boss has fewer educational qualifications than I do.) 

However, my husband often does the calculation comparing the cost of tuition to other forms of "entertainment." For example, if you go to see a movie (quaint idea these days), the ticket is $15-ish, and concessions are another $10 or so per person. So, that's $25 for roughly 90 minutes of entertainment, or $17 per hour. 

The course I'm signed up for this summer meets for six hours a week over seven weeks. If I devote another six hours a week to assigned reading and homework, that's 84 hours of "entertainment." Even at the ridiculously high tuition I'm paying for this, that's $34 per hour. More than a movie, but also more engaging and I end up with a new credential at the end.

When I feel guilty about spending the money on this kind of "fun," I find that calculation helpful.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Jenny in Florida

[mommyoffive]

5 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

It is currently 9:36a. My kids are older. I wake up between 5:15 and 6:00, teach 4-6 ELL students and then clean my kitchen (do last night’s dinner dishes) with Morning Joe. Then, I harass/wake my kids for the day.

Do you teach for Vipkids?

[mommyoffive]

Just now, Jenny in Florida said:

I'm a few years ahead of you. I absolutely would lose my mind staying home and crafting or gardening, etc. I know it works for some people, but I do not do well without external goals and accountability. I went back to work when my kiddos were done with me, and in the last few years I've earned two certifications and completed a graduate certificate at the state university. I'm actually due to start a second graduate certificate next month.

Is there ROI on all of this for me at the point? Strictly economically, probably not. I was recently promoted, based in part on that grad cert, but I am unlikely to hop to a different employer before retirement, and my current employer isn't especially focused on academic attainments beyond a certain level. (My boss has fewer educational qualifications than I do.) 

However, my husband often does the calculation comparing the cost of tuition to other forms of "entertainment." For example, if you go to see a movie (quaint idea these days), the ticket is $15-ish, and concessions are another $10 or so per person. So, that's $25 for roughly 90 minutes of entertainment, or $16 per hour. 

The course I'm signed up for this summer meets for six hours a week over seven weeks. If I devote another six hours a week to assigned reading and homework, that's 84 hours of "entertainment." Even at the ridiculously high tuition I'm paying for this, that's $34 per hour. More than a movie, but also more engaging and I end up with a new credential at the end.

When I feel guilty about spending the money on this kind of "fun," I find that calculation helpful.

Wow, I love that thought process and never thought it like that for school classes.  Don't know why?

[Sneezyone]

3 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Do you teach for Vipkids?

Yep. Have for the last 2.5 years. I don’t do as much as I used to. Last year, I got up at 4 and had 8 students back to back, six days a week. I cut back for my own sanity.

[mommyoffive]

I have 5 at home, but we have relaxed mornings.  I am not a morning person so maybe that is why. 

So this is how our last year has gone

I wake up around 7 or 7:30 only because the kids are up.  I would like to sleep longer because I am night owl. 

Youngest always has dad make her breakfast, everyone else is on their own.  Dh and some kids walk the dogs or just ds. 

Odd takes care of the chickens if they need it. 

Oldest 3 start school all virtual school students.  They know their class schedule and just do things on their own. 

I get up and do the bathroom getting ready.  Get dressed.  Work out a bit and head downstairs.  I hit the couch to watch news and get on here!

I start school with the 2 little ones at 9am.  At 10am I eat breakfast and drink tea. Sometimes do some more workout.  My youngest 2 are doing online work at that time or watching PBS kids. 

I should start the day with a walk now that it is nicer.  I normally walk in the evenings.   Our summer schedule is probably going to change since we are going to put the kids in a lot of outdoor activities.

At 11 I usually start house chores.  

Edited May 19, 2021 by mommyoffive

[marbel]

I have two young adults and a husband at home. I work 4 days a week, but my earliest shift starts at 12:30pm. I am the only early riser (which is funny because I work till midnight 3 nights a week, but I am still the first one up 95% of the time).  I generally wake up between 7:30 and 8 no matter how  late I was up the night before.

Most days I get up, drink some water, take a couple meds/supplements, and first thing I read on my phone is a Bible verse of the day. I might go on to read more right then, but if I'm still sleepy and can't concentrate well, I will check in here, or go to facebook to wake myself up. If I'm  motivated or it's going to be very hot later in the day, I'll go for a walk first. Then I write in a Bible/prayer journal (something I've started fairly recently) and read the Bible and some devotionals on my app. When my husband gets up the coffee gets started and I will sit with him, talk a bit, eat breakfast or just drink more coffee (I am never hungry in the  morning but will eat something if I am going to leave the house). I sometimes sit out on the back deck.  

Then I move on to chores. Oh, I might start laundry first thing because that takes just a minute and it's good to get it going. 

Pretty much no activity really happens around here till 10am most mornings. Well, the last week has had a lot of busy mornings, taking my about-to-graduate-from-college daughter shopping for a dress and shoes... and returning dresses and shoes... lol. 

 

Edited May 19, 2021 by marbel

[Sneezyone]

12 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

That's an interesting point about having your work in the morning to let the rest of the day feel like you want it to. Sort of the total inverse, but a good point.

It’s very easy to travel like this too (which we are doing this summer). I can teach my classes and then drive/fly wherever we need to go before my peeps are stirring.

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

 

Are you working toward a goal? What do you want to do with it?

 

Yeah, that's one of the things I had been doing last summer/fall. We have some lovely paths near the park where you can walk almost as long as you like and back. There are ducks to look at and water, so it's very peaceful. If I were even smarter, I'd have a friend to do it with. I'm thinking about trying to snag in ds, but we'll see.

 

Yes, goal one has been met, and goal two is closer. Goal one was way back in the mists of time, I double majored in two music areas and minored in philosophy. But I loved science, and filled my electives with sciences so I was close to a general sciences minor. Since I have done so much science instruction through 4H and substitute teaching, I decided to see what my options would be to complete the minor. I called my alma mater up, and was pleasantly surprised to find that though I am 53 and went to college many moons ago, they apparently need money and were happy to let me take two classes and transfer them back to complete the minor. I actually found a couple that were online and not cost prohibitive. I was definitely not challenged in those courses. Now if I choose to go back, jump the hoops, and get my teaching license again (I let it expire many years ago when I was homeschooling and too busy to do any subbing as well as keep up with continuing education or work towards my master's degree), I would be able to teach choir, band/orchestra, etc. and science. Michigan doesn't have enough high school science teachers. If I wanted this as a secondary career, I could go for it. However that is only a distant back up plan.

My top goal is working in Aerospace education outreach after years of volunteer work with 4H. We retired from that due to family issues at that time, and local program director problems as well as dh's work schedule. I am trying to get the elderly mother care thing smoothed out now that they are vaxed - find someone for housekeeping and another for lawn care, a driver for medical appointments - so I can get out of the primary care giving role. We weren't even done raising our kids, and then bam, hit with elder care, and it tends to fall on me though dh is wonderful and definitely as involved as he can be. I am burned out. Utterly burned out. I need to do something that is fulfilling. I am not a natural born care giver so I was very much looking forward to a career post kids. I had one in community arts and loved it. But the pandemic and decisions made by the foundation that funds it, killed the whole thing. 

I am not working towards an engineering degree. I am just taking some classes to show formal knowledge to add to my experience with the subject matter. The reason for this is that regardless of whether or not I resume a career in music/fine arts or teaching, I want to volunteer as a National Association of Rocketry mentor for the International Rocketry Engineering Competition (Spaceport USA America Cup). I am working on my level 2 high power rocketry certification - a process that I have helped Dh mentor nine young adults through yet have not taken the time to obtain myself - and then hope to begin working on level 3. I am hoping given my experience plus the course work, I can judge documentation or presentations without being level 3. Dh is going through his level 3 process now. Level 3 is most important for working the range (these rockets launch on M or higher motors, custom manufactured motors, etc. and the altitudes are 10,000 ft and up with 30,000 as the minimum goal in the advanced competition). I am not as interested in the range work as I am in judging their design life cycle documents and their oral presentations.)

So the aerospace classes - my human space exploration ethics class was awesome sauce - are for me. All me. The actual engineering class I took first required me to petition into because they would have preferred I take a refresher calc 1 class. But, I got them to relent based on the fact that hubby uses his bachelor's degree in math all the time and is very current so I have an in house tutor. Believe me, it was a song and a dance to get permission. And then it kicked my behind all over the place, and made my brain very, very tired. But I got an A! A music education and piano performance degree holder who did not even need calculus to graduate and took one class of it just for funsies (ya, I know, I am a bit unhinged 😁) back in 1987, with some awesome husband tutoring, got a freaking A in that class. I have had a puffed out, proud chest ever since! If I am turned down for judging IREC (also, shhhhhhh banking on gender because they have so few women involved with the judging panels, none on the range, and lots of female students participating), I am going to be very disappointed.

My current hike is in a town six miles from here. I would love to get to the place where I have the time and endurance to walk that round trip. However, it will probably not happen simply because the road there is very narrow, rural road, no shoulders, deep drainage ditches, a pedestrian nightmare that would make my poor husband have anxiety if I walked it. I drive up there, park at the trail head. It is a mile out to the river where they have a pedestrian bridge. So 2 miles round trip. When I have time, I then do the half mile trail along the river which adds another mile round trip. If I have extra, extra time, I can walk the town sidewalks to get one more mile. If so want more than that , I have to drive further away to a trail that is three miles long. There aren't a huge number of places to do this for someone who needs a relatively flat hike due to my ankle injury. But I am working my way up for endurance, and learning a new taping technique for the ankle that might make it possible to do intermediate trails. Dh and I have embraced "vanlife" for vacationing and for longer excursions once he retires. So I feel the need to get into better shape so we can explore beautiful landscapes together.

[elegantlion]

No kids at home, SO (significant other) and I have been working from home, sometimes he goes into the office. We generally get up between 7 and 7:30, have a cup of coffee together then take a short walk before starting our day. I am very much not a morning person, yet SO has made mornings relaxing. 

[regentrude]

@Faith-manor I loved reading about your experiences. Isn't it so much fun to take college classes as an adult?!?!?

I wish I could be a perpetual student. I have been taking one class a semester for a couple of years and will most likely be taking two in the fall. All stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with my physics degree. Love it!

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, marbel said:

if I'm still sleepy and can't concentrate well, I will check in here, or go to facebook to wake myself up. If I'm  motivated or it's going to be very hot later in the day, I'll go for a walk first. Then I write in a Bible/prayer journal (something I've started fairly recently) and read the Bible and some devotionals on my app.

Good points. And you're right, I hadn't thought about journaling.

57 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

It’s very easy to travel like this too (which we are doing this summer). I can teach my classes and then drive/fly wherever we need to go before my peeps are stirring.

Ooo, exceptional point. I would not want my options crimped. I like to cruise and I might even increase it or do other kinds of travel at some point. I could see that happening. I've worked very hard helping my ds and I don't really think I need to feel guilty about helping other people's kids (to an extent that it crimps my own life). I guess that sounds terrible, but it just is. Two concussions, 10 years of driving to therapies, learning tons of stuff. I'm a vet at this and have served my time, lol. If I want to travel, I should be free to go. So maybe something that allows me to exercise my mind or contribute but also have that flexibility is best.

31 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I am burned out. Utterly burned out. I need to do something that is fulfilling.

I think the contradiction there is the challenge. 

31 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Dh and I have embraced "vanlife" for vacationing and for longer excursions once he retires. So I feel the need to get into better shape so we can explore beautiful landscapes together.

I don't have my dh convinced, so I'm probably on my own for adventures, lol. Probably ds would be around.

17 minutes ago, elegantlion said:

I am very much not a morning person, yet SO has made mornings relaxing. 

That's an interesting point. My dh is out the door very early and is pretty on the ball and in gear while he's still here because of the nature of the work. 

 

1 hour ago, Jenny in Florida said:

I've earned two certifications and completed a graduate certificate

I can look into this. As you say, something shorter might be just enough. 

Edited May 19, 2021 by PeterPan

[Tina]

My boys liked to wake about 8 am.  We started with breakfast, then while I cleaned that up, they each had a chore to do besides making their beds and getting dressed.  Then we started school with a read aloud to fully waken slowly before getting into school.  They each had another chore while I fixed lunch late morning.

[Faith-manor]

10 minutes ago, regentrude said:

@Faith-manor I loved reading about your experiences. Isn't it so much fun to take college classes as an adult?!?!?

I wish I could be a perpetual student. I have been taking one class a semester for a couple of years and will most likely be taking two in the fall. All stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with my physics degree. Love it!

It is absolutely amazing! I am one of those "school nerds". I have seriously considered taking another lit class just because. However I also need to for the moment stay focused on shoring up my resume for IREC. Applications for judges are due in the fall. Ideally, so would like to apply and be headed to White Sands in June 2022. However my mother in law just got diagnosed with peripheral arteriosclerosis - two toes on one foot looking dusky - and so that might complicate matters.

[Faith-manor]

PeterPan, if your husband is not convinced and you will be embracing solo adventures, here are my suggestions. Find a used, Toyota Vienna or Honda Odyssey with less than 100,000 miles on it. These are known for running 200,000+ without major repairs, and since these minivans are still being manufactured, unlike the phase out of American made mini vans, you can still get parts easily.

Remove the back seats. For about $300, if you are handy with tools, you can make a simple frame for a bed with storage underneath. We still use our minivan for hauling our college son back and forth to dorms with all his stuff, so our conversion lifts in and out, comes out in sections, and the back seats are not permanently removed. We recess the back bench, and take out the two bucket passenger seats when we want to camp. But eventually, the conversion will be permanent. Then put a foam mattress on it. I made curtains that cover the windows using sticky back velcro and 3M hooks. These are then removed easily when we want to drive around. Coolers and camp equipment goes on top until we get to camp and set up.

We have a tail veil - a large room tent that attaches to the van. It is not difficult for us to put up, and dh has done it alone before. The roof is 8 ft so we walk around inside it, and can stay dry if it is raining without being cooped up in the van. We have a motorcycle battery that we can use with an inverter to power devices/appliances if needed. The tail veil folds up into a nice bag for storage. We pop the back hatch of the van, pitch the tail, and voila a van plus a room. We sleep in the van. If it is cold, we in hitch the veil, zip the hatch so it becomes a free standing tent, and close the van up.

For one or two people, it is lovely. When our two college boys wanted to come, we kept the bucket seats in, and just rolled up our mattress and tied it. The two sections of our conversion that sit where the bucket seats would be, are hinged and lift out independently. So instead of pre- packing those cubbies with our clothes and personal care items, I tossed our stuff in cloth bags, and stowed in our rooftop carrier. This way the four of us could go, and then set up our storage cubbies and bed at camp. Since we wanted to use the tail veil for living space if if rained or the bugs were bad, we took another two man tent for them. What was fun about that was watching them pitch the tent. They haven't camped since they were pre-teens, young teens due to rocket team always occupying our time back then, so they had never pitched a tent without our assistance. So funny! 22.5, and 21 year olds kind of scrambling to figure out which pole went where. We let them muddle through. Good learning experience and now they can toss it up in ten minutes or less. I think a couple of times they thought, "Isn't dad going to come over and tell us what to do?" Nope, retired from that job when you boys moved into dorms! 😁

There are a ton of conversion options out there. Some are pretty pricey. We went the cheap, do it yourself way. But we also plan to be fairly minimalist, and do not plan on being gone more than a month at a time even in retirement because we have two magnificent grandsons that we would miss terribly.

[Faith-manor]

Here are some photos. This is of the unit. The front two pieces are hinged and free standing. They lift right out. Since we wear pants/shorts more than once, I can get a week of clothes plus bathroom items into each cubby. So we have a his and hers kind of thing.

[Arcadia]

2 hours ago, PeterPan said:

 

My brain is actually good enough I might be able to do that again. I had gotten so banged up over the last few years, I had kind of given up hope. I think, as you say, boredom is an issue with me. So your goal is just fun? I had assumed I ought to work toward a degree, but I'm not sure I'd actually want to work significantly at anything starting at 52 (when ds is done) and there wasn't the return on investment even if the degree (ma or phd) was billing at $100. We did the math this weekend, and there just wouldn't be enough working time left to make it work out. I would have the same return if I did a certificate and worked at a lower billing rate ($35). But I hadn't thought about FUN, haha, scandalous thought. I'm concerned I'm gonna hit 52 and have way too much time on my hands.
…

. I just don't think I should spend the last 20 years of my life doing NOTHING for the world but am not sure what is sort of low key and in the middle. 

One class cost about $150 per quarter. I am taking mainly computer science classes. If I were to take the certification exams and pass, I should be able to land a contract job. My previous full time job experience is all in the tech sector and the billing rate for temp isn’t low. At this point though it is more for fun and keeping the brain sharp, and competing with my kids on GPA for the fun of it. I already have my degrees. 

I have part time lecturers at community college that needs to top up their retirement savings and some that are teaching to pass the time and the pay is a less significant factor. A friend went to get a second degree to be an ABA therapist.

Food banks is probably where I would volunteer if I want to help out without too much human interaction. Food kitchen is if I want more human interaction. 

[Faith-manor]

Here is the van partially set up for sleeping. I modified some curtains from the house that we no longer use and were ready for goodwill. So that was nice. And the quilt is nautical themed. I made it two years ago from a "layer cake". It has red flannel on the back, and is tied. Nothing special. When I made up the bed and saw how well it all went together I was pleasantly surprised.

[Faith-manor]

Here is dh with the tail veil. We didn't have it hooked to the van yet, but you can see how it is free standing when we aren't hooked up. It is easy peasy to unhook for the van when we want to go somewhere.

[PeterPan]

3 hours ago, Arcadia said:

One class cost about $150 per quarter.

No wonder you're taking them!

3 hours ago, Arcadia said:

A friend went to get a second degree to be an ABA therapist.

That was a certificate or a masters?

3 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Food banks is probably where I would volunteer if I want to help out without too much human interaction. Food kitchen is if I want more human interaction. 

That might explain a lot. My aunt (in her 80s) in the quirky side of the family did a lot of volunteer work with the Red Cross, I think in the food bank as  you say. That's a good point that I might be pushing outside myself assuming whatever I do needs to involve people, lol. It even occurred to me I could just go pet cats at the shelter each day, since I like cats, lol. 

3 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

conversion options

You're rocking my world with this conversion idea. I have an suv with removable seats, and you're right that I had been thinking that something consistent and ready to go would be easier than tent up, tent down. That's a lot of work for just me and ds, sigh. But a smaller tent plus the suv, that could be convenient. I know it has (I forget the volt) that I could use to run a portable frig. I'm definitely going to google this conversion thing, do some measuring, see what could be done. Congratulations on yours!

[Arcadia]

6 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

 

That was a certificate or a masters?

Masters in Applied Behavioral Analysis from National Louis University. Her son is autistic so that gave her the motivation. 

[Faith-manor]

23 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

No wonder you're taking them!

That was a certificate or a masters?

That might explain a lot. My aunt (in her 80s) in the quirky side of the family did a lot of volunteer work with the Red Cross, I think in the food bank as  you say. That's a good point that I might be pushing outside myself assuming whatever I do needs to involve people, lol. It even occurred to me I could just go pet cats at the shelter each day, since I like cats, lol. 

You're rocking my world with this conversion idea. I have an suv with removable seats, and you're right that I had been thinking that something consistent and ready to go would be easier than tent up, tent down. That's a lot of work for just me and ds, sigh. But a smaller tent plus the suv, that could be convenient. I know it has (I forget the volt) that I could use to run a portable frig. I'm definitely going to google this conversion thing, do some measuring, see what could be done. Congratulations on yours!

Thanks!

Funny thing is that if I wanted to go alone, I could do it with my Equinox. I am only 5'4" so with the back seat folded down and the passenger seat moved as far forward as it goes, I can sleep in the back of it. Poor dh at 6 ft cannot. I could either take the tail veil which might be harder for me to put up on my own, or the 5-10 minute two man tent, and then store my cooler, camp stove, lantern, and cooking supplies in the tent, sleep in the equinox. So far every trip I have planned as been with dh, but this has me thinking!

[PeterPan]

13 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I could either take the tail veil which might be harder for me to put up on my own, or the 5-10 minute two man tent, and then store my cooler, camp stove, lantern, and cooking supplies in the tent, sleep in the equinox. So far every trip I have planned as been with dh,

See I've taken ds on my own, with a big tent, camp stove, cooler, everything. He even managed to get a fire going, lol. But it's enough to make a woman want a camper, that's for sure.