Days are like blinks....

I can't believe we are in the second week of September. I can't believe our weather has been this amazing with endless sunshine! I can't believe that the public school hasn't started either. Luckily we have been homeschooling Monday to Friday and our structured routines are helping us with this unpredictable time. I've been so busy with homeschooling, activities and life in general that I feel I'm (we're) missing pieces in time. Days go by like blinks. Family and friends we hardly see. I often contemplate and ask myself if life should exist this way. As the sun shines, and the days become memories...I wonder...if all this routine, this structured life from one day to the next is what's important. My children are being educated. They're receiving huge supports. They live fairly well knowing breakfast is at 8am. School starts at 9am. Lunch is at 12pm. School ends at 2pm. Dinner is at 5pm. All the activities, therapies and sports are everywhere in between while bedroom routines start at 7pm. Movie night is Friday night. It works. Just today I questioned after a week into our homeschooling schedule if this is all necessary? I have adult children and they're all doing well although was it because we spent so much time building these fundamental skills of daily life? Spending those endless days insuring their futures will be successful? Or are they doing well because they're now adults understanding the responsibilities of life in general? And they've learned from their own mistakes? I often wonder, would it make a difference if we didn't spend all this time, weren't as rigid, would our children turn out just fine while we become more spontaneous? I don't have any answers. I do believe with FAS (Fetal Alcohol) affected children they do thrive with a more structured routine where daily life is more predictable. Where consequences are quick without many warnings. It's hand over hand directions. It does equal less chaos with a large complicated family. We can feel confident going out to a restaurant, or traveling across the province like I did. I guess just sometimes I would like to drop the pencil, forget when bedtime is and enjoy the stars until late at night without worrying about the aftermath of changing up our routines. And not that we haven't done this of course (that's why holidays are so important) because we need those extra no routine days to re coop. "I guess I'm missing summer"

 We are completely full force back in the swing of life as we usually know it. I love being productively busy, I love homeschooling and I love all the professionals supporting us. I just hope that I can look back fifteen years from now and say, "It was worth it" That my husband and I accomplished raising our sixteen children successfully even when the days passed us like blinks while missing a few stars. For now, we are highly structured taking one day at a time hoping for the best possible future for our children. I sure hope we're doing this right........ and we're not missing too many falling stars.