Every family has experienced it. The frantic rush in the morning to get everyone where they’re supposed to be going. Do the kids all have their homework? Is their lunch packed? Where are their shoes. Hurry! The school bus will be here any minute!
Stick a PopTart in the toaster, gulp down a glass of milk, and run out the door. Barely time for a hug and a kiss, let alone sweet words that might fill their souls for the day.
Sound familiar?
Do you hate living that way?
Is it only on vacation that a slower, unhurried pace of life can happen?
There’s a saying: the hurrier I go the behinder I get.
Last year we made the decision with the full agreement and enthusiasm of our 15-year-old daughter to have her enroll in virtual school. That means that we don’t have a 5:30 wake up to make sure she gets to a 6:20 bus. Our mornings are calm, later and unhurried. It’s a huge blessing.
As I look closer at living an unhurried lifestyle, I see it as giving ourselves room to breathe. I know that not everyone can make the same decisions we have, but I would encourage everyone to take a look at those hurried and harried times and see if there’s any way to bring some peace to them.
Can lunches be made and backpacks packed the night before? Can clothes be laid out? Shoes put by the door? Pre-made breakfasts be ready to go?
I have a daughter who is not a morning person, so she made some of these choices herself as she grew, and I certainly know that not all children will fit well into this mould.
But if you’re finding yourself getting frazzled before the day has barely begun, give some thought to how you might give yourself and your family some breathing room.
This post is part of the Five Minute Friday link up. Join the fun!

It’s baseball season, in case you didn’t know. And my team, the Oakland Athletics, is in the thick of a pennant race.
dwellers. When they started their winning ways several seasons ago, I was thrilled.
We long to be known. To be loved. To be pursued.
my brother’s house I said to her, “We’ve never been very good at heart-to-heart talks.”
When I started being interested in a guy (who has been my husband now for 27 years plus), my mom never asked me about him. When I asked her why that was, she said she didn’t want to pry. Umm, you’re a mom. That’s your job. It doesn’t make you a busybody; it shows me that you care to know.






Yesterday, August 2, was the 11th anniversary of my mom’s death.
going to happen quickly. My two sisters and my brother were all there, though.
for us. It was OK. She could go. We would be alright.
She would miss Morgan’s first day of kindergarten. Justin’s first job. Nathan starting college. Weddings, babies, graduations. Her great grandchildren, whom she would have adored.