I wish I could say that I follow my Franklin-Covey planning goals correctly each day, but I’ve been guilty at times of forgetting to even check where I need to be that day. My mother had to remind me yesterday of two dental appointments early in the morning of my children’s first day of Fall Break.

Oops, sorry kids, if I’d checked my planner before scheduling such follow-ups I’d have chosen a later time at least.

And in listening to myself, I find it humorous that at age 53, my mother is still reminding me of what to do. She, at age 77, likes to run errands, something I hate to do, so she or Grandpa tended to the dentist appointments for me.

I’ve also been very guilty of not responding to emails or comments sometimes. May I blame the kids? It’s my mommy brain. If I would correctly prioritize my day, then possibly I’d get more done.

Someone like me though, hyperactive and driven, tends to flit from chore to chore, task to task, like an overly electrified butterfly, bored easily, I’d rather move on to the next item on my list that I again forget to consult. I thought I had it in my head.

Last night I forced myself to concentrate and went through a good many emails, today I’ll choose another item I’ve put off for too long.

We’ve not left our house in the last two days, we have plenty of groceries so there’s been no need to dart out for more milk, during Fall Break my kids have mainly wanted to hunker down and hang out. Our schedule often seems so tight and so busy that the down time is a luxury. We’ve painted a bedroom, the kids have had extended computer times, and we’ve pigged out, snacking, chowing down, and baking more goodies.

I have a similar plan today as well, not leaving our 50 acres for any reason. Tomorrow we’ll have early morning soccer practices, so many that it’ll take us until early afternoon to get to them all, but for today we’re home. It’s not even nine in the morning right now and most of my older sons are out in the meadow throwing the football and playing dodge ball on the trampoline.

I personally need this time to regroup, to catch up, and to simply enjoy being home with my children without the distractions of school, sports and outside activities. Free time, such as it is, is a blessing.