Schedules

I have a love/hate relationship with schedules.

On the one hand, I love waking up and knowing what is happening that day. It makes it easier to plan and sometimes I'm able to get everything done more efficiently. Knowing that we have to get A, B, and C done before D comes along gives me a deadline to work with. Plus, I live by my calendar. If it's not on the calendar, I'm not likely to remember it, so I absolutely must write everything anyway. Why not make some sort of schedule around all of it?

On the other hand, some days I'd just like to have some free days to do . . . whatever! Play in the yard, or walk over to the park, or head to the children's museum or the zoo. Currently, we have one "scheduled" free day -- Fridays -- and even then we've developed a routine.

I'm trying to facilitate experiences that are "new and different" instead of just the routine "same old, same old." I've been on the couch for an hour with my little legal pad trying to figure out how I can schedule and be free at the same time. I haven't come up with a solution yet.