About a week ago I came across a blog post which shared about one family's way of combating a chaotic rut - it's called "When Life Gets Chaotic." As the weekend was approaching and I could already feel the oncoming stress associated with it, I was naturally drawn to a blog post written with that title. I shared it with David and it immediately appealed to him as well. We would both strongly encourage you to read it because it is what inspired our family to shoot for a "reset" weekend of our own. Just as we had our own version of it, I think each family would tweak a "reset" weekend to meet the needs of their individual family as well.
For us, our "reset" weekend looked like this:
- No errands
- A clean and orderly home
- Lots of hugs and kisses
- No screen time/phone time
- Lots of praise & worship music (we love Jadon Lavik's Roots Run Deep and Roots Run Deeper)
- Calming oils diffusing in the background (Lavender + Eucalyptus are a new favorite, and Clove + Orange are an old favorite)
- No "heavy topic" discussions
- Reading together
- Games we can play as a family (Ryenne LOVES Bingo)
- Plenty of transition time between "sections" of the day (Ex. starting the bedtime routine early rather than rushing it later)
- Rule reinforcement (we took the time to really reestablish the rules and boundaries we have in our home, especially in regards to quick obedience and cheerful attitudes)
David and I have already seen so many positive things that have come from this past weekend. On Tuesday, both times that David came home from work, I noticed immediately that he seemed relaxed and rested - something that isn't always the case with a fast-paced job like Starbucks or a stressful one like valet. He has also commented several times throughout the week how much he looks forward to being home with us - which I think is because of the relaxing and positive family time that we had together this weekend, and the fact that the house was off to a good start rather than a chaotic, disorganized one as it is many times.
Ryenne was complacent and obedient from the get-go, and I can see that she looks at Mommy AND Daddy as having equal authority. Because I'm home with her every single day and David is out working so often, Ryenne tends to listen to Mommy a lot more readily and can attempt to get away with more around Daddy - despite my attempts to communicate that she needs to obey Daddy too. Because she saw the two of us in union and had plenty of time with us both this weekend, I think it helped to reestablish in her mind that Daddy is the leader in our home.
I have been a lot more relaxed this week and I attribute that again to the orderly start our home had. Sometimes I really dread Tuesdays because it usually equals MAJOR clean-up day since on Monday we are in and out of the house so often and things get out of place so quickly. But the house has been so much more manageable for me this week because we started off with a clean and organized home. Likewise, my little daughter has been a lot more manageable as she had the same calm start to her week that we did.
David and I agree that we've been able to handle hiccups in the week a whole lot better and in a spirit of unity, which in turn made the entire week a smoother ride and gave us a happier home :)
There was a lot we've taken away from just one simple day of staying home together as a family. Obviously we can't have a "reset" day every weekend because there are errands that need to be handled, but we hope to have a "reset" weekend once a month from now on, and there are also several habits that we plan to set into motion in our home that will hopefully ensure that we have less chaos and more peace in our lives.
We're so thankful that God put it on our hearts to do this as a family and for the lessons He taught us along the way. We want to cultivate a peaceful, relaxing rhythm of life rather than a chaotic, frazzled one, and this has definitely helped us greatly in achieving a more harmonious home and family. Hope it can be of benefit to your home as well!
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