One area that I have been focusing on, is definitely spending more time with Baby Breeze and Mr. Breeze. We have taken advantage of warm days, lazy afternoons at the park. Another area for myself, is reading and learning new thoughts and ideas.
Recently I picked up a book at our local library:
Finding Your Way Home: How to Become a Successful Stay-At-Home Parent, by Lucynda Koesters.
This book would have been a great read, about a year or two ago, as I was developing my plan to stay at home. That being said, I did gleam some great tips from this book.
In the first section Ms. Koesters focuses on reason why it is important for a parent to be at home, whether your child(ren) is an infant, toddler, gradeschooler, or teen. We know it is important for parents to bond with their child when they are infant or toddlers, but it is just as crucial to have a parent at home when they are in school and hitting their teenage years. I love the idea that as my child goes to school, this will give me a chance to volunteer and get to know his friends, and to know that he will not be one of the many latch key kids who spend hours every afternoon unsupervised. Most juvenile crimes happen between 3 PM and 6 PM and no wonder, a child needs guidance and a safe harbor to come home to. Plus if you want to find out about your child's day you need to be there within the first 30 minutes - before they begin to focus on other things and the answer is "fine."
The second section of the book focuses on courage building strategies to find your way home. While I have already made the jump to early retirement, I did enjoy her approach to visualizing what your day would look like. She goes through weighing your options and examining your finances. It is amazing how much of our income goes to be prepared for our jobs - clothing, parking, gas, daycare, convenience items such as fast food, guilt presents, etc. As you eliminate these it is amazing how little we really bring home from out incomes. She has some great money savings tips and strategies to talk to your spouse and employer.
What really hit home with me, was Part III - Transitional Strategies to a successful life at home. This was full of great advice for me. It is OKAY for me to slow down, and it might take me a while to learn how to do that. I was shocked when I found myself looking at job opportunities within a month of being home. This apparently is very common, and it is just because the reality of slowing down (and not receiving a paycheck for the first time in my adult life) was quite a shock. I am now trying to focus on just being present at home and enjoying the peace that comes with it. I also thought I would be able to start saving so much money now that I am at home, but found we were eating out more, and spending more on little things, as I now had more time to shop. Realizing these things was a critical factor for me (and I will be writing more about this area in the future).
Establish a weekly routine is the next suggestion, but go SLOWLY! Hard advice to take for someone who just exited the crazy rat race. One of the areas that I am currently following is to set up BLOCKS of time. For example:
7 AM to 9 AM get up, breakfast, and get dressed
9 to 11:30 AM errands or fun activities
11:30 - 12:30 Lunch
12:30 - 2:30 PM nap/quiet time
2:30 - 4:30 PM activities, outdoor time
4:30 - 6:30 PM make, eat, clean up dinner
6:30 - 8 PM - family time, games, movie, activities
8 - 9 PM - bath, story, and light out at 9 PM
This helps us to accomplish more during our day, without over structuring the time. We might decide it is nice out and go to the park, or maybe it is cold and we bake cookies, or there might be something fun going on at the library so we go there! It is also easy to know when to schedule appointments, play dates, and when to be able to say No!
In the first section Ms. Koesters focuses on reason why it is important for a parent to be at home, whether your child(ren) is an infant, toddler, gradeschooler, or teen. We know it is important for parents to bond with their child when they are infant or toddlers, but it is just as crucial to have a parent at home when they are in school and hitting their teenage years. I love the idea that as my child goes to school, this will give me a chance to volunteer and get to know his friends, and to know that he will not be one of the many latch key kids who spend hours every afternoon unsupervised. Most juvenile crimes happen between 3 PM and 6 PM and no wonder, a child needs guidance and a safe harbor to come home to. Plus if you want to find out about your child's day you need to be there within the first 30 minutes - before they begin to focus on other things and the answer is "fine."
The second section of the book focuses on courage building strategies to find your way home. While I have already made the jump to early retirement, I did enjoy her approach to visualizing what your day would look like. She goes through weighing your options and examining your finances. It is amazing how much of our income goes to be prepared for our jobs - clothing, parking, gas, daycare, convenience items such as fast food, guilt presents, etc. As you eliminate these it is amazing how little we really bring home from out incomes. She has some great money savings tips and strategies to talk to your spouse and employer.
What really hit home with me, was Part III - Transitional Strategies to a successful life at home. This was full of great advice for me. It is OKAY for me to slow down, and it might take me a while to learn how to do that. I was shocked when I found myself looking at job opportunities within a month of being home. This apparently is very common, and it is just because the reality of slowing down (and not receiving a paycheck for the first time in my adult life) was quite a shock. I am now trying to focus on just being present at home and enjoying the peace that comes with it. I also thought I would be able to start saving so much money now that I am at home, but found we were eating out more, and spending more on little things, as I now had more time to shop. Realizing these things was a critical factor for me (and I will be writing more about this area in the future).
Establish a weekly routine is the next suggestion, but go SLOWLY! Hard advice to take for someone who just exited the crazy rat race. One of the areas that I am currently following is to set up BLOCKS of time. For example:
7 AM to 9 AM get up, breakfast, and get dressed
9 to 11:30 AM errands or fun activities
11:30 - 12:30 Lunch
12:30 - 2:30 PM nap/quiet time
2:30 - 4:30 PM activities, outdoor time
4:30 - 6:30 PM make, eat, clean up dinner
6:30 - 8 PM - family time, games, movie, activities
8 - 9 PM - bath, story, and light out at 9 PM
This helps us to accomplish more during our day, without over structuring the time. We might decide it is nice out and go to the park, or maybe it is cold and we bake cookies, or there might be something fun going on at the library so we go there! It is also easy to know when to schedule appointments, play dates, and when to be able to say No!
Stay flexible! Now is not the time to become rigid in a new routine, as that will only cause me the stress I am trying to get away from.
The book was published in 2005, so some of the information is a little dated, but overall this was a great read for anyone who is considering retiring early, especially to be home with their children.
I am thrilled to say, I found my way home!
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