Both my husband and I grew up in the country, and we wanted our children to be able to do the same. Land is expensive, however, and we were married for almost seven years before it happened. Finally we found the perfect property for us with plenty of land and an old farmhouse. Now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I can see how much my kids and husband thrive in this environment. My kids love the space, and it has been fun to slowly add different animals to our little farm. The upkeep and maintenance of a farm is definitely more work than a small yard in town but we are so blessed to be able to live this kind of lifestyle, and I’m hoping to be able to share the joys of simple living, in more posts like this.
The goal of a post like this is not to cause anyone to compare their lives or days with mine, but rather to be inspirational. I personally love to read day-in-the-life style blog posts, because they both motivate and inspire me, as well as remind me that the simplicity of daily life at home is a beautiful thing.
Our Slow Summer Days in the Country
- 6:20 – Wake time.
I woke up later than I had planned. My youngest did not sleep well last night, so I also had a fairly interrupted night of sleep myself. While I frequently like to plan and think through my day the night before, I try to adapt and make the best of circumstances when things do not go according to the plan. After all, the plan is not about controlling our days, but rather giving a sense of direction and purpose.
I nursed the baby for a while and also got the coffee going. While I nursed, I read from the Bible on my phone, and prayed. Although I am far from perfect about this, it is my goal to begin and end everyday with at least a small period of prayer.
- 7:00 – My baby fell asleep, and I put her in her crib, and came back downstairs to get dressed and finish making the coffee. I went out to the porch with my coffee, and worked on blogging for a little bit, while also enjoying the beautiful summer morning.
- 7:45- I went back inside to start breakfast, and get the day going. We have had a pretty busy week so far, and the kids woke up much later than normal, so I puttered about doing random tasks, visited with my husband, made some whole wheat blueberry muffins for breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, tidied our bedroom and living room, and generally put the house in order.
- 10:15 – I went outside and worked in the garden while my kids played on the swing set. The weather was absolutely perfect in my opinion. Although it is July as I write this, it has been cooler the last few days which I don’t mind at all.
- 11:00 – I got an early start on lunch because I wanted to do a little bit of prep for dinner as well. I also fed my sourdough starter so that I could get some bread dough going to rise overnight. (Tomorrow morning, I will simply need to punch down the dough, knead for a little bit, and shape into a loaf). Although I occasionally try different sourdough recipes, like bagels or buns, usually I make a simple round rustic loaf that doesn’t take much hands-on prep time.
For lunch I made Barbeque meatballs, frozen corn, and a kale salad with a quick homemade vinaigrette dressing. I was able to harvest the kale from our own garden. Our garden is a bit late this year, and this was the first harvest that was enough for an actual side dish. (So far we have just had a few strawberries, radishes, and things like that). I absolutely love being able to run out to the garden while I’m preparing a meal and just grab the veggies I need. That’s what I call locally sourced and fresh!
- 12:30 – We ate lunch together and then went for a little walk together as a family. We also took our dog. We are leash training him right now, so that is an adventure of its own, but going pretty well.
- 1:30- Clean up.
Although I generally clean up right after a meal, I am not rigid about this. Sometimes something else takes precedence. Today I waited until after our walk. Most of the time, I have my kids help me with at least some of the post meal clean up. At first, this means that it actually takes much longer to get the job done, but it is important that children learn to help at a young age. Although I focus more on teaching the older kids how to do jobs, a two year old loves to be involved. It is as simple as giving them a washcloth, and letting them wipe down the chairs or something like that. Sure, it might need to be done over again, but they get the fun of being involved and working together as a family. It takes more effort, and sometimes a lot more patience, but including kids in regular chores is something that is important to me. This doesn’t mean that I am perfect, or that I never just quickly do it myself on occasion, but I try not to make this the norm. Children can learn a lot by doing work alongside their parents, rather than being sent out of the way so that parents can do it all for them. This also doesn’t have to be drudgery. Sometimes we just quickly work on getting the job done, but at other times, we sing, turn on some fun music, or I make up an impromptu story to tell them while we work. These stories are usually pretty silly, but the kids love them.
- 2:00 – In the afternoons, we almost always have a story time. This is definitely one of my favorite times of the day. I sit with all the kids on the couch, and read a bunch of stories frequently including some educational books. My kids are pretty young, so this generally means a historical book with lots of pictures, kid-friendly biographies, poems, or a book that teaches about animals in a fun way. Almost everyday, my three year old falls asleep during story time, so I lay her in her bed when we are done. My older two often do some sort of quiet time while she takes a nap. They each get to pick an open ended toy (such as legos, blocks, etc.) and they play quietly, usually with a blanket laid down to mark where they are supposed to stay until quiet time is done. This time is good for both me, and the kids who benefit from a little down time themselves.
- 3:15- Cleaning/laundry.
Although I frequently will do something more relaxing during quiet time, today, I really wanted to get some cleaning and laundry done. I don’t get a ton of time to just work on things without interruption, so I actually enjoyed just being able to clean for a little bit. I mostly worked on cleaning the bathroom which is an area that I try to keep cleanish even when some of the other areas slide. It was nice to make at least part of the bathroom sparkly clean, even though I didn’t finish the whole thing. When my boys were done with quiet time, I had each of them separately work on a cleaning job with me for a short period of time.
- 4:15/4:30 After the cleaning session, I started work on dinner and making sourdough. Although I am not always the best about this, and sometimes just send the kids to play outside (which is also important), I also like to invite one or more of the kids to work with me in the kitchen, at least some of the time. Today, my three oldest (ages 3-6) all were involved. My oldest shaped cookie dough into balls and set them on trays, and my younger two rolled out pie crust dough for chicken pie. Because we can do things better than our kids, it is hard to have them involved sometimes (The cookies were sort of oddly shaped, and I had to redo the pie crust after the kids went to play), but they learn and can also get a sense of pride and accomplishment when they are involved. I worked on some projects and started cleaning up the dishes while the pie was baking, and then finished cleaning up after we ate.
- 7:15- We had a midwife appointment that ended up getting pushed later than originally planned. The kids played while we talked with the midwife.
- 8:30- I put my kids to bed a bit late today because of the appointment. I like to get them to bed earlier than this if I can, but with having the appointment, that didn’t work out today. Sometimes you just have to be flexible, especially on the long summer evenings.
- 9:15 – After the kids were in bed, I went for a peaceful little walk with our dog down our long driveway. After this lovely little walk, I was ready for bed – ready to be refreshed for another day of good work, and many blessings.
Conclusion to Slow Summer Days in the Country:
As a stay-at-home mom it can be easy to give in to overwhelm rather than gratitude. It can be easy to lose sight of the incredible joy that can be found in the simple and mundane reality of daily life with a family. It can be easy to feel lost in the many little tasks that must be done every day, and so forget the deeper meaning that can be found in all that we do, if we are rooted in faith. Simple days of serving can indeed be meaningful and enjoyable and fulfilling. Although this day was not glamorous, I hope for many more happy like it.
