It's Good to Have Goals

After several days of forgotten piano assignments, missing papers, and other annoying and avoidable school snafus, I broached the subject of a personal schedule to Francie. I showed her my daily schedule for household duties and errands, and, like the true eldest child of a natural born scheduler, she ran with the idea.

She whipped out her colored pens, ruler, and notepad, and industriously set up an ambitious daily schedule. I have no idea where she gets this behavior. Must be Rob's genes.

In case any of you are needing a template for a daily schedule of your own, I thought you might enjoy looking at Francie's. I know you will find it hard to believe that I have copied this verbatim from her own hand.

6:30-7:00 Get up and get ready
7:00-7:15 Eat breakfast
7:15-7:20 Brush teeth and hair
7:20-7:30 Pack up
7:30 -7:40 Ride to school
7:40-8:00 Wait in cafeteria
8:00-10 Schoolwork
10-10:30 Snack break
10:30-12 More schoolwork
12-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1 Recess
1 - 2:15 Even more schoolwork
2:15-2:20 Get out of school
2:20-2:45 Drive home
2:45-3:00 Snack
3:00-4:30 Watch TV
4:30-5:15 Practice Piano
5:15-5:30 Eat dinner
5:30-6:00 Get ready for bed
6:00-6:45 Play
6:45-6:55 Read
6:55-7:00 Watch the lottery
7:00-7:30 Watch "Jeopardy!"
7:30-8:00 Read
8:30-8:30 Start sleeping

Some of my favorite parts of the schedule? Oh, where to begin?

First of all, while I appreciate that she will be getting ready for bed so early (5:30-6), I did note that I must have dinner ready by 5:15 since she has only allotted herself fifteen minutes to eat. I suspect that will make the family dinner curiously devoid of any small talk.

I also noted that the drive home from school is fifteen minutes longer than the ride to school. Are we passing through some kind of time warp of which I am unaware?

Apparently the time warp extends to our home, since she can brush her teeth and fix her hair in the same amount of time it takes her to watch the Pennsylvania lottery. Or to do a little pleasure reading, for that matter. A good solid five minutes can do a person a world of good, my friends.

Plus, I'm sure her teacher will be so pleased to know that there is no room for homework on this schedule. "Jeopardy!" is well documented, as are snack times and waiting in the school cafeteria, but homework is nowhere to be found.

Maybe she can squeeze in the homework in the half hour it takes her to start sleeping.

But in spite of all the missing pieces of the agenda, I am proud to report that she has not forgotten any papers or piano assignments since its implementation. Of course, her whole dinner expectation has been completely thwarted.

You know how I live to serve.



**PS: Thanks for all of the encouraging words about Bun's shenanigans. As a balm for my neuroses, I've been working on something fun. Look for the famous HomeFront Baby Pool - with a twist! - coming early this week. You don't want to miss it!**