A productive day

Today was Archie's first day back to work since Silas passed away, actually, since January! He took off for Silas' Make-a-wish trip and for his surgery in February and was going to go back in March. When we learned in March that Silas was terminal, Archie decided he'd better stay home and spend as much time with Silas as he could. I am so glad he did and so thankful that his employer allowed him to still have a job when he was ready to go back!

I have been looking forward to this day as well as dreading it. Looking forward to getting back into a "normal" routine, but dreading missing Archie and being overwhelmed by trying to get back into a "normal" routine that didn't include Silas.

It has been OK so far. I feel it has been a productive day. I've almost got the kitchen cleaned. The dishes are done, the sink is clean, the counters are clean. I just need to sweep the floor, check the fridge for things that need to be tossed, and wipe off the stove.

We had a really good school day today too. The boys whined a little about it, particularly the math, but we got a lot done. Math, Reading, Handwriting, Spelling, P.E. Tomorrow I'd like to do some Science and History as well. Michael really needs more work math, Gideon and Jason really need more work on reading. We will technically be finished with the school year next Thursday since we school year round. I plan to give them 3 weeks off and then we will start back up again. I have most of the curriculum I want to use already but I plan to get some more math curriculum for Michael.

I also wrote a grocery list today. I only need a few things so I will probably run to town after dinner tonight.

The big task that Archie and I need to complete tonight is getting the dining table cleaned off. It is piled high with papers and miscellaneous items that need to have homes. Hopefully it won't take too long to get everything in order.

Tomorrow Jason starts Gymnastics. I am really looking forward to this! I think he will do well if he can listen to instructions. He is very spatially aware and seems to have some physical talent for things like that. I am interested to see how he does.

AWANA will start on Wednesday. I have not found Gideon and Jason's books yet. It has been a year and a half since they attended AWANA. It was just too difficult to take them while Silas was ill. Hopefully I can find their books by Wednesday, if not, I may go ahead and order new books for them.

Overall, I think today has gone pretty well. It still feels strange for Silas to not be here. Perhaps it will always feel strange. I know he is OK now though, and I know that we will be OK too. It is just going to take some time.