It's Time

. . . to get started.

I've had the name of this blog set up for years. I've had the ideas on what to write for years. I've had the plans for years.

And, yet, I've written nothing for years.

Now, it's time.

So, what is the fourth part of the day? It's that time you have to yourself. It's the time you can binge watch Scandal or House of Cards. It's the time you can catch up on shows on the DVR. It's the time you can read a magazine. It's the time you can do a project you want to do.

It's not packing lunches, folding laundry, making dinner or planning appointments. It's not during working hours and it certainly doesn't happen during the morning hours when everyone is trying to get out of the house to get somewhere.

The fourth part of the day is the time of day moms crave. That time when we can just, well, be ourselves. Look at our pores in the magnifying mirror, workout, do whatever. But it is selfishly our time.

I have been married to G Adams for 19 years. He is a high school football and basketball coach. We have three children -- our son, Chris, is an 18-year-old college freshman playing football and our twin girls, Camille and Caroline, are six-years-old. Yep, quite a gap. Somedays, OK, most days, I wonder what we were thinking. But then I remember our family is complete now.

We go about our days with quite the routines. We wake up around the same time every morning (unless there is a faculty meeting for my husband, I have a flight to catch or the alarm didn't go off -- not because we didn't set it or hit snooze so often we fell back asleep) and the race begins. We get ready, then we get the girls ready (getting them dressed, making a sandwich to add to the evening before prepared lunches, sitting them down for breakfast, doing two heads of hair -- one curly, one straight -- really!?!) and then my husband loads them up to take them to school. His hands are always full -- yes, with the girls and their backpacks, but also with his backpack, clothes for school and all that a coach needs. I then take a breather and pick up the remnants of morning. I also try to get dinner prepped -- crockpot or at least meat put in the frig to defrost. And, I get in a workout -- thanks Karina and Katrina at Tone it Up!

Off to work and  appointments and life -- that's the second part of the day. Third part is getting home or heading to events, dance, football games, parties, and so on. Third part also includes homework, prepping for the next day, bath time and well, being a family at home. Dinner, clean up and a bit of play all are a part of the busy third part of the day. Typically, we get a bit of Facetime with our son to talk football (my husband does that) and friends, homework and fun (that's me!).

Then, when the girls are in bed, the house has been picked up and most everything we can predict is readied for the next day, the fourth part can begin. I choose Netflix. My husband chooses sports on TV. I think he misses my son because I don't really talk about plays run by people I don't know.

Within all four parts, we squeeze in plenty of Baylor football watching, we travel, I take pictures (that I eventually put into Shutterfly photo books --- usually when there is a coupon) and we enjoy having friends over to eat, drink and laugh. We prefer vacations that are close to water so G Adams and Chris can fish or in a city with lots of shops and great restaurants. We really just want to be in the same place -- maybe different rooms, watching different TV shows -- but we are together (ish!).

That's our family, that's our life. And, that's why the fourth part is so important to me.