Coyote Sky Homestead

My Job

What do you do all day?

For the most part, I keep busy running the household.  I get the girls off to school in the morning, make the beds, do dishes, wash clothes by hand at least twice a week, vacuum, cook, feed the dog, do the bills, dust, and spend a lot of time putting things away. 

I try to write to my folks at least once every couple weeks and send cards to my Grandmother at every single holiday.  This is harder than it may seem.  I would like to keep in touch with more loved ones than I do.  I have one older woman I write to; she is all alone and has no children.  Lives way in New Mexico.  I should write her more than just at x-mas.  She used to babysit me when I was a baby; her name is Inge.  I love that name; she's German. 

I like to work outdoors when the weather allows.  Recently, we built a trail through our woods.  I started it and dh finished it.  That was work, yet, also fun at the same time. 

I often take the dog for a walk.  I used to go down the road a couple miles with him; but now that we have trails, I usually make a circle around our property.

I do send my girls to school.  My oldest is very strong-willed and I don't think I could teach her that well all on my own.  I do help her with her home work and am active in making sure she understands what she's learning.  It's hard, though.  She has discovered that math is difficult and she gets frustrated when she doesn't get how to do division, fractions, etc.

I taught both my girls how to read.  They both were reading by the age of 5 and they were reading at a very proficient level.  In fact, [brag] their teachers would have them read to other students in other classrooms.

My youngest dd is, so far, very eager to learn.  I can do a 'let's learn how to borrow' session, for instance, with her and she willingly tries and likes to work together as well as on her own. 

The school they attend has about 200 students--total, Elementary through High School.  It's a small school.  Still, I have to sort of 'deprogram' a lot of the liberal agenda that creeps into some of their textbooks.  But a few discussions here and there, and I can head it off at the pass.  My oldest dd says she wants to be a teacher someday.  Of course, that may change as she gets older and more familiar with other professions.

In short, I am free to structure my day as I please.  In the past, I did work at assisted living facilities and nursing homes.  When we lived in a larger city, I worked part time to help pay bills.  But always, I wanted to stay home with the kids.  I think if you have young children, you should do all you can to raise them yourself.

When my girls get old enough to take care of themselves for an eight hour shift, I may work part time again.  I would look forward to having a little job again.  I'm hoping in a couple years, I will be able to find work that I am capable of.  I have not worked outside the home for several years now.  It's daunting to think about returning.