I’ve learned quite a bit since having my first child 16 years ago.  I was the typical first-time mom, referencing my every move in “What To Expect the First Year”.  Worrying over every little sniffle and feeding her every three hours on the hour no matter what.  Wow!  If I could do it all over again, things would look different.

I’m a seasoned mom now, and could probably write a pretty concise essay on what’s important and all the minutia that’s not, knowing what I do now.  One thing I have learned is the importance of establishing good homework habits early on.  We’re big believers in life-long education at our house and try to teach our kids that education comes first.  That’s why our rule is ‘homework first’.  My older kids have established pretty good homework habits and will get their school work done as soon as they come home.  My youngest, on the other hand, is just learning that first grade means homework, and homework gets done right after school.

He and I sit down every afternoon with a snack, a pencil, and his homework packet and set to work.  Some days things go smoothly and easily, and some days it takes everything in me not to “help” him along a little to make time go faster.  A few weeks ago I had my camera handy in the kitchen and decided to document this routine.  Although it’s  somewhat mundane and routine, it’s part of our life right now and it’s typical enough for me to want to remember it in all of its mundane glory.  It’s the kind of routine that will soon be forgotten if it isn’t documented somewhere to remember.

I hope this inspires you to slow down and recognize the typical and mundane routines of life, and to document them to create  memories.