Andrea Borsvold: Spend weekends making up for lost time – Grand Forks Herald

My husband works hard at his job 50 hours a week while I stay at home and take care of the house and our three children. While I get a lot done during the day between homeschooling and eating, there is still something to do on the homestead and so, like most people, we spend our weekends making up for lost time during the week. At least we haven’t gotten to the point of taking time off from work to work yet.

During the summer, we enjoyed visiting the local farmers market on Saturday mornings or heading into town for some shopping. When our list is long enough, we head into town to the usual grocery and hardware stores. But shopping with three kids is no easy task, so I’m happy to have a “Mother’s Day” to run errands without kids and often sneak into a thrift store or two, too.

Sunday is our rest day, with church in the morning and coffee dates throughout the day. We try not to work too much on the Sabbath, but sometimes the weather is just right or the timing is perfect so one or two chores get done at home. Our only rule is that you can’t work so hard that you sweat or get angry. And we usually end Sunday with a good family meal – often just with our immediate family, but occasionally with others too.

The weather this fall has been ideal for more campfires and outdoor adventures – cooler than summer so we can even enjoy the heat of the day, fewer windy days and minimal bugs in our yard. It’s important to use up those s’mores supplies before they expire. And our outdoor adventures are starting to pile up. We were hoping to take the kayaks out at least once this year, but that hasn’t happened yet and we have a cycling adventure planned for the coming weekend at the local nature reserve.

If we don’t put these adventures on the calendar, they often slip by and weekends are filled with other, less exciting tasks, like winterizing the homestead and tidying up the garden. We need straw bales to insulate the sewer lines and some outbuildings as well as around the chicken coop. I’ve been so focused on building a new chicken coop that it’s taken up most of my time, energy, and thoughts lately. But the chickens will definitely be warm and have the space they need this winter!

For some, weekends are all about rest and relaxation, and to some extent that’s true for us too. But with work-life balance, you can be confident that you haven’t wasted a lovely weekend. And winter weekends are just different: often someone feels bad, sometimes there is a snowstorm, and sitting in front of the fireplace with a cup of tea and a book is the most productive thing you can do.

How do you spend your weekends? Email me at [email protected] and let me know your rules for the weekend. Do you balance work and free time, or is it just relaxation and relaxation for you?

Andrea Borsvold is a busy mother of three who loves God, coffee, sewing, and the natural beauty of northwest Minnesota. She writes regular columns for the Grand Forks Herald.

Andrea Borsvold is a busy mother of three who loves God, coffee, sewing, and the natural beauty of northwest Minnesota. She writes regular columns for the Grand Forks Herald.