{photos by Cheryl McCabe)
It’s time once more for another Day in the Life! This time Cheryl McCabe from Track B shares one of her days with us. She’ll introduce everyone:
Hello everyone! We are the McCabe family. Together, we are: Will and Cheryl plus our 3 boys…Aidan (Intermediate), Owyn (Primary) and Quinlan (the 3-year old). This is our 4th year living the SLOCA life. We feel absolutely blessed and honored to be part of such an incredible school and community! Below is a sample of one of our home days. This particular week, Will is traveling for work so you get a peek into what it is like when I have to fly solo.
I typically start preparing as soon as the teachers email the grids. So before the weekend starts, I print and read those grids and also take the time to prepare our WorkBoxes. I know that might be shocking to some of you but my family is way better off if mom is fully prepared (I blame the OCD!). This way, I don’t have to think about it over the weekend and all I need to do come Sunday evening is re-read the grid! Also, I try to get to bed at a decent hour, ideally asleep by 10:30, but you and I both know how that goes 
.
So here is a typical Monday for us…
4:30 am
my alarm goes off
4:50
husband is off to the airport
5:30
I’m finally up, and I begin my quiet time to prepare my heart and mind for the day
6:00
exercise
6:30
open up the house, put away any dishes from the night before and get breakfast going
7:30
boys are up, help get them and their rooms ready, Quinlan fusses because he wants to eat right away of course
7:45
eat breakfast, family prayer time and plan out our day
8:15
I clean up while the boys play
8:30
school starts for my middle son (he resists at first, so we adjust attitudes then begin with recitation and math); oldest and the littlest work on pegs
9:05
snack break (yes, it’s only been a little over an hour since breakfast)
9:15
back to school room with the middle boy (language arts); the other two play with recorders and Legos
9:45
switch boys. oldest starts his recitation and math while middle son plays with littlest
10:45
snack break (yep. they’re eating. again!), in the meantime, I get distracted by a phone call
11:30
back to school; boys struggle to focus (I shouldn’t have taken that phone call!). I start to stress knowing we have to leave for swim in a few hours. I do my best not to look at the clock!
11:55
middle son gets a time-out for mistreating his little brother; I re-direct the tiny one
12:05 pm
back to school (finish-up spelling and grammar); the tiny one is making a fort in the living room using our couch cushions
12:30
prepare boys’ lunch (I eat mine as I prepare theirs); all 3 boys are now playing in the fort and pillows from their rooms have been added to the pile of cushions (my entire living room is in total chaos). again, I try not to stress and instead open up my gratitude journal that sits right on my kitchen counter and force myself to write what I was thankful for from that morning (I feel the stress level go down a bit)
12:40
boys eat lunch while I read Beowulf out loud
1:00
meal clean-up, boys play then I ask them to fix the cushions so we have a place to sit for more of our read-aloud time
1:10
littlest goes down for a nap; I pause to take a few deep breaths and re-read a couple entries from my gratitude journal (this greatly changes my perspective for what else I have left in my day!)
1:15
house is way quieter (WOOT!), we finish up literature assignments and start history read-alouds (I can’t stop yawning and struggle to keep awake but we get through Story of the World and start Story of Europe)
2:00
get ready for swim lessons at 3. I realize we need to leave Morro Bay a little early
because the car needs gas
2:10
wake a very sleepy 3-year old and leave house
3:00
swim lessons in Grover Beach
3:45
weekly visit to Great Grammy in Arroyo Grande, boys recite their poems to her
5:00
back to school (finish up Story of Europe and work on my 3rd grader’s first History narrative)
5:30
finally done with school (yay!); thankful tonight is ‘leftover’ night and I warm-up dinner
5:45
eat dinner while we FaceTime with dad and share about our day
6:30
meal clean-up, I prepare backpacks and workboxes for the next home day while the boys get re-energized from dinner so they wrestle and chase each other with lightsabers.
7:00
showers and baths
7:30
littlest goes down for the night. older two beg to play a board game but I’m tired at this point and tell them no. they keep asking, I say no again and we play this round a couple more times until I finally succumb to the badgering.
8ish
big boys head downstairs for bed, we read The Hobbit for a bit (still finishing this from summer!), talk about our day, pray together and I close the door
8:30ish
a boy (or two) sneak back upstairs because they’re thirsty. we all walk back down and say our goodnights. again.
8:45ish
I head back upstairs, prepare lunches for the boys and pack what I need for Tuesday since we stay in SLO all day.
9:15
catch-up on emails, I get distracted on the internet
10:00
wrap up on the computer realizing I need to get ready for bed soon if I actually want to get up when my alarm goes off
10:15
re-check all the doors and windows to make sure they are really locked
10:25
finally in bed with Read Aloud Handbook on my lap (still finishing this one too from this summer!)
11:00
lights out
It was a full and long day. The boys resisted doing work a couple of times. And I may or may not have shouted during those times. 
But overall, it was a good day. It ended up being a great week. Grace is always there and we get in our groove even though Dad is gone, attitudes always get re-adjusted, hearts always reconciled and as difficult and challenging as some days are, I can’t help but feel thankful for this life I get to live. I get to be home with my children. I get to learn with them. I get to see the wonder in their eye and that sparkle when they figure something out all on their own. I get to share life and experiences with them. Yes, there have been sacrifices. Yes, it is hard. Yes, I’ve had my doubts on whether or not I can do this. Yes, there have been multiple times when I’ve wondered, “why am I even doing this?!” And the answer is always the same. It is because it’s what I’ve been called to do. And so I do it. Some days are hard, some days the smiles don’t come easy, but at the end of the day, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Grateful for grace, for my family and for the SLOCA community. Grateful that I am an educator for life.
Wow, what a day! We love these inside looks into the real nitty gritty of a SLOCA home day. Thank you so much, Cheryl, for taking us on that journey, and for your encouragement and great ideas along the way!
