My new Saturday routine

Lily has taken ballet for the past three years. For the first two, her classes were on weekday mornings, which was perfect. Last year, she went to class on Monday afternoon, which was awful. As soon as she got home from school I'd have to cram a snack in her, rush her into her tights and leotard and then bolt out the door with at least one other child in tow. Class ended just as afternoon traffic was getting bad, and the 10-minute trip usually took at least 20. As soon as we got home, I'd have to get dinner started with four tired, cranky kids at my feet. I began to loathe Mondays.

This year, despite my initial hesitation, I decided to sign Lily up for Saturday class. We generally have slow, relaxed Saturday mornings with lots of cartoons and cereal in the living room, and I didn't know if I wanted to give them up. But this change in schedule has worked really, really well for me, and now I look forward to my Saturdays.

Lily and I head out at 8:40, leaving all the other hooligans at home. There's no traffic and parking is a breeze. If I didn't run earlier in the morning, I head over to the Trail while she's in class and do a loop around the lake. If I did run, I wander across the street to the farmers' market and grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast taco while I wander around. I almost always bump into someone I know, and I can have a nice chat without kids pulling on me.

This morning was dreary and rainy, so I grabbed my breakfast, went back to Ballet Austin, worked on a knitting project and listened to my iPod. It was a lovely way to spend 40 minutes, and I found myself wishing that her class was even longer, just so I could have more time to myself.

I think I'll be keeping Lily in Saturday classes for as long as possible; I love my new routine.