It's hard to believe, but my son has already started elementary school this April. Last week, we had the entrance ceremony, and today was his first day of classes, which was a tense day. To my surprise, he proactively introduced himself to the student sitting diagonally in front of him, saying "Let's be friends," and he came back to report that they have become friends.

Way to go!

And my daughter is now in 3rd grade. She also seems to have made new friends smoothly, which is a relief.

Until Now

Up until March, we had a mix of preschoolers and elementary school students, so there was quite a difference in their schedules in the mornings and evenings.

The preschool had a bus pick-up at 9 AM, so my son only needed to wake up at 8 AM. But for elementary school, they needed to leave the house by 8 AM, and my daughter had to wake up at 6:30 AM to have time to do her hair. As a result, the parents also had to wake up at 6:30 AM.

In the evenings, my daughter went to bed at 9 PM, while my son and I stayed up until 11 PM or midnight. After my daughter went to bed, my son would play games, so she would always complain, "Why do I have to go to bed early? It's not fair that only ○○ can stay up late!"

The parents woke up at 6:30 AM and went to bed between 11 PM and 12 AM, leaving almost no free time.

Currently

Now that they are both in elementary school, the time differences have gone away. In the mornings, they both wake up at 6:30 AM and leave the house at 8 AM. In the evenings, they both go to bed at 9 PM. My daughter is delighted that my son's late-night gaming has stopped.

And the best part is that I now have free time from 8 AM to 10 AM and after 9 PM!

Wow, I have so much time now. I can even write this kind of trivial article.

I wonder how long it's been since I've had this much free time. It's been about 3 years, I think. I didn't really expect it, so the sudden surge of free time is simply delightful.

What to Do

Since I have this precious free time, I want to use it productively.

I have a lot of unread books, so I should read more. I haven't been writing blog posts much, so I should do that. I also feel the urge to work on a personal programming project again, so I'll do that.

In Conclusion

I wrote that I didn't really expect this, but when I looked back at my New Year's resolution article, I realized I had anticipated it:

Until now, the elementary school group left at 8 AM and the preschool group left at 9 AM, so the mornings from 6:30 AM to around 9 AM were always hectic. But now that both of them are in elementary school, the mornings after 8 AM should be a little calmer.

However, I don't think I anticipated the free time in the evenings. I'm truly delighted by this. Truly.