Pegs and Family Rhythm

"Pegs" is a humane time organizational model that offers order as well as flexibility. I first came across the term and idea of pegs years ago through the CCM list. This is my take on pegs, which may look very different from others' understanding.

We have daily pegs connected to the clock and calendar. For example, at 7:30 a.m., the older children rise and start their morning routine, at noon we have lunch, at 8:00 p.m. we prepare for bed. We also have daily pegs connected to activities. We pray at every meal, read while I nurse on the couch, and watch an educational DVD while eating lunch. We have weekly, monthly, and yearly pegs connected to the clock and calendar as well as to activities. More specifics to come in later posts.

Some family schedules, often strictly clock/calendar based, can be too tight leaving little room for reality and Grace. Family members can feel needlessly burdened and chronically "behind." Some family schedules, often activity directed, can be too loose,leaving to much room for chaos and lack of discipline. Family members can feel disjointed and at the mercy of whims.

No schedule is perfect and ours is ever changing to accommodate new needs, but a good rhythm offers both order and flexibility. Pegs, combined with right priorities, isn't too tight, isn't too loose...but juuuuuust right.

More on Pegs

Lissa has done a fabulous job of explaining family organizational pegs while also giving credit toLeonie for first sharing this concept with the CCM list. Thank you, Lissa and Leonie!

Here are two of my previous posts about how pegs work in our day and help us pray.

Prayer Pegs

When I took my first tentative steps back toward Catholicism, the first prayer that we prayed together as a family was Grace before meals.

Bless us, O Lord and these Thy gifts,
Which we are about to receive,
From Thy bounty through Christ Our Lord.
Amen.

This simple prayer opened the floodgate of Grace through which the Holy Spirit helped guide us home.

Once this habit was developed, I had become increasingly interested in the many beautiful Catholic prayers that I hadn't learned as a child. Our family began memorizing prayers and connecting them to family activities. One of the simplest prayer pegs is to "stack" our prayers at meals. For example, currently at breakfast we say Grace plus the Spiritual Adoption prayer, and a prayer for the souls in purgatory.

More prayer pegs to come...