Eons ago, before we moved (ok, well, only 7 months, but it feels like far longer) I used to have a pretty decent study schedule going. I’m fairly sure I blogged about it at the time, so perhaps this will sound familiar to some of you. I was recently reminded of it when I came across my records in my home management binder (something else I haven’t used for 7 months either!) and I was both daunted and wistful when I thought about all I used to do.

A typical day would start with about 15-20 minutes of Bible reading, using the St. James Daily Devotional Guide, then morning exercise, as I prayed and then listened to a Teaching Company lecture series. I would come home, have breakfast, then study Latin for about 20-30 minutes. I would then get breakfast for the kids and do all the other usual morning stuff, then it would be time to do school work with Emma, get lunch for everyone, then settle everyone down for naps and quiet time. During this period I would study the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa, reading each, taking notes and summarizing, then reading again to make sure I understood everything.   In the evenings, after getting the kids to bed I was on a schedule of reading fiction on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, non-fiction on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and something Christian but a little lighter than Aquinas’ Summa on Sundays.  (For example, I read Welborn’s Words We Pray and  Pope John Paul II’s Crossing the Threshold of Hope in this slot).

At the time it really didn’t seem like all that much, although I was vaguely aware of how many balls I had in the air.  Now I look back at that and I am not sure how I got there, or how exactly I would go about getting back there.  I suppose the answer is one ball at a time…  but nonetheless it is still daunting.  Right now I’m hardly doing anything.  I’ve been praying part of the Liturgy of the Hours (Lauds, Sext, and Compline right now) every day for several weeks now, and Emma and I have been doing a small Bible reading together every weekday.  She says a couple prayers that she knows, I read a psalm at the beginning and the end, and I read a section from one of the Gospels (we’re in Chapter 9 of Matthew right now) and we talk about it.  She then reads a section from her Bible story book and I read a section from one of the Epistles (Romans, right now) and then she narrates her section when she’s done.  For those of you who glance at my LibraryThing sidebar, you may notice that I’ve been reading a selection of various classics, both for children and adults, because I’ve realized I’m horribly illiterate in that way.  I’ve been writing a little about each book in Journler, but really, that’s about it as far as studying goes.

I signed up for the Great Tradition Yahoo group (studying The Great Tradition:  Classic Readings on What it Means to be an Educated Human Being, edited by Richard Gamble) because I thought the book sounded fascinating.  However, I’m finding it difficult to find the time and the brain power to read it in enough time to participate in the discussions.  At this point I’m woefully behind (getting the book two weeks late didn’t exactly help) and I’m really not sure if this is where I should be trying to spend my time.

So what’s the point in typing all this out?  I guess I’m thinking out loud here.  I’m trying to decide if I want to try to make a better attempt at the Great Traditions group, or if I should just bail and take the book up another time.  I’m trying to figure out what my priorities should be, and how best to fulfill them.  I think that this perhaps is the most important question.  What are my educational priorities, anyways?  Without having a clear picture of that, I really don’t have any hope of being anything more than a dilettante, which is what I feel like right now.  I don’t expect to be an expert in all that I feel is important, but I would like to obtain basic working knowledge rather than just have a passing familiarity with the subject.

Well, enough of all this, time to make some frosting for Emma’s birthday cake.  Yes, our little girl is turning six today, and we’re preparing for a party this evening with both sets of Grandparents.  (An aunt and uncle were supposed to come, but the aunt’s fiance is sick and the uncle decided he would rather take his girlfriend out to dinner *humph* :-) )  Emma has been looking forward to this for ages, and I think it is time to pay attention to the birthday girl and the birthday preparations again.