Thursday, September 30, 2010

Mommy's Break

I left last Friday at 9:30am for a girls weekend at the trailer "up North". I went with my sister -in- law, mother-in-law, her sister and her niece. We met another sister-in-law-to-be up there (she lives in the area). I think it goes without saying that we had an excellent time. We were in Warrens at Cranberry Fest were we shopped and ate, ate and shopped and in the evening drank wine and relaxed. My kind of weekend.

Now the only problem with this kind of weekend is the return home. Don't get me wrong, I love my children and husband, and I missed them terribly. However, I didn't miss the dishes (we ate out all weekend!), the laundry, the dirty floors, the kids school work, etc. My husband is great, he did clean up after himself and the house was in pretty decent order. But we were two days behind in school work ( I home school the kiddos). For some reason I can not get myself back in gear. It is Thursday, I've been home since Monday afternoon, and we have gotten even further from catching up on schoolwork.

Yesterday I was ready to march the kids across the street and sign them up for the public school. I couldn't do it any more. I couldn't handle the back log of school assignments, the whining, the ...oh everything. And to top it off the house was in disarray and when it is like that, my mind is in disarray!

It's only by the grace of God that I am here this morning ready to tackle another day. In prayer this morning I was reminded of why I am homeschooling my children, and that is more important then a clean home and assignments done "on time". It is being able to train my children in the way they should go, instill right thinking and a right worldview for them to explore the world through. They can't get that in a "real" school. They are so concerned with keeping everything PC and religious free that I don't think really education is happening at all, instead it is only indoctrination.

This mommy is glad to be home, thankful for the break, and is cutting herself some slack for the disarray around her. The disarray is not eternal, but the hearts and minds of my children are...

1 comment:

  1. Hi Rachel,

    I saw your comment on the Generation Cedar blog and followed it here. Having just had a phone conversation last night with a friend whom I am mentoring about just the same frustrations you are having, I knew I had to write a note to encourage you.

    You can do this and what's more you can enjoy it! I will tell you the same things that I told my friend. First, you don't say, but my guess is that your children are still fairly young. You're at a difficult stage right now, but it's only a stage, so giving yourself some grace for what is actually possible is the first step. Did everyone eat? Did everyone get a hug? Did everyone have (relatively) clean clothes? If you can answer yes, then you had a successful day. Anything else is a bonus.

    Next, since I believe strongly that children are learning all the time (and as much as I don't like to admit it, they often learn things better without me sticking my oar in), then you really can't be 'behind' in homeschooling them. You may be behind in what you've planned, but their learning didn't stop those two days you were gone. If you are finding it difficult to get back into the swing of things, it might be a sign that you need to reevaluate how you are doing school and what works for your family. Each family is unique and what works for one is not necessarily going to work for another. It does take some time to try different things out to discover what does work. And, what works in one season for a family might not work in another.

    Lastly, remember that God gave these children to you because He knew what was best. He knows your strengths and faults and is not surprised by anything. The most important thing is to help these children grow in godliness to the best of your ability. Academics are really secondary and can be easily learned when it is necessary.

    I hope you hear my heart and take encouragement... I don't want to sound critical. Give yourself some grace, pray alot, and remember to smile.

    Blessings.

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