Some of my dear friends (you know who you are) have been giving me a hard time about the idyllic picture I've been painting of homeschooling lately. Children lying in piles peacefully reading big, thick books, students doing work without being asked, siblings teaching each other, little catechists instructing with alphabet cookies. All we need is a little kumbayah playing in the background....life is good. Ahhhhhh......
Wednesday wasn't quite like that. Girls, asked to clean their room, cried and fought and spent two 30 minute periods in the corner. Small toddler menace ransacked Daddy's bathroom drawer, destroying his deodorant and hair gel, hiding his brush and nail clippers and emptying a whole bottle of hand sanitizer over her head. Pint sized pixie expressed her dissatisfaction with whatever her sisters were doing to her by ejecting piercing screams every ten minutes. Girls back in bed at 10:30 AM because Mommy has "had it". A trip to the grocery store where Mommy uses one hand to gather groceries, the other to hold down the toddler who's trying to jump out (why don't those seat belts ever work?) while telling her sisters "please stay off the cart--I'm trying to steer" at least one hundred times. Then there's the fact that we're a month into the school year and I still haven't quite gotten our routine or systems down.
So, no, homeschooling is not always peaceful, blissful or easy. When we first started, a day like Wednesday would have thrown me into the loop of asking, "What are we doing wrong?" "Would the kids be better off in school?" "Why is it that Perfect Family Z can do it and we can't?" I guess my expectations have changed because now, having "Wednesday" days seems normal to me. And you know, what? Perfect is for heaven. Down here, trying to be perfect makes me stressed out and boring.
Wednesday night, some friends came over to hang out and talk about a retreat for homeschooling moms that we're having in February. I told them that in exchange for a drink, they'd have to cough up a complaint (or three) about homeschooling. I didn't want to be the lone whiner. We had fun laughing at our kids and at ourselves. Thank God for good friends who remind us, "we're all in this together" whether we're homechooling or not.
You're funny. :) Can you just spend a couple hours one day brainstorming fun things to do. Then mail that list to me, so I can dazzle my friends with my fun creativity. I'd probably even give you the credit... maybe. ;)
ReplyDeleteok ok..just one last note to ask...or (oops) really just let you know...i posted the pics of ella in her bean on the biz blog site. I posted a link to your blog, but let me know if you'd prefer i not. (what is it...easier to ask forgiveness than permission?)
ReplyDeletei'm seriously tickled you posted them both! thank you!!!
Whew!
ReplyDeleteLOL! Alice, this reminds me of the KSBJ commercial about Sunday Morning. A smooth voiced announcer voices over flute music: "Ah, Sunday morning..." and goes on about how peaceful and tranquil it is, and then they rip into a hectic household of mom and dad trying to get multiple kids in the car to get to church. It's so funny. It ends with something like, "So if your Sunday morning is (smooth voice guy)'Peace, love, and fluffy bunnies,' or (frazzled mom) 'get in, sit down and be quiet', tune in to Enter His Gates." Too funny.
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