That is not a good thing, most of the time.
There is such a thing as 'doing just fine', you know! After some reflection recently, I've somehow come to a realization that is liberating. I just need to remember it often and act on it. To put some background in this, I'm going to share a personal discovery of myself. Beginning with the first time I was at home with my newborn, I developed this crazy, adrenalin imposed, mama-bear sized drive to push through at full speed ahead. I was on such an adrenalin rush after my son was born that it took me weeks to calm down enough to realize I had a cute little baby! I was in a zone. Had to get stuff done, done right, and done often. And I did just that. I was a machine. And so began my way of going about a lot of things. I didn't mean for it to happen; it just did.
So, of course, this is how I took on homeschool. And we went for the first 14 weeks without a break, and we did great. We took a good month off and came back ready to roll. Now that we have about 6 weeks 'officially' left, I think I'm relaxing, or, rather, letting the adrenalin settle down enough that I can have that same realization that I had when I had my baby. Oh! I'm homeschooling my kids, it is working, we are happy, and we're going to keep doing it! I have been in a zone. Had to get stuff done, done right, and done daily. And we did it. And now I am able to see and feel confident in knowing that my children are, in fact, learning a lot. When they finish school by noon, I sometimes stammer out something about extra pages, extra reading, or didn't you forget something? But they've done their work. And what's great in our home is that they're almost always doing something beneficial (even in their playtime). They help with chores, laundry, and with each other (big ones helping out littler ones). They play together outside, and sometimes inside with a board game or make-believe. They put together puzzles (of continents or alphabet), help me cook, play with play-do, paint, or draw in their sketch pads. They are aware of the work it takes to get dinner on the table, to get clean clothes in their closets, and to get the chores done before we can play (me included). A precious statement uttered by my 8year old daughter tonight as I was losing my temper while loading the dishwasher, "Mom, don't be upset. You have a lot of work to do. You have little kids and a lot of kids, and you have to clean and cook. Don't think everything has to be just perfect." She was so comforting, my little sweetheart, that I thanked her so much. She was right. What a blessing she was there to comfort me and put it into perspective.
Often we are our own worst enemies.
Did I mention I set too-high expectations?
The moral of tonight's blog is this: hey, let's all take a little pressure off ourselves and enjoy the here and now.
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