Well, it’s official…Christmas is almost here!
*Que the crazy mom life shenanigans.
It’s been about 3 weeks, give or take, since we started homeschooling again. Mayber it’s closer to 2 weeks? Honestly, who knows anymore. We’ve fallen back into the homeschool pattern of never really knowing what day it is. Throw in the Christmas season/holiday festivities, and it’s all a crap shoot.
I still plan on giving the kids off for that nice, long 10 day stretch that they would have gotten if they had still been in public school. It will be a much-needed break for all of us. Thanksgiving break was a bit of a bust because of all the chaos of tossing homeschooling back and forth to begin with. Then, very last minute deciding to just go for it and having to get all the paperwork in order to send to the district. Alas, it was a good call, and we are all happier for it. The kids may be missing their friends, but man oh man, I haven’t seen them this happy (truly happy) in a year.
I think I finally have it figured out as far as curriculum goes. I’ll know more once the Christmas break is over, and we’ve had the chance to complete the rest of this week and the few days next week before the break begins. Regardless, as much as I would love to say we have this beautifully mapped out and structured curriculum, I can’t. It has never worked for us, no matter how many times I have tried. I’ll probably get sucked into the homeschooling curriculum vortex at least one or two more times, print a bunch of things, and then after about 2 weeks remember why we stopped using something like that the last time. Homeschool mom problems, am I right?
This year is proving to be a little trickier with some of their gifts arriving on the doorstep in the form of Target and Amazon boxes. We’ve resorted to telling them that Daddy had to order a bunch of things for his school. I then have to quickly rush them upstairs to our storage room before they can ask any more questions. I’m trying to keep the magic alive in our house as long as I possibly can. I realize, though, that with a 10-year-old it might not last too much longer. But what can you do, as moms we try, don’t we?
I find myself in the odd place of having overflowing gratitude for the opportunity to homeschool again, while simultaneously mourning the loss of them being in public school. I never believed you could find yourself stuck somewhere in between those two emotions, but age and life experience has taught me otherwise.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, know that you aren’t alone.
You see, I am extremely excited and thankful for the chance to be with my kids all the time again. Watching them grow and explore and turn into the human beings He designed them to be. Having the chance to witness firsthand all that He does in their lives and see those little light bulbs go off when they grasp a new concept or idea. All the while, I miss the quiet peace of the days spent doing my daily tasks while they were at school. Seeing them interact with their friends and being a light in others’ lives that I’d always hope they’d be. Knowing that at the end of the day, I was no longer solely responsible for their education. School pictures…ahhhh, school pictures. Why is it that I am mourning the loss of something so small? I now have the chance to take a million more pictures of them! And yet, here I am.
I do, however, know He’ll carry us and bring us through. His plans are far better than my own. He doesn’t love me any less for feeling the way I do. I can rest and take comfort in the fact that everything happened the way it needed to. Which, in turn, brought us to where we are and has gotten us smack dab in the middle of the path He’s laid out ahead of us. I just need to keep on handing it all over, let go and let God. Ya feel me?
Which brings me to my conclusion. The whole reason for the season. Thank God for sending Jesus! I’m so thankful for the multitude of blessings in this earthside life. Thank the Lord that His mercies are made new each morning and that He fills our lungs with his life-giving breath each day. I pray He continues to watch over all of us, all of His children, keeping us safe and healthy. May that continue from now all through the new year and beyond!
Merry Christmas to all & Happy New Year!
Homeschooling Wild Things 