Today is the first day of school. Well, Shannon has been commuting to college for awhile, but the other three began today.
The first day of school is not my favorite day of the year. I guess it is for some moms, but not for me. To me it spells the beginning of stress, deadlines, homework battles, missing assignments, teacher conflicts, scheduling conflicts, and relentless trips to the store to buy supplies.
I'm lazy, that's the problem. Lazy and unorganized. And the beginning of school smashes these facts right in my face and twists them around like a lemon in a juicer.
Also, I am just a little bit crazy, and I feel much safer going shopping if one of the kids is with me. Laura is the ultimate shopping buddy--she always knows what we need and is a great reminder. She never loses my list (like I do). Also, when she is with me, I can talk to her. If I am alone, I sometimes talk to myself, which is disturbing to me and to others.
So here I am at home with miraculous time to, say, clean the kids' bathroom and tidy the kitchen (which miraculously STAYS tidy for a few hours) and do a little writing. It's not so bad. Is it? Plus it's the first day of school, so I am basically caught up on the laundry... it does happen once or twice a year.
And yes, I suppose I could save myeslf some of this angst if I would homeschool. That is theoretical, though. I am not a good homeschooler. I think to be a good homeschooler, you need to enjoy getting out once in awhile. I hate getting out. I am, truth be told, a little weird (or maybe more than a little). I'm a loner. I do not think it is healthy to instill this personality trait in my kids any more than it already manifests itself. None of us, except Jonathan, really likes to go out and socialize. So going to school is a good discipline for them. They meet people--people besides me, who might actually help them to have a little more balance in who they become. They learn to face their fears and stretch themselves and get out there for a few hours every day.
Ugh. Why can't we just live in a cottage in the woods with a lake and a stream, fruit trees and a garden, chickens, a cow and a woodburning stove. Hey, if we had all that, we would never have to go anywhere or see anybody.
I suppose that's why God is holding back.
4 comments:
because the cost of running hi-speed internet to your cottage in the woods (your husband needs it! And, let's face it, so do you) is high. And you would spend hours each week (and the gas $$!) driving to instrument lessons, rehearsals and performances. And because you have gifts and talents that God likes to see you share with mankind. I believe it is one of the reasons he has us here - not to stay to ourselves, but to give of ourselves.
Yeah. That's what I mean: the thing that would seem easy and desirable to me--to stay at home and be a hermit--is not God's best plan for my life, so He isn't giving it to me. And I need to deal with that... positively, even. And that is one reason why I don't think it is healthy for me to homeschool--it indulges my tendency to keep to myself. Even when I did homeschool, I notice that God orchestrated things so that I wasn't homeschooling everybody. He knows what is good for us.
Hey! Congratulations on getting an account!
turns out I have had an acct. here for a long time but I was determined to fight through the process of getting my password today.
http://www.wisteriaandroses.blogspot.com/
This is a site I love to visit... She lives in a house in a woods!!!
Drop in to say hin to her. She is a lovely woman and a good writer too.
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