Apr. 25, 2006 Where is that siren?
Where is that siren? You know the one I mean. It's sounds somewhere
in the great continuum. You know, the one that goes off whenever
you need to get something done, or when you're answering the phone, or
your dearest friend drops by to tell you something really
important. THAT ONE! The ONE that only children under the
age of 10 can hear. The ONE that signals the end of normal
childlike activity and ushers in what sometimes seems like the spawn of
satan. I'm determined to find that darn thing and smash it to pieces. How? You ask. Prayer and seeking!!!
Prayer, prayer and more prayer.
Prayer will silence that siren and return life to, well, normal
(whatever that is). It's seems I'm at my most vulnerable in the
instances I stated above, among others. I've got other things on
my mind, the children want my attention and the devil
wants to gain a foothold. Have you ever had the kind of day I
decribed? I used to have them on a daily basis. Anger would
bubble up inside and then everything would bubble over. The day
would end with the house in an uproar and the whole house
roaring. Why? Why did I let it happen?
Easy, because it was easy! It's
easier to let go of ourselves and not face the little demon that's
trying to steal our joy. If we face it, pray about it, and take a
deep breath before getting upset or angry, the little demon deflates
and then, before you know it, the issue isn't there anymore. Doesn't
that part sound neat and tidy? No, this part isn't easy. NOT BY A
LONG SHOT. If anyone has a cure-all for that one, let me
know. I sometimes find myself praying through clenched teeth,
that's when I know I'm NOT doing right by anyone, especially God.
He asks me to turn to Him in all things. If I'm begrudgingly
giving things over, then I'm not really letting Him deal with it.
I find the best way to give over is to actually bow my head, lower my
shoulders and clasp my hands before me - then pray. I've done
this at home, in the supermarket, public restrooms and that's only a
few places. I figure, I'm a sinner and so is everyone else,
why not show it. If I can't show that I'm seeking
God, and feel confident in it, then I don't feel right. (That's
just me, some people may not feel comfortable doing that and that's
okay, too. It's taken me a long time to get to that point)
I've found that the other step to
releasing the frustration of the moment is actively seeking God.
I don't mean just by praying. I mean, look around! Look at
what God has blessed you with and be thankful for it. Take a
glance at what is beyond your immediate field of vision and view the
world from a different angle, view others from a different angle.
Chances are, you'll see something that you didn't know was right in
front of you. God put that there! Take the time to walk
around the outside of your house while your family is inside.
Listen to the sounds coming through the windows. Listen to
children playing and close your eyes while drinking in the sound of
their laughter. God did that! It sounds like a really
simple thing, but, it's not. We take the beauty and bounty that
our Father has placed before us and we don't see most of it.
Homeschooling families have the fortunate opportunities to realize
these moments daily and for a lot of us, the joy isn't there because
the anger and frustration we feel is permeating everything. Let's
try and let it go.
Yes, we may have to excuse ourselves
from the phone call a moment (I have a hold button on my phone, so I
don't have to call back), we might have to settle the kids into a game
or coloring before chatting with a friend and we might even have to put
off something, because chasing butterflies is JUST THAT
IMPORTANT! That's the way it should be. Charlotte Mason had
it right when she wrote about daily nature walks and taking the time to
realize that we are not so big in this big, wide world.
When the siren sounds, breathe deep, bow your head and humble yourself before the Lord. The anger will not rise, the frustration will ebb and
the children will sing praises (okay, that part I put in to see if you
were really reading this) and that little stinker of a demon will turn tail and scuttle away muttering to himself.
Be blessed!
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Apr. 21, 2006 Quiet Village
A quiet village... that's what I prayed for last night. Isn't
there a saying somewhere about being careful what you wish for?
Or maybe a better thought would be, "if you want to hear God laugh,
tell Him your plans." Mind you, nothing catastrophic happened, it was
just another day in the quiet village that is our home.
My sweet little boy, and his dear little sister decided to be angels during school today.  We finished in record time and I was finished work online before lunch. AND THEY'RE OFF!
Somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind I should have heard a low
chuckle. I walked slowly down the staircase, only to find both
little darlings seated playing a board game. "Hi, Mom!"
smiling and teasing each other. The smiles were too quick, the
giggles even quicker, still nothing was amiss.... Could this all
be in my head ?
Sure, I'm just panicked for no reason. I had my e-mail timer
on, 10 minutes exactly. Those ten minutes are counted on for this
task.
Heart racing,
fear touching at the edges of my brain. A search of the house
revealed nothing in disarray. The dog was even napping without
any sign of injury or mishap. There were no signs of dog baths in
the toilet or dryers tumbling dandelions. The sounds of a calm
household rang out like church bells. Too nice. Deep
sigh coming... 
Wait a minute!
I know who's allowed in the bell tower! My children never go there,
unless something has been accomplished for which their good behavior
must be momentarily tapped to throw off the advances of MOM.
Then, there it was.... the garage entrance door was ever so
slightly ajar. I calmly approached the door and winced in quiet
horror as I realized that my children had covered every Craftsman tool
box (The big red ones) and all of the tools in said boxes, with silly
string. You may be thinking, "big deal, it comes right
off."
Stop!
Think about this. My husband loves me dearly, but he has a
special fondness for his tools, and toolboxes, that I don't even want
to try and figure out. 
Each tool has a special place, in a special drawer, in those boxes.
Then all tools are cleaned differently, blah, blah, blah... I won't
even go into the fact that cold metal and silly string, for more than a
few minutes, is not the most fun you can have during a cleaning
up.
Did anyone
bleed? No. Did anyone or anything suffer major injury? No. Do my
children now know how to properly clean, polish and put away their
father's tool. YOU BET!
It is now 5:24pm. They started at 12:15pm and they finished up
around 5pm. This is definitely a day that I can say, "willful
disobedience served to teach an awesome lesson in respect for the
property of others." When I asked my son if he would ever use
silly string in that way again he said, "No, mama. I think I can
find other uses for it." Hmmm, maybe I should have phrased the
question differently....
The quiet village is calling from somewhere out there. Yet, I don't think I'd enjoy it much after a day or so.
Be blessed today. I've got to go get my son off the refrigerator.
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Apr. 20, 2006 No Cartwheels in the Kitchen
No Cartwheels in the Kitchen .
I seem to say that phrase, or something like it, quite often.
What do you do with that? I guess that needs some explanantion,
huh?
I'm the homeschooling mom of two, VERY high-energy,
high-spirited children. My son, is 5 1/2 and my daughter is 3
1/2. and both are very good at it! I used to think that the
little pink bunny on TV commercials should give it a rest, because that
little furball has nothing on the two little people I live with.
I'm no different than the rest of you out there dealing with the same
thing. To all of you who have those beautiful, compliant, laid
back children, God Bless! Enjoy! Please don't laugh when
you see me on the street pulling my hair out. I'm actually
praying and I need all of the outlets where my hair used to be, so that
my prays actually get out and up....
After all, my son thinks that everything on the planet is to be either
climbed, de-constructed, immobilized and/or pieced back together
according to his own specifications. All while asking as many
questions about it as possible. You're asking yourself, "arent
all boys like that?" Yes, to a degree... My son just does all of
this within the first two minutes of waking and then keeps steamrolling
through the day. My husband and I listened to so many people
tell us that he must have ADD/ADHD that we had him tested, 4
times! Finally, one specialist said, and I quote, "You've got a
combination of things." I'm thinking at this point, great he's
got more than ADD/ADHD.... No, the doctor kindly shook our hands as he
walked us to his door and said, "He's off the charts for intelligence
and he's off the charts in energy, but he does not have ADD or
ADHD. Good Luck. I recommend, sports." Thank you,
doc.
Anyway, my husband and I realized quickly that
our son was not meant for the conventional classroom setting. He
could focus on his work, if allowed to be slightly creative with his
whereabouts when completing assignments. Otherwise, forget
it. He finished work several times over and would get frustrated
at having to wait for the other kids to finish before starting a new
project or worksheet.... He couldn't be moved up in grade level,
because he's still got the maturity of a 5 1/2 year old. What to
do with a crying, frustrated child who only wants to devour knowledge
on his terms (with a bit of guidance) and move through the world while
doing it? HOMESCHOOL!
On the other side of the
coin, is my sweet little girl. She's got brains to match her
brother and the energy to keep him on his toes, too. She thinks
the whole world is designed to be made fancy and dressy and flowers
should be everywhere. Her absolute goal in life for any given day
is to see how many outfits she can change into while jumping on her bed
and without actually wearing any one of said outfits.
Again, aren't a lot of little girls like that? Yes, again, she does all
of this within the first 4 minutes of waking (she likes a bit more
sleep than her brother). She is queen of the drama club that
apparently meets every evening in her room after we all go to
bed. She can wail with the greatest of ease, and pretty much on
command, if she so desires. I'm seriously considering renting her out
for funerals and memorial services.
That said, I
still have my sanity. I think. Either that, or I'm nutty as
a fruitcake and that's okay too. I'm good with it, as long as I
can provide my children with a good foundation in Christ, a good school
background and the love and care they need. If you don't mind,
I'll share the fun and foibles of this homeschooling mom and maybe some
of you will share back....
Be blessed.
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