Isn't that how the saying goes?  If you don't know where to start, start at the beginning!?!???

I have thought about this moment for some time:  blogging after a two-month absence.  And I have suffered a great amount of angst concerning what I should write.  How do I just jump in when I haven't shared anything about our schooling this year (only the fact that we did, indeed, start in Sept.).  Where, for heaven's sake, should I start?

Well, you're probably sweating right now thinking that I will heed the saying and begin at the beginning.  But I'll spare you that tediousness.  I'll simply share something that I read recently that really meant a lot to me.

I get these weekly e-mails from "The Old Schoolhouse  Magazine" entitled "The Homeschool Minute."  Several folks from this publication all write on the same subject.  Recently one of the topics was decluttering.  Sadly, I can't find this e-mail or I would simply post a link, and you could read the entire newsletter yourself.  You'll have to settle for a couple of short quotes and my reaction.

I e-mailed one of the contributors, Deborah Wuehler, Senior Editor for the magazine, after I read this newsletter.  Her words specifically hit home for me, and I wanted to thank her, and ask if I could share her words on my blog.  She was kind enough to take time in her busy schedule to respond and give me permission to do so.

Her piece for this newsletter wasn't so much about tips to declutter as it was about how to keep our heart from dragging as we do declutter.  Deborah said, "Choose to be joyful in your mundane duties."  Isn't it so true that as a stay-at-home mom we have THE MOST MUNDANE duties around.  At least I think so.  That's not to say that they aren't important, for, indeed, they are.  The very survival of a household depends upon these mundane duties.  Imagine the duties going undone......dirty, crusty dishes piled up; grungy socks and undies lying around; rumpled sheets and bedspreads lying wrinkled on an unmade bed; dust bunnies taking over and scaring the cat; need I go on???

The most important word in that short sentence is CHOOSE.  It is a choice I struggle with, especially lately.  These duties are never done in my house, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that for any stay-at-home mom, they're simply never done.  There's always a dish to clean, or a sock to wash, or a meal to be made.  They are a permanent fixture to the to-do-list.  And that weighs heavy for me, a list-maker and a checker-offer when things on my to-do list are done.  But those cleaning-type duties are never done, so they never get checked off.  So lately I've been thinking, "Then what's the point of keeping up?" 

I needed to read those words Deborah wrote.  I have to choose to be joyful.  Let's face it:  they're not fun duties a lot of the time, so it takes effort to make them fun or joyful.  And that's what I have to do.  Sing while I wash, hum while I clean, smile while I cook.  It's the choice that just has to be made or my cat won't ever forgive me!!!!

The other words Deborah wrote also were poignant:  "Choose the better thing whenever possible...."  What she means by this is that if you are madly washing or cleaning or decluttering, if one of your children tugs at you to play with them or read to them, then choose that instead of your duties.  Playing or reading is the better thing at that moment.  And that needs to be a conscious choice on my part as well.  I always feel behind in my duties, so it's always very tempting to ignore the kids when they do tug at me.  But that is not the better thing.  My mundane duties can wait.  My kids can't, especially the little 15-month old who will, in the blink of an eye, be as tall as his 10-year old sister.

But I don't need to make the conscious decision to be joyful when my kids tug at me to play or read.  That just comes naturally with the territory!! 

So thank you again, Deborah Wuehler of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.  Your words are in my heart and I am so very grateful.