Our First Day of School

If this morning was any indication of what the coming school year will be like, I'll just crawl back in bed and stay there until June 6, 2013.

As I looked over "first day of school" posts and pictures of smiling faces on Facebook, I wondered if anyone else had a tough morning. Maybe tough is not the best descriptor here. Rotten is a better indicator of how our morning started.

I know parents who have the joy of getting their children to school have some rotten mornings. There will be times when deep sighs of relief are heard when the last child has been dropped off. I've been there many times.

But the first day of school?

I don't know what happened this morning. We've never had a first day of school like this. First, my two youngest got up an hour early. It was nice for them to get up on their own, but an hour is a long time to wait. Then the problems started. The youngest one's moods went from whiny to cranky to downright defiance.

Then came the teenager. I understand I'm not the only one who deals with a teenager attitude, but the excitement of starting high school should have overshadowed the sarcasm.

To top it off, we pulled out of the driveway fifteen minutes later than planned. Amazingly enough, the one child who didn't give me trouble this morning was the child who checks my patience every other day.

Somehow, we made it to the schools on time, and I managed to capture at least one smile for the camera.

For now, I will console myself with my favorite part of the first day of school: an early bedtime.

Back to School (Finding Contentment)

Back to school. Orientation. Meet the teacher night.

The week before school can fill up (especially when you have more than one child in school) with the busyness of getting ready for that first day. This is also the time of year I typically get down on myself. You see, I wanted to be a teacher, and I would be waiting in my own classroom for new students.

This year, for the first time, I don't feel that way.

Contentment. It has been a struggle for me in many areas of my life, but it has permeated my mind quite a bit lately on the career front. I am trying to come to terms with it, because I want to be content with what God has called me to do. I think the hardest part is that our culture has put so much value on career.

A year ago, I voluntarily left my full-time job of four years in order to homeschool my oldest child. It was a decision my husband and I made together, knowing there would be difficult days. But it was a decision we knew was the best alternative for our son. I would like to say I haven't looked back, but it would be a lie. This has been one tough year.

On the days when my son would throw a book across the room in frustration, I allowed myself to feel inferior. Here I was, an almost certified-teacher, listening to my 15 year-old trash-talk my teaching methods. I could get paid to hear that from students, I would think. When I averaged his math grades at the end of the year, his response was "Well, at least I passed."

For me to base my performance of off this type of feedback would be crazy.

Even though we have had difficult days, the problems we dealt with in school were eliminated by having our son at home this past year. When I look at the progress he's made, it's not where I hoped he would be, but it's progress nevertheless. I know, without a doubt, he is ahead of where he would have been otherwise.

 As we begin the next school year, I will drop my ninth, fourth, and first grader off for school each day. Then, I will take my tenth grader home to slay whatever dragons make their way into our learning. I will remind myself this is what I am called to do. There will be days you need to remind me, too.

My school day may not look like another's, but I will strive to be content doing what God has called me to do by teaching my son. How else should I feel, other than awe, that God has called upon me, with all my insecurities and complaints, to be the one to teach this child through his most difficult years thus far?

What do you struggle to be content with?   

Teaching Children Responsibility

A mother often wonders if she is raising her children right. Is she teaching them the tools they need to grow up? What major lesson is she forgetting? Who will be the one who wakes them up in the morning when she's not there to do it? Will they brush their teeth and put on clean clothes every day? Will they subsist only on pop-tarts and cokes?

Or, at least that's what goes through my mind.

I've tried to work on teaching my children the tools they need to be a responsible adult. It's been hit and miss, but I won't give up on them.

I started with my oldest by teaching him to fold towels when he was four. Eleven years later, he is still the primary towel folder. My teenagers have also been doing their own laundry the past few years, and my younger two are responsible for putting their clothes away. I have started teaching my nine year old to sort clothes, and my plan is to have her doing her laundry within the year.

I also know all four children can fend for themselves in the kitchen. I came in from a run one morning to find my youngest downing his breakfast at the table. "I made my own waffles," he told me. Complete with butter and syrup, he decided he didn't want to bother anyone else to make his breakfast. 

But my biggest challenge lately is waking them up. Maybe it is the lazy days of summer with the irregular bedtimes, but frankly, this is my least favorite activity. For half of my children, all I have to do is walk in the room and say their name. But for the other half - well, it is an athletic event.

When my oldest daughter started band a few weeks ago, I let her know she was to be responsible for setting an alarm and getting herself up. Each morning, I still check to make sure she is awake, but that's it. She takes care of getting her things together, and she has been ready to go on time each morning. My teenage son, on the other hand, is a different story. I could write a whole post on what I have tried (ice, water, loud noises, etc.) and why it doesn't help. He sleeps like a rock.

I'm learning that I can only do so much as a mother, and at some point I'm going to have to let go of the reins. I can only hope that when I do, they will remember what they've been taught.

Hopefully, I won't miss anything major along the way.

What are some ways you teach your children responsibility?


        

Balancing Schedules

In the past two weeks, I have inadvertently missed writing a new post for my blog.  But not because I didn't have anything to say.  If you know me, I always have something to talk about.  My kids will say or do something to spark an idea.  In fact, if I it weren't for them, I don't know what I would write about.

But it's a combination of what I want to accomplish and what my children let me accomplish that has restricted my time.  Some days are extremely productive, and others I am just spinning my wheels.  I started  to prioritize by making weekly and daily goals.  I even started making a daily schedule based on what needs to be done that particular day.

Yet, I still find myself consistently frustrated over what I'm not able to complete.  I struggle to find balance in what needs to be done as a wife and mother, and what needs to be done for myself as an individual.  Just once, I would like to finish a library book without renewing it.  Sleeping more than 5-6 hours a night would be a nice bonus.

Here's what I want to know:

1.  What other ideas do you have for finding balance in different areas of your life?

2.  How do you decide what to cut when everything seems equally important?

This evening, I sat down to watch a movie with my children.  I haven't done this in a while, because I can get a lot accomplished during the span of one movie.  While I usually feel time in front of the television is wasteful for me, this was long overdue.  It was nice to take the time to just sit and relax.  

I'm looking forward to your suggestions.