By Renae
Children refusing to cooperate shower me with tears and pelt me with
complaints. Some days distractions swallow every plan, or we work on
nothing but attitudes. Bug mopes in his room. Sweet Pea sobs at the
doorway. And Sunshine plays hide and seek, except I didn’t ask to play.
Where is that child? I find her in the bathroom painting her toenails
with mascara. I want to scream. I want to quit, but quit what?
I cannot stop being a parent. I cannot stop loving my children. Yes,
my oldest could attend school. That has been suggested by well-meaning
family and even by my son,
but would that bring resolution? Our time would be more compressed, and
character issues are not erased by trading one circumstance for
another. There is no utopia.
Perhaps the only solution is to endure for the joy set before me.
The joy of reasoning with my children. The joy of seeing them grow in
wisdom. The joy of learning love through suffering.
After a terrible, no good, very bad day, the uneasy dread of the
experience stays with me, but spiteful words and specific instances are
harder to retrieve from my memory. Bad homeschool days are like giving
birth. Once you behold the result of the effort, the pain fades.
Renae has been homeschooling for five years. Her goal is to give her three children a Life Nurturing Education.
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Words of wisdom for me to remember: "…character issues are not erased by trading one circumstance for another."
How true is that…something to remember when we think "the grass MIGHT be greener" it's not the circumstance…it's our character.
Maria,
Isn't that hard though? Circumstances can help to shape our character, but they are not central.
Hope the grass where you live is greener now!
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