God takes the time to be with us every minute of every day. Now as a parent, I recognize that I cannot be in a million places at once--and sometimes that means missing things. I am NOT God. But in my walk to be like Jesus, I have met some amazing(and incredibly smart!!) women who have given me some great advice...I'll do my best not to butcher it as I relay it to you.
1.) The _________fill in the blank here_____ will wait. The children will not. My mom said she watched from the kitchen sink while we played baseball after dinner. "Melissa", mom says, "The dishes will wait--sometimes even for days! You don't get redos with backyard baseball. Play all that you can with your kids. If your friends don't like that your house is a little dirty; they weren't really your friends to begin with!" Touche'. To a women whose kids are grown and I gone, I feel I must listen.
2.) I have wanted to homeschool for the last 3 years, and the good Lord has blessed me by putting so many great ladies in my path that have come alongside me to really be the salt and the light. Greta and I have our offices across from each other upstairs at NHCC--they are both tucked under the dormer, if you walk to the back of our offices you will quickly bump your noggin. Greta has experience with homeschooling and with kids in general. She has 4 of her own, and they are all the models you would hope to buy out of the Sears catalog if buying children was an option. Greta says homeschooling comes down to a few things, "teachable moments, creativity, curiosity and reading aloud." She says kids need to be read to so they learn to hear the "voice in their head". (No, we are not talking about the voices of conscience or otherwise) but to learn to hear the pronounciations of the words and the emotion behind them. Teachable moments are the answers to the where, when, why, how, and huh? There are also the "doh" teachable moments where you wish you or your little ones hadn't just done what you did! Doh!
I feel that creativity and curiosity are easily satisfied--especially when your mama is artsy fartsy. It isn't creativity I lack--that is a basic understanding of the Chemical Titrations found in your sophmore year chemistry class.
3) Another amazing mama who never ceases to make me jealous over her ability to remain calm and in the Spirit, is my friend Kristie. This lady has 6 kids ranging in age from almost 4 to 17! Her kids are available for sale on the page opposite of Greta's. Her little ones are friends with my kids and her older ones are fun to work with and most importantly, tease. They are good natured and would give you the shirt off their back in a MN snowstorm. This family is the epitome of MN nice--and not in the condescending way...the real nice way! Love them all! Kristie told me 3 years ago when I met her at a Tupperware party, "I love Saxon Math, but find what curriculum works for you and use it. Don't apologize if it works for you or doesn't. Just do what makes sense." Ooops! If I forgot to mention it, Kristie has homeschooled all 6 kids...for all the years they were in school. Umm, I don't even think I could do the math to figure out how many years that is. In between all those classes, she still makes time for her God, her hubby, kids and her friends. (thank you for your inspiration!)
4) I have some many other fine ladies in my life, don't take offense if you weren't mentioned. I guarantee you have made an impact. My friend just got her first book published (Sleepwalk Society, Kendare Blake)(you can buy on B&N or Amazon)--point being...all the acknowledgments in life would take up more space than the novel. So like I said, if you aren't mentioned, it doesn't mean you aren't still impactful, just that your installment isn't due yet.
What I have taken from all this advice is what I wrote, but so much more. No matter which school you choose, or which activities you pursue: Be Intentional. Show your kids that the dishes can wait. That teachable moments can happen in the grocery store line when your kid inquires as to why the man is in a wheelchair or when you are in a public restroom and they ask(way too loudly)why does the poopy look like that, mama? And if it works for you, it doesn't have to work for anyone else. Don't apologize, just do.
