A Struggle Through the Juggle

To all the moms out there who struggle with the everyday juggle of life, this is for you. I want to post a reminder of how important you are, but also how important it is to find your happy place so you can feel that importance. I’d like to show you my first day of homeschool this year. This is not a one-time occurrence, but continues throughout the week on various days. And no, I didn’t hire an undercover investigator or secret spy! ;)

Monday, August 15, 2016:

12-6:15am- Woke off and on with excitement for the first day of homeschool.

7-8am- All 3 of my children woke at different times. The oldest wasn’t excited about the first day, didn’t want to do any work, didn’t want to dress in what I pulled out, cried about random things, and got in trouble before we even left the house. My middle child was happy to do some puzzles on opposites that I gave him but wasn’t in a hurry to go to his preschool co-op class. My toddler was, thankfully, in her own world while I handled damage control. Tried to do a few “school” things before we had to leave…(insert smiling face trying to hide the frustration).

9:15am- Loaded up the car and headed out to drop off the older two at their co-op classes by 9:30, taught by friends of mine. I kept my 18 month old and picked up her 16 month old friend so her mom could teach the class. She cried all the way back to my house…and some of the time at the store…and most of the time while we were home. She was trying to tell me how tired she was and how she was not enjoying her first day of homeschool either! The feeling was in the air. (insert many pictures of cuddles and kisses and one-handed jobs around the house)

12:30pm- Lunch with the five little preschoolers and their moms and siblings. Lots of eyes make for a little rest! :) Brought home my son’s friend for the 1st grade class I have scheduled to teach to them on Mondays while my other two take a nap.

1:30-3:30pm- Class with the two 1st graders…it went ok. A lot of eyes making their way to the ceiling and topics of robots, dinosaurs, and machinery squeezing their way into conversations. Completely normal for reading and writing.

3:30-4:30pm- Realize I have to leave earlier than I thought to head to a Homeschool Basics talk for our business at a public library 40mins away and my husband won’t be home in time! I find a last min babysitter to fill the gap while changing the baby, helping with other children’s bathroom issues, solving a brother problem, getting things out for dinner for babysitter to prepare, getting kids dressed for swim class that their dad has to take them to, getting myself dressed for the library talk, trying to pick up the house a bit, then solving another problem involving a screaming little girl trying to fight off her brothers from taking something she wanted.

4:30-9:30pm- Driving with my wonderful friends to the library, helping conduct the library talk, driving through for an 8:30 dinner (we all realized we hadn’t eaten), then driving back home. Filled with sweet conversations about what Jesus has done in our lives recently, and bits of laughter here and there. A breath of fresh, adult air.

9:30-10:30pm- A quick hug and a “hey” to my husband, then a trip to the store for a few things, but came back with nothing that I went for.

10:30-11:30pm- Finished up some last minute things for “school” the next day, made lunch for my husband for work, took a shower, then I think I went to bed.

The next day was similar but mostly a blur. I think it was one of those times when your brain has become so compacted that there isn’t room for anything more…the information from that day is gone. This demonstration is to show that you are not alone. Did you notice that there wasn’t a time slot there for “cleaned the house”, or “played games with the kids”? I’ve had to schedule one day a week where I can have time to clean the house. It’s a two hour block, but I work as fast as I can! It doesn’t usually look the same by the time my husband comes home, but I know it was done, and I can smile. Sometimes our days go that hectic way. Sometimes we have nothing to do and we sit around most of the day playing games, playing outside, watching a TV show, or playing with play-doh. Days like the one above can be very stressful and make you question whether you will ever succeed in this homeschool/mom/wife/housekeeper life, but it does even out!

Somehow, I wake the next morning to do it all again. My children have fluctuating moods, we have fluctuating days and activities, and miraculously, my children still learn, my house still gets clean, my family still eats, we have family time, and my husband and I are still in love! Find your time for peace. My time for peace comes from conversations about the Lord with friends and family, or reading the Bible story of the week with my children, or talking about past and present experiences with my husband. When all things are hectic, we have to remember to take a step back, tune everything out, and feel thankful for…everything. Put on some sweet music for the soul! One of the goals in my life is to be like my 18 month old daughter. She can be building with blocks, eating a snack, wrestling with her brothers, or having her Daddy put her shoes on, but when she hears a good song about Jesus start up on our CD player, she drops everything she is doing, stands up, and starts dancing and clapping. It doesn’t matter what she was doing before, that song and those feelings in her little heart were more important.

Find out what is most important to you, and live there. Go through those long, hard days with no break and very little food. But go through it with a song and as much as you can, squeeze a smile out from somewhere, and keep going. Moms were created a special creature. God gave us the strength to concur more than conceivably possible at times. So, though the light may still be a speck at the end, find your happy place while you struggle with the juggle.

*Aug 2016