I was busy doing other household things & the longer I listened the more giggles I heard echoing through the walls, imaginative play was at its best. The empty space underneath a bunk bed was transformed into a Sweet-Treat Shop, bendable wax straws became signature candies, special orders, deliveries, & new customers by the dozen. It made my heart pause and savor precious moments. A simple moment that allowed my soul to breathe. It's in the deep breaths of life, the ordinary moments that feel nothing short of extraordinary, when I am reminded that they are still children without a care in the world, innocence intact, trust bountiful, grace & forgiveness effortless.
My goal this year for myself, & for our home is to make room for "CALM" to allow more space in all aspects of our lives: our physical home, our schedules, our hearts, our love. Creating space to free us to do the things that truly, deeply matter to us. To have time to drop off a cake to my sister just because I want her to try it, to make a meal for a friend who is sick, to take the girls to a college basketball game, to read a book, to actually write a thank-you note, to watch classic chick flicks, to bake a recipe that reminds me of my Granny, to invite friends over for a game night, to try a new recipe, to have a real conversation without feeling rushed...
or a word that would best describe my goal, more "Hygge" (hoo-gah) if you are Danish, or are a nerd like me & are obsessed with the ways of the Danes you will understand.
Everything about this moment was Hygge. I had laundry up to my ears, the house a disaster of breakfast still out on the counter, donation truck arriving to pick up disguarded items, the dogs chasing the cats, the cats chasing the chickens (somedays my house is more like a zoo than a home), I was trying to squeeze in one more workout, it is cold outside with left over piles of brown snow outside, white chalky dust covering my hardwood floors from the snow & salt, but together there was warmth, candles burning & a wood burning fire smoldering, meaningful interactions, love & laughter. A moment that I did not want to end. Yes we still had American history, Astronomy, Grammar & Bible to complete before we could call it a day, but for some reason deep inside me, I could not make them stop.
I am type A, a rule follower, I love a schedule, organizing gets me excited, I live by my calendar & lists, so when I say that we begin school at 9 & have specific subjects to get done before the day ends, that is what we do. Flexibility is something I am constantly reminding myself of. The past few years I have struggled to learn the balance between work & play while homeschooling. But today my heart said 'let them play'
-- in just a few years the hormones will be raging & there will be much bigger problems then the Sweet shop running out of sweets, or Meredith putting her arm through the wrong hole of the dress her character was wearing. There may come a day when my girls are not best friends. There will be a day when boyfriends come before their sister & the only dress up they will be playing will be that of prom dresses with lofty price tags & screams of "YOU STOLE THAT FROM MY CLOSET!" There may be a day in the near future when they aren't together 24/7, and they won't have as many opportunities for play.
As a little sister myself, I can tell you that I don't remember much of what I learned from school, I am constantly reteaching myself concepts that I learned in school but didn't retain (thank God for google!) but I do remember, like it was yesterday all the memories I have growing up with sisters...
I try to remind myself often that I am not raising children, I am raising adults. And at the end of the day I really don't care if they know how many moons Saturn has or the name of the oldest naval vessel still afloat today... (by the way I totally had to look both of those up to teach. lol) what I care about is their hearts, their souls, I want them to look back at their childhood with happy memories. I know today's world is so focused on being the best, the top, the smartest, the push, the drive to always be better than the next- we now have preschoolers tutoring, oh & if you didn't know preschool now starts at 2 yr old?! Training kids in sports as if every single child will become a professional athlete or Olympian, not to mention the amount of money being poured out for all these activities & for what? (I'm guilty of this too!) But maybe that is part of the problem, kids aren't playing enough (and Im not talking about sports). I have read every article on academia & recess time that I can get my hands on. All I know is as a mother having one child who is labeled by our education system as academically "gifted" & one that is labeled "special school district" who struggles with traditional learning, here is what I know to be true, neither child struggles or excels while playing. While playing they are all on equal fields, they are solving problems, working together, making goals, learning to resolve conflict all the while laughing & having fun. No one feeling superior or inferior, they're just kids, being kids. They have no labels, no test, no number or measure of their intelligence. They are happy. And I don't know about you but I sure do learn better when I am happy then when I am being tested.
SO for all you homeschool moms take a break & let them play, they won't remember how to solve the quadratic equation when they are 30 anyways. For all the teachers out there take an extra recess, breathe in the fresh air & give yourself a pat on the back cause you deserve it!
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