for a long time now i have been famous for being a "do-er". my husband gets onto me for never sitting down, but i don't WANT to sit down! there is so much that i want to do each & every day!!
but that isn't always a good thing, or the best thing...
enter my favorite word...BALANCE.
if you have been reading our blog for any amount of time, you have heard me speak of this many, many, many times. it is a constant struggle to keep things in perspective & just when you think you've got it...something changes & we begin anew. also, not a bad thing.
consider a peaceful mountain stream...the currents, how the water bends & moves around the rocks, the lush moss, this is life. do we not avoid the pools of stagnate water?? oh my, yes! who knows what is lurking in there!?!
@ any rate, i have been working, actively working, on taking a step back. a perfect example is with our son orin. as you know, we have been homeschooling since he was in kindergarten. well, last year, he decided he wanted to give public school a go. things were a bit tense @ home, he & his younger brother are quite close in age & this brings about a lot of competition. my husband & i decided to give him the opportunity to decide for himself. he was 10, a "big boy", double digits & who knows...this could be a good thing. if it improves the family dynamic, then it is worth my letting go (among other things of course).
well, orin loved public school! he loved his teachers & he loved what he was learning. he did not especially love the long days, the "silent lunch" the very short recess period, or the "silent bus", but these were all part of the deal, he decided. and his grades were great, dean's list, which made mom & dad happy. :)
so @ the end of 5th grade, this is what he told me. i don't like elementary school, but i will give public school another chance. middle school might be different. this i appreciated, from a parenting standpoint. i have always told then to give things a second chance...people, activities, etc. so, it was nice to see that some of my "words of wisdom" had hit home.
we decided to respect his decision even though there were many things that we personally don't like about the public school system either.
a week or two goes by & i mention in passing to orin, 'so, are you still planning on going to middle school?" he says something very grown up like, 'i am keeping my options open' or something like that. very cute...
2 days later, our neighbor drops by to chat. we are good friends, but haven't seen each other in a bit. we talk about any number of things, i mention something about homeschooling & she goes on to tell me about a wonderful curriculum that she used with her daughter last year. (i see orin listening attentively from the next room.)
she leaves. a few minutes later, orin enters the room & tells me that he definitely wants to homeschool & he wants to use that curriculum.
i am thrilled!! the curriculum does sound perfect for him & it is absolutely affordable. it was as though a huge burden had been lifted...i love it!! and it all came about on its own because it was meant to be.
"the proof is in the pudding", to quote an old snoopy comic. i took a step back, trusting in the universe, and everything fell into place.
absolutely amazing!!
and that is not quite where our story ends.
the next step, of course, was to earn a bit of extra money to pay for the new curriculum. the wheels began to turn, i'll need to stock up the shop, perhaps sell a few of the homeschooling books that we no longer need, etc.
well, that day when i went on the computer i had received 4 custom orders!! sign #2 that if we open ourselves up to the wonders of the universe, truly & honestly put ourselves our there, everything else will fall into place.
trust...it is an amazing thing!
xo
