Back to School Adjustments

Good morning!  Here we are on the first Wednesday of September and this means back to school time for many of us.  "Back to school" stirs a variety of feelings within us!  Many of my friends are sending a child off to kindergarten for the first time this year.  I remember how that felt two years ago.  Others have a child who has just headed off to begin their college years.  I can't even imagine that day!  Many are somewhere in between.  My friends represent many options... home school, cyber schools, charter schools, private schools, city schools, township schools and county schools.  We all have something in common.  We want to see the best for our kids.  We want to BE the best for our kids.  Many of their needs are frequently changing.  I think of our neighborhood kids.  We have lived here for the past 4+ years.  Kids who were beginning 2nd grade (the age that my daughter is now!) just a few years ago saw a change in their bus times as they began MIDDLE SCHOOL yesterday.  People used to tell me when the kids were little that I should "hold on to every moment because it goes too fast".  Umm..... that was a time in life when it is so hard to see beyond the momentary, never-ending needs of your kids.  That "advice" is easily overwhelming, guilt-inducing, and once in a while helpful.  You know what is different now?  I am telling myself to "hold on to the moments because it all goes so fast".  See, just writing that makes me teary!  

Today marks three weeks since we began our school year here.  This is our first year of homeschooling Nathan and he is in kindergarten.  It is our second year with Kyle and she is in 2nd grade.  I am the one who has had the biggest adjustment these past few weeks!  The first few days it was all a novelty.  Going into that 2nd week I was feeling ready but by the end of that week my 5 year old son's "difficult phase" had pushed me to the edge of my capacity for anything.  We received some startling but "now it all makes sense" news about my 7 year old daughter and some of her OT/Vision Therapy needs. This statement was tied to a pretty sizable impact on our daily routine and the way we would be approaching this year of school.  That Friday I went down to switch the laundry while catching a breather from it all.  I wound up leaning over the dryer sobbing and then had that landmark moment where I surrendered myself to God and said "I can't do this".  I was as overwhelmed as I can remember feeling.  Then this reminder came and I have thought of these words from 2 Corinthians many times these past 10 days.  

Last week I began to settle into the new school year myself.  We were just coming off of what was my best summer ever in the past 7 years of motherhood... back to school was a tough transition for me personally! Each new year involves a level of change and an adjusting of the sails to work with the wind.  This is true no matter how you approach schooling in your family!  Sometimes it takes us moms a little while to find our way during a new season.  Go easy on yourself.  Lean into God and his GRACE.  Allow this grace to fill you and overflow to others.  When I saw the image that is included at the top of this blog entry, it stopped me in my tracks.  I am SO EASILY caught in a state of "perpetual distraction".  I am determined to change this.  Just like anything, it happens moment by moment and the battle is won or lost in the little decisions that are made within the hours of the day.  I can only wonder what this school year will hold but it is my goal to be fully present to experience it.  This will come through a frequent check of my own daily focus.   I wish you all the best during this back to school season!