I usually like to be on the go. Staying at home all day with the kids sometimes felt claustrophobic to me and so I filled our days with outings, play dates, library trips, grocery shopping, and more play dates so that I didn't feel isolated and alone.
Last week I felt feverish and just completely exhausted. I canceled everything on our calendar for the week and we spent the days in our most comfortable clothes. We snuggled on the couch together (now that it is big enough to fit all of us!) and watched tv. We read lots of books. We played games. The boys spent hours together playing make believe and coloring pictures.
This week Jeremiah has had a fever and we are halfway through week 2 of staying quietly here at home. I thought by now that I would be going crazy. Yet, when I woke this morning I realized that I welcomed another day to stay at home. I am so surprised! But I have seen some definite benefits for us in this quieter, stay-at-home-more lifestyle.
The boys relationship
The boys have hit a stage in which they are really learning to play together and be friends. They literally happily entertained themselves for hours last week. I heard a lot less arguing and screaming and much more cooperation and laughter. Some of the conversations I overheard had me laughing! I am seeing new maturity in Jeremiah in his willingness to let go of his "everything has to be my way, and perfect" mentality. It is clear that being here at home has meant that they have had to learn to get along and be play mates.
Discipline/Obedience
Being at home meant that I had time to work on instruction and discipline routines that we were letting go of in our busyness. It was easier for me to be calm and consistent when I didn't feel the pressure to get us out the door and on to the next activity.
Keeping up with housework = less stress
The weekend before I got sick we had a marathon cleaning/organizing session. Even though I had pretty much no energy the week that I was sick it was easier to keep the house in some semblance of order. I am by no means a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning but having a dirty and disorganized house can stress me out. Being on the go a lot meant that cleaning and organizing just didn't happen.
School work
I admit that we were fitting in bits of school work here and there amongst our other activities. We didn't really have a routine and some days we would just breeze through the work in order to check it off and move on to "fun stuff." Yikes! That is not fostering a love of learning, which was the original reason we decided to home school. I have some serious thinking to do about the structure of our schooling days.
Rest
God created rest for a reason. Activities and outings and play dates are fun but we need rest to keep our bodies and relationships healthy.
I am realizing that I need to be more intentional about our schedule. As much as I love being on the go and having a constant stream of people in and out of the house I am seeing that we may be entering a season in life in which we just need to make it a priority to slow down for the good of our family.
Last week I felt feverish and just completely exhausted. I canceled everything on our calendar for the week and we spent the days in our most comfortable clothes. We snuggled on the couch together (now that it is big enough to fit all of us!) and watched tv. We read lots of books. We played games. The boys spent hours together playing make believe and coloring pictures.
This week Jeremiah has had a fever and we are halfway through week 2 of staying quietly here at home. I thought by now that I would be going crazy. Yet, when I woke this morning I realized that I welcomed another day to stay at home. I am so surprised! But I have seen some definite benefits for us in this quieter, stay-at-home-more lifestyle.
The boys relationship
The boys have hit a stage in which they are really learning to play together and be friends. They literally happily entertained themselves for hours last week. I heard a lot less arguing and screaming and much more cooperation and laughter. Some of the conversations I overheard had me laughing! I am seeing new maturity in Jeremiah in his willingness to let go of his "everything has to be my way, and perfect" mentality. It is clear that being here at home has meant that they have had to learn to get along and be play mates.
Discipline/Obedience
Being at home meant that I had time to work on instruction and discipline routines that we were letting go of in our busyness. It was easier for me to be calm and consistent when I didn't feel the pressure to get us out the door and on to the next activity.
Keeping up with housework = less stress
The weekend before I got sick we had a marathon cleaning/organizing session. Even though I had pretty much no energy the week that I was sick it was easier to keep the house in some semblance of order. I am by no means a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning but having a dirty and disorganized house can stress me out. Being on the go a lot meant that cleaning and organizing just didn't happen.
School work
I admit that we were fitting in bits of school work here and there amongst our other activities. We didn't really have a routine and some days we would just breeze through the work in order to check it off and move on to "fun stuff." Yikes! That is not fostering a love of learning, which was the original reason we decided to home school. I have some serious thinking to do about the structure of our schooling days.
Rest
God created rest for a reason. Activities and outings and play dates are fun but we need rest to keep our bodies and relationships healthy.
I am realizing that I need to be more intentional about our schedule. As much as I love being on the go and having a constant stream of people in and out of the house I am seeing that we may be entering a season in life in which we just need to make it a priority to slow down for the good of our family.
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