My Homeschool To Do List
Melancholy settled in as the hours passed. My to do list unmarked except for what I’d deemed most important: prayer, Bible reading, school lessons, and home-cooked meals. Those things took all day. Literally, all day. What about the trail of obligations and ideas for things I wanted to pursue?
My brain tried to focus in the quiet of the night, but darkness and sleep shut out the whispers of failure. That was enough for one day.
Bug, Age 12, 2010
I am task-oriented by nature, so my spirit lifts when I can stand back and look at accomplishments. The dullness comes from my weary eyes. They glance around the room and get caught on the undone and the messes. Yes, meals are consumed, but the smiles and laughter linger. Lessons are, hopefully, stored in the hearts of my children. My little prayer book is stashed away to collect even more memories later.
This is my life now. This is what is important.
The lists in my notebook grow each day, but the time I have with these children is short. Oh, some days feel like they last forever. The truth is they don’t.
Bug, Age 5, with Baby Sunshine, 2003
Now is the time to make messes, so I brought the craft table in off the porch.
Now is the time to read great books, so I let my son devour a biography during our normal math time.
Now is the time to make a home, so I close my eyes to the missing boards around the windows and the torn up bathroom. Those things will be fixed in time, but I don’t want to miss the eternal for a nagging piece of paper. The truly important things I do in a day are hard to check off as done.
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Well said. I was looking at my to-do list from yesterday and it was basically unmarked, too. If I wrote down all the intangibles, I’d probably be surprised at how much I do! (It would also be impossible, like trying to write down God’s blessings.)
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Food for Thought =-.
Wonderful post! I was just looking at my
“to do list” and lamenting that not much was done and I needed to hear (read) these words. Thanks!
Thank you so much for those words. I long to have God’s priorities on my to-do list but rightly, “The truly important things I do in a day are hard to check off as done.” But they don’t go unnoticed by the One who will say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
I often feel discouraged about all the things I do not accomplish. Then I realize what matters most. That is what I themed my new blog around. I chronicle things that I did do. I have been really encouraged to see the good things in my day.
What a beautiful post. I often lament how homeschooling and feeding my family takes all my time but you are so right that this phase of life is truly short and so very worthy of our time.
Just what I needed to hear today, how did you know? I spent most of the day upset because our motor home wasn’t clean enough when another camper stopped by- this threw me in to a tizzy and what could have been a great morning quickly went downhill. I spent most of the day dreaming of visiting IKEA and buying tons of organizational helps…
Somehow we managed to get things turned around and back on track, but with teenagers, I know just how short our time homeschooling really is. Blessings!:)
.-= Tonya´s last blog ..This Week’s Carnival of Homeschooling =-.
Thank you for reminding me to refocus on what is important. Those lists can be cruel task masters!
Amen.
really beautiful thoughts. I am badgered by my to-do lists, also.
thanks for the reminder today to focus on what is truly important.
thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment on my truant officer post.
blessings to you today!