Forgive Me, Lord
Ever had a week where you just want to run away and hide for a while? We’ve had a really challenging year, but the stress levels last week were just extra. The small amount of “official” homeschool we typically do was mostly put on hold, but there was just so much going on that I found myself even wanting to walk away from momming for a few days. Definitely not my best week, or a good representation of my role here.
Extra hard weeks, months, and years aside, nobody is perfect. The internet so easily paints a picture perfect life in our heads, then we feel crappy for falling short of what was never a reality. Nor is it achievable, anyway. Or if it is, it’s probably not healthy. So to help you feel a little better about your own mess ups and dirty secrets as a homeschool mom, here’s a few confessions from my own real-life adventure homeschool lifestyle. Buckle up; I’m about shed some light on what goes on when the camera isn’t out.
True Confessions
I’m usually still in my PJs at noon. Sometimes until closer to dinner time. Pretty much I have little motivation to put clothes on unless I absolutely have to leave the house. So if you drop by before noon, don’t judge me. Also, maybe please keep all drones away from my backyard. In summer time I don’t wear pants.
We don’t have an area for digging and it’s not going well. Nope. No mud kitchens here. We had a “digging spot” for a while, but one kid decided to make mud balls with rocks inside and throw them over the fence at cars. So since that obviously wasn’t going well either naturally we had to ban all fun from the backyard. The children now find other ways to destroy the house. Three cheers for creativity.
Some days we don’t do schoolwork for no other reason than I don’t feel like it. Honestly, I’m leaning more and more into Unschooling these days, anyway. Give the kids some chores, tell them to make their own fun and call it a day of natural learning. A+.
Some days I don’t go outside. GASP! I know, and this from someone who is always saying to get outside. Well sometimes a girl just wants to chill at home in her PJs all day. Besides, down time for mindless Instagram scrolling is probably how I’ve found the majority of exciting places we’ve ended up exploring.
We’re not well equipped adventurers. We don’t own much gear. My 12 year old only owns one pair of shoes (they’re sneakers). We have no rain jackets or hiking boots. No emergency water filter straws or rain boots. No extreme cold weather gear or hiking poles. The first aid kit I carry in my water backpack amounts to chapstick and approximately 3 bandaids. Also tissues in allergy season. I’m also directionally challenged and awful at reading maps.
Contrary to the previous confession, at one point I think I owned 11 different baby carriers. How many kids did I wear at that point? Two for sure, sometimes the middle kiddo would ask to get carried. But baby carriers are like shoes and accessories. You obviously would never wear tennis shoes to a fancy dinner date (unless you’re my 12 year old), nor would you wear snow boots to the beach. You also wouldn’t use your purse in place of a backpack in most cases. Well baby carriers are basically like that. Basically… Plus I like to colour match my moods when possible.
My kids play video games and watch mind numbing television. It’s really not my preference. If I had it my way, we would throw away all the screens, except for one that we would only pull out sometimes for educational purposes. But my boys really like video games and watching Pokemon. And I like when they’re all sitting happily in one place for a blissful hour of time when I can actually complete a thought or two without a slew of interruptions.
If my little kids bathe once a week it’s pretty much a miracle. My older kiddos at this point are realizing that they smell bad and their hair gets greasy if they don’t shower quite frequently. But the little ones… uhg. It’s still like wrestling with a wet cat. Being clean is not something they care for, and I don’t generally have the will to fight them. So if you see my kids with marker all over their arms and legs and dirt streaks on their faces and feet, just know that yes, they’ve probably looked like that for at least a day or two. Or five.
One of my kids doesn’t like hiking. Yeah, I know. Ouch. He’s never been my great outdoor explorer, and has always gravitated toward screens and other hobbies. That’s okay – I know that hiking isn’t for everyone. But he’s a good sport and I don’t give him the option to stay home. I figure in the end, he’ll either learn to appreciate it or for the rest of my life he’ll remind me how I constantly dragged him out into the woods or the desert to torture him with sunshine and fresh air.
We don’t have a homeschool room, desks, or even a lot of books. Now, a couple desks in quiet places would actually be great. And I wouldn’t mind having more books. But 7 people living in 1400 square feet, or sometimes 150 square feet, really leaves not much room for anything extraneous. Also, I prioritized having a guest room. #sorrynotsorry
Keepin’ It Real
I’m sure if you followed me around for a week you’d have a long list of other things I should add to this confessional. But hey, I’m sure you’ve got a list, too, and hopefully mine makes you feel a little better about yours. I really do love scrolling through the beautiful Instagram photos, but let’s also remember to keep it real and encourage our fellow homeschool moms to rest assured that the rest of us have a mess behind the pretty pictures, too.
