Giving Myself Permission

I decided one little thing: that I would no longer mark my children's specific grade level in my form for the DPI. Who would've guessed what that little action did?

It allowed me to give myself permission.

Permission to do what?

1) To pray. I am praying to discern curriculum, the pace of it, and when we will start it. I am praying for wisdom and to gain better self-discipline for myself so that I can then bring that to my children.

2) To catch up with life.  In the chaos of demanding myself to get my children to point "x", many other things have been let go: the house (which I never had much of a hold on from the beginning), laundry, projects, fun...

3) To enjoy summer. It is so easy to get caught up in all the things that we can forget about the simple things that probably have more of an effect on our eternity. Where we live, the summers are wonderful, but short. The lessons learned are numerous, and will be better remembered here.

I am sure there are many other things I have initially given myself permission to do, and many more permissions I will give. It is amazing the freedom I am feeling right now, and the ability I have gained to not let things overwhelm me.

Now that we have permission, here's what our day looked like yesterday:

Impromptu crochet class. The three oldest are learning the basics, and trying to decide what they will make. It was such a joy to see them sitting in a group working on a really neat skill that will reward them in more ways than they can imagine. I also witnessed what a great teacher my eldest can be. He patiently would help his younger sister when she was stuck. He really has a gift.

A lovely walk on a lovely, lovely day. As an expectant mother, I truly need the movement, and the sunshine. The kids need it, too. The plus side is it was enjoyable!

The children spent a lot of time outdoors. Swing set, sprinkler, putzing around, roller skates, etc.

I took some time to weed my flower garden and finish planting some mail order perennials.

I was able to put some time in on building my stash of cloth diapers, and finish making my long-desired washcloths.

I was able to start laying out goals for myself, so school would run more smoothly. My current daily list of goals is:
   1 load laundry
   walk
   load dishwasher
   have a shiny sink
   drink water
   clean 1 room


When I can better my self discipline and become better organized, I think school will run much more smoothly, and I will have fewer troubles with "keeping the kids up" with conventional schooling ideas.

All my best to you all, and I hope this summer, you give yourself permission.