The thing about homeschooling your kids is that there is often no silence.
Even while doing work at their desks, there is some sort of sound. Pencils tapping, chairs creeking, loud sighs to make sure I know that they are unhappy about the assignment.
For my sanity they have one hour of room time everyday, but even that is not silent. Lana has to sing or listen to music. She has to. It is that or talk. So I forgo the complete hour of silence, for the greater good, which is of course, the singing or talking not directed at me for one whole hour.
With the beautiful weather, the kids have "P.E." outside everyday. Although they are outside, I can assure you, with the windows open in my house, this is not silent time either.
Stacy doesn't get home until 8:30ish every night (OK, Saturdays he gets home at 7:30ish), so I have long given up on 8:00 bed time. That is the flexibility of homeschooling, and with Stacy's work schedule, it is a necessity for Stacy and the kids, in order to spend time together, that they stay up well past my desired bedtime for them. So alas, non quiet till at least 9-9:30
Stacy is a TV/Movie, unwinder. So after the kids are in bed, he spends the rest of what is left of the evening with the TV on. Oh, and did I mention that he is a man, therefore half def?
So where does this leave me? For a while I was staying up waaaaaaay to late by myself, just to enjoy the sound of silence. Sometimes I do have some hormonally drivin sleeping issues that are not allowing me to fall asleep, but more often than not, if I stay up really late, it is because I have chosen to.
However recently Laura Morgan wrote a blog post about Dying to self. The Lord used that to convict me of well, just that, dying to myself. And what a joy that has been. (she say's in her most sarcastic voice!) ARG! There are many many many ways I need to die to self more, so that Christ can have free reign. So I have to make the choice to go to bed at a more resonable hour so that I can be better prepared for the not so sounds of silence the next day.
If I know I am in one of my quirky sleep issue nights, then I need to break out the Tylenol PM and swallow it down with a nice glass of water, and be done with it.
The thing about homeschooling is, it's a choice. It's a leading from God, that has many ramafacations. Some we may not see for years to come, and will prayerfully be fruits of our labors. Others are more immediete and not so pleasent, like the absence of silence.
Today I had the afteroon to myself, and I came home to an empty house, and it is the Sound of Silence. I think I will enjoy it for a few more minutes, but I am kind of missing the sound of the singing!
10 comments:
Great post. I cannot endure silence. It's terrifying to me. I prefer the whir-whir of the fan over silence. I am by myself (and am enjoying it) today and I have music blaring in my ear all day.
I like a little silence too. Xavier denies that he is half def.
glad you got some time to yourself, friend. everyone needs it. you are around your kids a lot more during the day and it's imperiative to find quiet time. lana and logan will need it too. it's all about scheduling!
I am slightly embarrassed to leave a comment since the time posts on your blog and tomorrow is a school day... :)
But well-said.
I appreciate your willingness to make a change for your childrens' sake (and ultimately for God's glory.)
When Heather was little I had to work outside the home. I would ask my family to give me 20 minutes of transition time. I needed to unwind in my room for at least 20 mins and then I was all theirs for the rest of the evening. I was lucky if I got 5 minutes! lol....
Blessings Missy...I did not read your post :( sorry...I just dropped by from Marsha's Musings to explain MeMe....which is a meme sounds like theme. It is when people link their blog to one blog to share in a common theme...Marsha gave an example Thankful Thursday. I am the host of the one for today I call Mission 4 Monday for others to link about a concern, purpose or mission that they are interested in sharing. Such as your theme looks like Homeschool. That indeed is a mission. Anyways the idea of a meme
is to draw people to your blog to increase readership. As for me, it is the the quantity but the quality of what is shared. I'm not looking for numbers, I'm hoping to make more people aware of what others are doing for a purpose driven life. Don't be confused just read and see and join if your time permits!
Enjoy your peace but the return of singing could be nice!
I'm going to sound like a mom saying this but - you will miss those sounds one day:) Dying to self - HA! I dont think I'll ever come close to getting that one down. Im really glad you got a break.
Earplugs....mute buttons.... Dad thinking the refrigerator is too noisy.... watching tv with no sound... no children..... just the ringing in my ears driving me crazy!
Thanks a lot!!! I laid in bed last night and all I could hear was the song "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel ringing in my head!
Simon and Garfunkel!! That's who it was. I was reminded of one my Dad's fave songs, but i couldn't remember who the artists were. Thanks Marsha.
Sad, but true that we will miss our kidlings when they are grown. That said, Mom needs a little quiet when she can get it.
Post a Comment