"Take to heart these words which I command you today.
Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up"- Deuteronomy 6:6-7
My oldest two are still sick today while the youngest, who was sick a couple of weeks ago, is now nursing an awful cough. I am anticipating that it will get worse before it gets better. The middle child and the second youngest have yet to catch the bug but I know it's just a matter of time. I just hope not to be sick myself on race week.
One of the things I have been asked is what transitioning from a homeschool setting to a traditional one is like. There was a definite learning curve. I remember during our summer walks last year how nervous my oldest child was. He was excited in the beginning but as the first day of school got closer and closer he got more and more nervous. I had to dig deep into my encouragement magic bag hoping I could allay some of the fears, real and imagined. Some days it helped, some days it made matters worse. Some days I'm sure I sound like I'm nagging. Those are the days when I just pause from talking about school and change the topic to something benign, funny, or events that we are all looking forward to (not school, of course lol).
First day of school came and went. With a new life that involves a massive amount of homework and everyday Latin quizzes and essays out the yin-yang, my job as cheerleader became my acquired vocation. My cheer leading isn't isolated to academics. I continue to be the rah-rah mom for all the drama that teen-age life entails. And now with a second child in transition year, I might need to get actual pom-poms!
I am not lamenting the cheer-leading life. I think it's a privilege that my kids feel free to come to me and lay down their woes. There are days I feel like I'm so over it (not the parenting but the drama!) but those are also the days when real life piles one thing on top of the other onto my plate.
The best advice I can give to anyone anticipating any sort of life transition with your kids is to ramp up your prayer life. Pray while you're waiting for them at the parking lot. Pray when you're folding laundry, pray when you are laying down (I'm known to pray-nap lol), pray when you're ironing uniforms, pray when that child has complained about the same thing for the last six months. Pray to be given the right words to say to cheer that child on in spite of yourself.
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| encouraging them to just keep hiking |
Why is it more of a struggle to pray more when life is busier, but that's exactly what you need to do? The fact your children come to you with problems says so much.
ReplyDeletePrayer just needt be in the fabric of our existence. Sometimes in the midst of all the craziness I can only pray "help!" 😁. The kids know we are their safe place. I'm sure I don't hear about everything but I know they tell me the important stuff.
DeleteYou're right on with those "little" desperate prayers.
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