A Bad Day

Well, it happened.  We’ve been working towards this for a while now.  We had a really bad homeschooling day.  You know, one of those days Todd “The Familyman” Wilson describes in his cartoon book.  The husband comes home from work to find mom missing in action.  After several minutes of searching, he finds her locked in a dark closet in the fetal position!  I guess our day wasn’t that bad, but it was close.

I’m convinced that people (including children) who are immeasurably blessed, take their blessings for granted.  To not know what it’s like “on the other side of the fence” seems to blind you to how wonderful your side of the fence really is.  My children have never known sitting for hours on end in a public school.  They’ve never known sitting for hours on end in front of a dvd teacher.  They’ve never even known sitting in front of textbook after textbook on a daily basis.

They have no idea what a cool mom I really am.  I don’t say that in a boastful way!  What I mean is that they have no idea how exciting and wonderful their days really are.  They don’t know that not every child gets to do experiments, lapbooks, field trips, nature walks, cooking and art.  They don’t realize that not every child gets to sit wherever they want to do their work.  They don’t realize that not every child gets to take the day off on an unusually beautiful day in the middle of winter.  They don’t realize that not every child is free to spend the afternoon grooming and riding horses.  Believe you me, I tell them how blessed they are.  Sadly, they just don’t get it.

I’m not down for the count – just frustrated.  I’m not giving up on them either.  I know they’ll begin to understand their blessings as the get older.  I’m just so tired of the whining and complaining.  I wish there were a way to help them to see  – really see – how wonderful their life is.

We seem to go through a season such as this every year about this time.  The holidays are coming.  It’s time for a school break.  Yesterday was the feast at co-op.  It’s always hard to lasso my kids back into schoolwork after a special day like yesterday.  Top that off with all the junk food they ate and I know why today has been “one of those days.”

After my, ahem, “mommy tantrum”, I went to my room to fold about seven loads of laundry that have been piling up.  I heard a lot of ruckus in the kitchen, then complete quiet for about 20 minutes.  Soft footsteps came to the door, then a little knock.  The door opened a crack and through the crack came a folded peice of paper.  That 20 minutes of quiet had been spent writing an apology note.  They gave me great big hugs and led me downstairs to a wonderfully cleaned kitchen.  Yes, there’s hope for them yet!   I suppose there’s hope for me, too.