An Encouragement

I had my homeschool mom meeting last week and we had a wonderful discussion.  It was such an encouragement and exactly what I needed that night after a very hard day of parenting.  We started with a very interesting discussion about the birthday traditions we have developed for our children.  How do we make our children feel special on their day and let them know we appreciate the day they came into our lives?  That conversation evolved into being yourself and being content with your "season".  Homeschooling mothers (and any mother for that case) have many demands on their time and even as we are devoting ourselves to our children we must be careful to not lose ourselves.  It's so easy to be so busy with lesson plans, housework, laundry, toddlers and babies that there is no time to think or grow yourself.  We forget that we need to explore and encourage ourselves - our souls for lack of a better word.  It's nearly impossible to make sure you have plenty of time for you.  Most days I barely have time to remember my name.  You just have to be yourself in all the little things you do every day.  Don't believe you have to be your vision of a "perfect mom" or be intimidated by the other moms around you.  To be the "perfect mom" you don't have to bake fresh bread daily, create all your children's clothing, throw huge birthday parties and always be smiling - unless that is you!  You do have to love and know your children.  We discussed how we believe our children will remember us.  Some days you may be afraid that your children will grow up and say their childhood was full of mama at the end of her rope, but motherhood is a journey.  We don't have to spend quality time with every child every day or have fun projects for every day of the week.  It is an overall thing.  Try to be joyful and intentional in the things you do.  We can't be everything to every child.  Our leader remembered a prayer she had on her mirror for many years asking God to fill in her inadequacies for her children.  We all have failings but there is so much that we can give our children.  Whether it is a love of reading, love and snuggles or a love of the outdoors it all depends on you.  We are so blessed.  Even on the hard days.