My to-do list for this autumn didn't have "recover from a broken rib" on it.
The unexpected--it slams into us (uh, literally in this case) and we're left trying to cope...and in pain with three little people in the house all day.
As I told the kids after the dust cleared, "Our homeschooling lifestyle means we fully go through the happy times together (like going on vacation when everyone else goes back to school). But it also means we fully go through the challenges together as well."
There's not much segregation to our days, not much black and white between school time and home time, kid time and parent time--for better or for worse, it's all one glorious (& often messy) blob of US.
And that's where the lessons come in.
With Daddy's busy travel schedule and Mommy not able to do as much, I have watched my kids completely step up to the plate.
The laundry done, the dinner made, the cleaning taken over while I sit on the couch.
All done to kid standards, mind you, but I think one of my unexpected lessons this season is the lowering of standards in general.
I've had my eyes tear up over heartfelt words of prayer coming from my little boy.
The curriculum I had planned for October might not get accomplished the exact way I had imagined--but perhaps the unexpected lessons matter more in life--for all of us.
Instead of trying to push pain away, which often leads to further injury, why not let it in? Then the healing begins and the lessons transform.
“Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
