Finding Joy in the Moment

I get side tracked quite a bit. I start scrubbing a bowl in the sink, one of the boys calls me away to see something or ask for help, and then I get distracted by something else that needs my attention like; the laundry. I start on that then I realize the fire needs to be tended to. So, I run upstairs and walk over to put another log in the fireplace. Finally, right before lunch I see the bowl I started to wash out a hour and a half ago. I think it's getting worse. I don't know if it's because I'm juggling more or, if it's because I've worked at going with the flow. Let me explain.

Before I started homeschooling I was the kind of person who would tell the kids "I need to do this, before I can talk or listen to you". Now, I've tried to refocus and live in the moment. Being with the boys even in the mist of trying to get something accomplished. My house doesn't look as neat as I would like it. Wow, it doesn't look as decorated as I would like it to look either.

When my children's education became my primary responsibility; art on the walls took a back seat to maps on the wall. Taking joy in the moment works for me because it has enriched my relationships. This poem say it all but, for those of us who homeschool it encompasses more than just babies.

Song for a Fifth Child

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

~~~~~

Building a Gingerbread House in January

At an after Christmas sale we picked up a gingerbread house to construct. I was ready now that the Christmas pressure was off. It helped that I was reminded this morning that it would be a good day to do it!

The guys always love the "off the beaten track days". What special after Christmas stuff do you do? I may still get around to writing the Christmas letter. Perhaps, I'll rename it the Valentine Voice and send it out the first of February instead!

Wishing you peace and contentment from my home to yours,

Beautiful Mommy Princess