When We Only Had Littles, Part Two

I never wanted to homeschool.  Ever.  First of all, I didn't want to look like the homeschoolers I knew (how snobby is that?).  Secondly, I wanted to have lunch with my girlfriends and get my nails done (how selfish is that?)

God has a way of whacking us over the head now and then, although I admit He hit me ever so gently.  He surrounded me with homeschoolers, and two in particular who were patient with me, unselfish with their time, generous with my children, and joyful moms of neat kids.  I was drawn to them.  I was drawn to their lifestyles.  I was, ultimately, drawn to the fact that they wanted to do everything to the glory of God.

But I did also feel as if I was killing lots of time.  Maybe God designs those early years to be slow-moving.  He certainly gives us the opportunity to spend good gobs of time with our wee ones, observing them, getting to know them, pouring ourselves into them.

Our days were a combination of many things: walks around the neighborhood, finger painting, running through the sprinklers, splashing through puddles, crunching fall leaves on the sidewalk, and library story times.  I was also involved with our local MOPS group and am thankful for the things I learned there and the women with whom I came in contact.  The boys would take long baths, blow bubbles, and swim in a generous neighbor's pool.  I'm sure you do lots of similar things with your kiddos.

However, if I could go back to those days with the knowledge of what life would be like now, I would structure them differently. 

-I would scrapbook pages without photos so that all I had to do now was insert them. 

-I would spend lots of time teaching them to be more detail-oriented because some of them are rather old to still be leaving punctuation out of an essay because they didn't double-check their work.

-I would make several years' worth of birthday cards, new baby cards, and anniversary cards to have on hand when the days became frenetic.

-I would weed out and set aside the unrealistic gourmet recipes that I have in my collection- the ones I'll have time for when all the kids are grown, but certainly not now.

-I would spend my quiet times memorizing Scripture for the days ahead that leave me 15 minutes, usually in the shower, to spend with the Lord in solitude.

-I would journal each day, knowing that in the years ahead I would be too exhausted at the end of the day to think straight, and so the entries are sometimes months apart.

-I would write a letter to my children every month for as long as possible.  I love them each so much and yet I have so little time to really pour out my heart to them.

-I would pray without ceasing.