This little corner of my room is where I start my day. Well, once I'm up, showered and dressed that is. It's nothing fancy but it's important to my sanity. Over the years I've come to realize that there are certain things that I have to do in order to be at peace. Beginning my day here in prayer is definitely one of those things. I feel very strongly that there are 3 non-negotiables for homeschooling moms that should be followed, in some form or another, by all of us. Are you doing them?
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Lord, Have Mercy on my Soul
This might be the only prayer you utter all day long but, if said from the heart, it will carry you a long way.
As a homeschooling mother who is surrounded by her children all the time, you need the Lord to keep you strong. And patient and loving and...you get the picture.
I'm not sure how any mother can survive in this world today without prayer. Like I said, it might just be a short prayer of desperation, but it is a prayer none-the-less.
My prayer routine has evolved over the years depending on the season of life I've been in. It has taken work on my part. As long as you put in some consistent effort at some kind of prayer life, God will reward your faithfulness.
Start Small
If you don't have much of a consistent prayer life, start small and build up. Depending on the season of life you are in, you may stay at "small" for what seems like a long time. Don't worry, it's your perseverance that counts more than the length of the prayers.
Try setting aside a little bit of time in the morning and then at the end of the day. Even five minutes is a good start.
Add in a few family prayers. Maybe dinner prayers or a decade of the rosary.
When you feel more confident, start adding in other things. As the seasons of your life change and you have a wee bit more time, add in even more prayer time. Trust me, making this a non-negotiable item will be a big benefit to you in the long run. You see, young adult children are quite the challenge and will keep you on your knees even more than those crazy toddlers did.
Lord Have Mercy on my House
The next area that is a non-negotiable for me as a homeschooling mom is that my house and my school are organized.
I know that this doesn't come naturally for everyone. Sometimes it is even hard to see the benefits of staying on top of the house and the paperwork. Trust me, having some semblance of order in your home will bring peace to your soul.
Looking at the rooms of your house should not cause you anxiety or depression. It is worth it to figure out a cleaning and de-cluttering schedule so that you can live in an orderly environment.
If this is hard for you, enlist some help. Do you have an orderly friend? Invite her over to give you some pointers. Grab my book and work through a schedule that will work for YOUR family.
Start small by picking one area and working on that first. When that's done, move on to the next. Do not take on the whole house all at once!
I always feel much better getting up in the morning if I can:
- Wake up in a tidy bedroom
- Walk through tidy living spaces
- Get coffee in a cleaned up kitchen
Keep up on Paperwork, too!
Keeping up on the paperwork is a must for me, too. Not only the mail and bills but the schoolwork, too.
Some days there is just so much. There are seasons where it just stacks up all over the place. I know from experience, though, that if you let it get out of hand it is 10 x as hard to get it back under control.
I try to take care of the mail every day as it comes in. Junk mail goes right in the trash. Things we need to read go in a basket in the family room and bills get filed in the "need-to-pay" section on my desk.
Schoolwork gets graded the day it is done, if at all possible. I admit that when I was schooling all the kids, the grading would only get done weekly. That takes much longer, but sometimes it's the only way. If you let it go longer than a week, however, your kids might be moving on when they should be reviewing more.
Set aside time every week to get the paperwork, schoolwork included, under control and filed away.
Lord, Give me Time for me
Self-care for homeschooling mothers is a definite non-negotiable.
Let's face it. We are surrounded by our children every day, all day. While we did choose this life, it is stressful and it becomes necessary for us to recharge ourselves.
I spent 13 1/2 years being pregnant and/or nursing a baby. There wasn't a whole lot of time in there for self-care. I was happy just to get some sleep. Again, there are seasons of life. You won't always be stuck in the same mode, even if it feels like you will.
During those years, once the sleep would come again, I would take whatever time I could to refresh myself. Exercise might come in spurts, but I would try to do as much as I could.
My husband and I would alternate weeks for an hour of adoration. Once in a great while I would get away for the day, or at least an afternoon. Heck, I even considered grocery shopping by myself to be a luxury.
You have to invest in yourself. Don't wait so long that your health, either mental or physical or both, is affected. Talk to your husband and work out a plan that gives you the respite you need. If he won't help, talk to your mom, sister or friend. Find some way to get the self-care you need.
Non-Negotiables for Homeschooling Moms are just that - Non-negotiable
I used to think that it was more heroic, as a Catholic mother, to be the martyr and put everyone and everything else before my own needs. There are times when that is the right thing to do.
However, if you are going to be able to do that the right way, you need to be at peace yourself. How do you get that peace? By being prayerful, organized and taking care of yourself.
Don't forget that your needs are important too, and by working out a way to get them taken care of, you are much better disposed to help others.
If you are really struggling with homeschooling right now and are contemplating quitting, check out my guide that will help you discern your major problem and give you ideas to help.