(go see Jen for more)
1.
Making my own vinegar.
I'd just assumed that vinegar was like bleach or baking soda- a really useful thing that was too difficult to make on your own. But it seems that it's not a complex process, just a time consuming one.
2.
Getting through a day without yelling at anyone or silently seething/judging them.
I've started forcing myself to say/write something nice every time I run across something that pisses me off. For example, a friend of mine posted a link to a blog featuring a series of gorgeous, organized, sensory-rich activities they frequently prepare for their children. While I read it, all I could think were ugly thoughts where I imagined, then judged, every aspect of these poor strangers' lives. Then, I forced myself to write a sincere, positive comment. It wasn't much, "Hey, those glow paints look like fun!" but it was sincere, and it did help me realize that I was being an insane person.
Now I just need to figure out a way to curb the yelling. So far, all I've come up with is "staples".
3.
Getting through a single school day where I don't have to say, "kids!" "Lotus!" "Joaquin!" "ISABELLA!" five million times to get said sloths back on track.
I swear to you, when I taught at the public school, even if you took the two worst students I ever had, they were still able to focus on their work for more than 6 seconds. My current students, not so much.
4.
Making my own ciabatta bread.
Ciabatta bread makes really good panini. Caibatta bread is $3.79 at the store. Three dollars and seventy-nine cents for a stinking loaf of bread. This is madness. It would cost about 75 cents if I made it, and that includes utilities. The only thing stopping me is laziness, since the bread requires a starter, which means I have to plan ahead, which I'm famously poor at doing.
5.
Praying a daily Rosary.
I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I find it terribly difficult to stay awake during the Rosary. If I've made it halfway through the third Mystery, I consider it a major victory. Probably it has something (everything) to do with the fact that I tend to wait until I'm in bed, the sheets all warmed up, the pillow soft and the house quiet before I start.....wait? What was I saying? Just describing that setting made me doze off a bit.
6.
Praying a daily decade of the Rosary with the family.
This seems like it should be an easy, accessible goal. We get up, we knock out a decade as a family, we eat breakfast. Yay us. But oh no. I've brought it up with Ken, who shudders in horror just contemplating the effort required in keeping Gabriel (never mind Jude and John-Luke) from whipping a sibling in the eye with a Rosary-turned-helicopter, and that's as far as it goes.
7.
Making lists like these and not soaring off into a guilt-soaked shame spiral.
And it started out innocently enough, with a vinegar recipe...
When we do our family Rosary, we don't require the littles to participate unless they are interested. Instead, I have a little table in our dining room (connected to our living room where we pray) that I place some of our saint books, wooden and plastic "kids' rosaries". The littles only have to know that they can't interrupt the rest of us, but can play quietly (with or without the things on the little table) until we are finished. Once they have begun preparing for Reconciliation, the Rosary becomes mandatory. So far, with the oldest 4 it has worked well (OK, except for when #4 went through his phase of screaming "NO JESUS!" when he was 3/4). I guess I view it a little like Mass: you have to come with us, but I do not expect participation that is greater than your maturity level.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for the older ones who "get bored", we sometimes switch it up (Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet after Easter, or do a very-shortened version of Compline) and we always offer each child the opportunity to lead a decade which seems to be pretty popular.
Of course, right now we are all suffering through our 16 yr old son's "questioning" and feeling like "it's all a waste of time". Sigh... We're working with him, but it's a trying time.
I say, do what you can and don't put too much pressure on yourself to "get it right".
Also, did you know that The Little Flower often fell asleep during the Rosary and Adoration? You are in GREAT company!!
I LOVE your Quick Takes! It's so great to know I'm not the only on to think that public school was a tad easier to handle then this so called homeschooling stuff. I'm a new follower~ thanks for making my day better!
ReplyDelete