Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Drowning!

OK, not quite. I am managing to keep my head above water, barely. I am trying to eek out as much summer fun as possible. I am trying to fellowship with our friends as much as possible. I am trying to declutter as much as possible. I am trying to keep up with laundry which is impossible. I am trying to have a budget as much as possible. I am trying to take care of myself and eat healthy as much as possible. Practically impossible when you have a plate full of leftover potluck brownies.

Yesterday, via facebook, one of my friends was talking about how hard it is to declutter her clothes closet. She talked about how depressing it is to give up on the skinny jeans. She also questioned certain fashionable purchases made-pleather was mentioned.

Today, I am experiencing some of the same problems. Decluttering my huge collection of curriculum. As a veteran homeschooler, I know what FITS our family and what doesn't. It still doesn't keep me from feeling really sad that we are not the type of family to do some of the wonderful things I had planned out for us. I can't help but lament as I try to really get down to only the things we will use. There is an opportunity for me to bless other people with my mass accumulation of too much stuff. AND YET, it is so stinking hard to let go of the dreams and plans I had for each book, game, or manipulative. It is truly a sad day for me. The day for me to allow certain curriculum dreams to die, so others can live in a clutter free environment and thrive. Kind of like weeding the garden. Too many 'weeds' choke out the real plants and keep them from producing good fruit. I don't want to look at my bookshelf and think of all my failed plans-I want to look at it and be inspired by all the good things we are doing this year. If I can just keep the whole weeding analogy in my brain for the next few hours...

Wish me luck but mostly pray for my discernment!

4 comments:

Ami said...

Maybe this will help you.

I bought all kinds of curriculum and things we were going to use to learn from... and we didn't use but a tiny fraction of those items.

The money was spent long ago, and I ended up giving a lot away on a local homeschool list.

A mom I knew fairly well had seven children. They're very poor, but believe that mom should be home with kids and work really hard to raise good individuals and homeschool.

She wept tears of joy over some of the things I had to give her. I didn't see it as that big of a deal, but it helped someone else out a lot.

I will never be able to give millions to charity, or make a splash in the headlines over my generosity,but I can help one person. And that person can pass it on.

:)

Mia said...

Ami!!
You are my hero!! What a wonderful blessing for you and for her : )I have been on the giving end AND the receiving end more than once. I love it!!
Janice...well you know my stance on stuff...purge,purge and quit binging! HA!

Sara said...

Sounds like a daunting task. Best of luck to you!

Tiffany said...

I went through my homeschooling stuff recently and felt the same way. So many good intentions but so little time! I've had to give up a few of my homeschool ideas and dreams as well and others have benefited. Keep at it!! For me once it's out of the house I get over the sadness of it.