Category: Yearly Goals

Well, the first week of school is now under our belts as August draws to a close.   My #6 starts school in the morning.  I hardly know what to think and so I’m trying not to think much about it.   I’m really not sure how it will go.  Will he cry?  Will I cry?  Will we both cry?  Will he just walk right in and be fine?  And if he does walk right in, what will he do on the second day?  The second week?

The week was a good one.  It’s funny how you can run all over the place before school starts, spending hundreds of dollars and then the first week of school comes along and you have to keep going back to the store for this or for that spending hundreds of dollars all over again.?!?  Why do we do this?  I’ve looked around more than once this week and wondered how we let sending the children to school for another year become such a spending blitz.    What happened to a binder, pen or pencil, and paper?

In general I feel good about the week.  I really worked hard.  I worked hard on the house and I worked hard – very hard – at beginning the school year with the kind of schedule and priorities I feel will bring success for my children.  If we can make some of these things stick then we’ll have a number of helpful habits working for us.  I feel motivated and confident that we can build these habits.

My husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this week as well.   It was such a long, busy day that I was ready to cry by the time we actually left the house for a quiet but late dinner together.  He’s my everything.  I love him so much.

It was a great week, but I am oh, so tired.  Off to bed I go…

Jennifer

The house is supposed to be quiet right now.  Tomorrow is the first day of school for four of my children.  I know they’re tired; if they’d just hold still long enough they’d all fall asleep within two minutes.   Instead I hear muffled voices and the padding of feet in the hallway.  Funny how you don’t fall asleep when you’re sneaking around.   My heart is full but I must be brief.  Moms need a good night’s rest before the first day of school too.

I hardly know what to say.  There are so many little things about the week.  Another soccer tournament, a sweet dance class two of my daughters participated in, an impromptu party for a bunch of teenagers.  There was shopping for school supplies {see, I did it}, cleaning, moving some furniture around, work in the storage room.  A wedding last night provided an opportunity for service, new friendships, and a brief conversation with a wise old gentleman that brought tears to my eyes.  For some reason I saw many people this week who are hurting:  some whose pain is so visible and others whose pain lies behind a perfectly normal exterior.  I am reminded how life wounds all of us at different times and in different ways, but it is all calculated to stretch us, humble us, help us grow.  I’ve been thinking a lot about the miracle of Jesus Christ’s Atonement and the resurrection that will heal and fix so many things.  What a marvelous day it will be, and how many of us there are who ache and watch for that day with great longing.

Here I stand on the edge of another school year and I wonder, have I grown at all this year?  Am I learning anything?  Is there a habit anywhere in my life that is new because I’m trying?  I honestly don’t know.  I know I’m getting better at taking large groups of children to crowded places without feeling much stress.  {Does that count for anything?}  I’m getting better at helping my children work.  I’m becoming a better finisher.  I’m getting better at recognizing what we do and don’t need  and making decisions accordingly.  I don’t know that the house looks any better.   I’m still working at taking better care of my health.  But really, here I am near the end of August and I can’t really say that I’ve changed.  Not yet.  The old me might feel discouraged, but there is a hopeful feeling in my heart that says, “It’s ok.  Keep trying.  Work at it a while longer and then look back for evidence.”  There’s got to be a turning point nearby, a point at which things start to come together and stay that way more consistently.  I will find it.

So I’m going to check on the little kiddos upstairs and then I’m going to sleep.  Much as I want summer back, great things are ahead for me, for each of my children, for our whole family.  We’re still learning.  It will be a great year.

Jennifer

I just read an email with a funny comment in it:  It’s half-past August.  So it is.  I’m pretty sure the rest of the month will feel about thirty  minutes long, too.

I find myself looking around with mixed feelings.  I’m looking at my Helpful Habits list from January, seeing progress in some areas, feeling disgusted in others, and wondering what I was thinking in yet others.  I’m looking at my summer list with heart torn between all we did and all we didn’t get to.  I’m looking at the back to school rush already underway wishing I could stop it while knowing I’ve already been swept away by the tidal wave of activity and expectation which August always brings.   The result?  A mixture of satisfaction, longing, disappointment and determination. And stress.  Lots of stress.

We had a good week, although a busy one.  We went to the elementary school to look at class lists.  Three days were spent at a soccer tournament which ate up most of my housekeeping time.  It was enjoyable and I love watching my children play, but it did feel like a sacrifice.  I wanted to do so much more.

We celebrated a birthday this week.  It was wonderful but brought it’s own bittersweet emotions to sort through.  I am grateful for my children.   I squeezed in some creative efforts as part of our celebration which always brings some satisfaction.

A soft reply.  I definitely struggled in this area.  I let the stress I’m feeling get to me and it influenced the way I responded to my family.  Yesterday I was downright grumpy.  This is #1 on my list of things to correct in the coming week.

Finishing.  This is an area that makes me a little discouraged.  I thought I’d finish more projects this summer than I have actually completed.  I don’t like that.

Health:  I’m still working on eating well and have lost some weight but hit a plateau that I haven’t been able to shake for a few weeks.  Time to re-focus my efforts and be more diligent.

Work.  I feel like we’ve improved this summer in the work department.  The children are doing more around the house, and generally their attitudes while working has improved as well.  We’ve got to keep at it but we have made progress.

The house.  It’s relatively clean but every time I feel like we’ve mastered something I turn around and discover another mess somewhere.  My two year old is a terror.  Twice in the last 24 hours she’s found markers or ink of some kind and done real damage with it.  Grrr.  Good thing she knows how to say “sorry” so sweetly.  I will admit to shedding tears over something she ruined.  Nothing valuable, just meaningful to me personally.

We did have a good week.  In spite of soccer games, practices and scrimmages, I managed to get my oldest son to three different skate parks in three different cities which he loved.  I took the children on a little adventure (more on that tomorrow) and we spent an afternoon visiting cousins.  We hung out with my brother and his fiance, spent time with neighbors, invited friends over for root beer floats, and I had my first four hour around town driving session since June.  We made homemade frozen yogurt, played outside with neighbors, planted two pear trees and read good books.  I am grateful for little moments in the midst of it all when I look around and see children happily interacting with one another.

Another week beckons us with things we still want to do, things we must do, and fewer blank spaces on the calendar.  It is what it is.  I can’t hold back the tide, so I need to take a deep breath and jump in.  I’m working on it.

Have a great week!

Jennifer