A Master Plan

Being a stay at home mom means different things to different people. To some, it's a thought that makes them cringe! Others feel sorry for women like me, as if I'm only here because I couldn't find a decent job. Others would love to do it, but just can't, for whatever reasons. I sometimes wonder what other people think I do all day. Do they picture me lying on the sofa eating ice cream and watching the Lifetime channel? Knee deep in laundry with kids pulling on my skirt all day? My obedient children lined up in rows of desks listening and smiling while I draw math problems on the dry erase board? The truth is, with the exception of ice cream and the Lifetime channel (replace that with coffee and a book), my life is little pieces of all these and more. Every day is an adventure and a lesson in team work. Some days are more productive and more fun than others, but at the end of the day.....good or bad....we faced it together as a family.

That's what being a homemaker (and homeschooler) means to me. It's the daily fellowship that I have with my kids. Those every day moments that life offers. There's no way to remember every delightful moment, although I do try to write down as many as possible. Sometimes I am able to catch little moments on video, like this one with Seth.

This morning, he was counting his money and found a coin with a picture of the carving on Stone Mountain. I was trying to explain how large the carvings were, that a man could actually sit on General Lee's nose, and he immeditely jumped up and ran to the school room. He came back about 2 minutes later with a drawing and this elaborate plan to climb up to the top of the mountain. He's quite mechanically minded, as you can see by his drawing, but his plan tells so much about our family. First of all, it occurred to me that he would not even consider making this journey without the rest of the family. Even Mama and the baby. And then I noticed that he even remembered that we would need to bring the baby's seat and her bottles and her Doodle and passie.

I know, it's a funny picture, but we never go anywhere or do anything around here without me delegating out responsiblities to even the little ones. "Bubbie, put Doodle in the carseat." "Seth, buckle Bubbie into the van." "KK, crank the van and turn out all the lights in the house." "Sis, pack the diaper bag." I heard myself echoed in his words. Yea, we do Math and Language and History and Science (most days, at least), but even if we don't make it that far, the kids are learning about real life, responsibility, planning ahead, team work, selflessness. Yes, I do a lot of laundry, wipe a lot of behinds, wash a lot of dishes, lose a lot of sleep, and I don't have a snazzy wardrobe....but I praise God for this privilege of being a stay-at-home mom.

And even if you don't agree with my rantings, you have to admit this video is just plain cute, especially when he scrapped the whole climbing plan for the moon shoes. I didn't have the heart to tell him there was already a cable car; the moon shoes seemed much more fun!