A Matter of Being Flexible!

We started back to school on Monday.  We took it light, you know, trying to ease back into things.  Made sure we were caught up on grading and recording from last semester, planned out where we want to be this semester and when it looks like we'll be finishing up.

Today, Tuesday, was the "big" day...the start of real school again.  The day when we would get up on time and get to Mass, then rush home and dive into that school work.  Until last night at 11:00 when Ms 14 yo started throwing up.  She continued on into the night which meant little sleep for either of us.

Immediately when these type of things happen my mind shifts into re-organizational mode.  It kind of makes me think of Ironman and how he has all those dials and screens that flash on and off in front of his face while he's suited up; how he is calculating what the circumstances he is faced with mean and how he is going to conquer them.

That's what happens to me.  I begin to assess the situation at hand and try to figure out what that means for all of us for the following day; who will be impacted, what will have to change.  It all happens pretty fast and I just think it comes from homeschooling for so many years and having to be:

Flexible!

Flexible...one of those things that mothers need to be really good at.  There are many virtues and character traits that a homeschooling mother needs and this has to be one of the top ones (along with patience, fortitude, stubbornness, strength, etc.).  If you cannot bounce back when a curve ball gets thrown at you and reconfigure your day around the said curve ball, then you will become terribly frustrated and will be more likely to give up.

Instead of getting frustrated and throwing in the towel, start asking questions like:  Who does this impact?  Do I need to change things for everyone or just that person(s)?  Will we have to cancel anything?  How likely is this to effect others in the household?  How long will it last?  Will things need to change on a long-term or a short-term basis?  Start moving the pieces around until you are comfortable with your new plan based on the new variables.

Homeschooling is all about changing things as the need arises.  If you are flexible and not attached to your plan or your day or the events as you'd like to see them happen, then things will go much more smoothly for you.

So this morning, even though I got up late, didn't make it to Mass and got school off to an even later start, we still managed to get our work done and keep the sick patient comfortable.

Now it is just a matter of praying really hard that this doesn't spread to the rest of us!

God Bless!