Comments on: Know Your Limits

By: Danielle Gaerte

Danielle Gaerte — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:13:47 +0000

SOOO true!! I believe the older I get the better I get at not beating myself up over “knowing my limits” or “straying from the schedule”

By: becky @ our sweet peas

becky @ our sweet peas — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:08:19 +0000

Great post. My husband and I also “guard” our lives this way. We try not to get caught up in the busyness of it all so that our home lives with our two year olds and each other can be calm, peaceful and as uncomplicated as possible in such a crazy world.

Good for you and I am glad you have not academically “crippled” your children. That disclaimer is cracking me up. I am so glad I popped over here from WFMW. Have a great Thursday!

By: Amanda (Crunchy Christian Mom)

Amanda (Crunchy Christian Mom) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:28:34 +0000

Oh, man, this is a serious theme for this week. Both on every blog I read and in my life. (Perhaps I’m not procrastinating and the Lord is actually leading me to these posts…?)

I’m having a hard time not doing what you call a “cop-out” though. Except for me, “doing school” is a brand new thing. We’ve unschooled until this year (my oldest is 8), and I have not quite figured out how you get all this done — the housework, the cooking, the laundry, the church commitments, the co-ops and homeschool field trips, AND still have time to prepare, execute and record at-home learning! My house is a WRECK, and I’ve hardly kept up with our homeschooling goals this week either.

Do you count homeschool activity days as “doing school”? Or do you come home and hit the books even if you’ve been out “learning in the field”? I am really trying to find a balance, and not doing a very good job of it. Do you opt out of social commitments? Do you cut out friends? So many of our friends count us among their ONLY friends, so they want a lot of time with us. After being lonely for a while, I put a lot of effort into *being* a good friend — and now I’m overwhelmed!

Some of my issue is being sleep deprived and drained after nursing for eight years — but who isn’t? I’ve only had three kids. And the other is being an introvert with highly active kids. I feel like if I cut out the fun stuff with friends, they’ll be bored and I won’t be able to fill that gap. Maybe that’s stupid. Obviously I need to pray about it — some more.

Sorry to spew on your already extremely long comment list! I know you have to prioritize and not spend too much time blogging and reading comments, too! ;)

By: Jeannie

Jeannie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:43:27 +0000

AMEN AMEN AMEN… Often times its our do good’s that be the hinderence in the blessing of our families… sadly we also live in time where the Church has forgotten our families were the first place to be with in worship… we cant give more of ourselves if our family is not fed. I recently had to step back from alot of outside the home activities that I was doing at the church we attend because 1 I felt the Lord telling me to stop over doing it 2 my family was suffering 3 I was going crazy… boy did I get questions and jeers :( from folks I thought would understand…

By: Janna

Janna — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:51:12 +0000

Thank you for this post! I understand all too well.

I think I may steal your disclaimer, record it, and replay it for my dad whenever he calls during (his interpretation of) school time and we aren’t slaving away at the books! Flexibility, Dad, is the beauty of homeschooling!

By: Hope

Hope — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:24:48 +0000

Thank you so much for being so honest about your life. So many of us women/mother’s try to take on way too much and often times unwillingly neglect what matters most. Thank you for the reminder that it is perfectly okay to say no! Many blessings to you and your family!!

By: April

April — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:01:24 +0000

What a wonderful example this must have impressed upon your family. It is so hard for me not to get my work done for the day even when I am too tired, don’t have enough time, etc… to do it. It takes a lot for me to stop and say “no, not this time”. I think that what you did yesterday shows your love for your family because you were flexible and you were thinking of others. I am a nanny for only one small boy, but when he was really young I would take him on long walks. Sometimes two times a day. I found though, that although these walks were nice, it sometimes made me so tired at night, that I would fall asleep on the couch and I was not able to spend time with my husband. I try to be more conscious of what I plan to do during the day to make sure I can do my best in all that I do. I just finished a book called “Redeeming the Time” by Leland Ryken. It was great book. At the end he talks about “quality” vs. “quantity”. Doing our best in what we do, instead of doing too much and not doing it very well.
Sorry for rambling, but thanks for a great post and a great blog!
April

By: Maopa Lutui

Maopa Lutui — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:16:24 +0000

so true. our families do come first and I am glad that you posted this..btw..lol.I love your disclaimer..so funny:)this is my first time here and I love it:)

By: Kika

Kika — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:08:19 +0000

This year when planning I did a couple things to allow for times like you described: first, I built some ‘empty’ blocks into my weekly schedule to allow for unexpected appointments, or spontaneous fun! Secondly, we started school early to allow me to take off ten days of school whenever needed. So if I’m particularly stressed, or we’re sick, (or just want a day of reading and cuddling) we can, guilt free, take off an entire day and I don’t have to stuggle with feelings of getting behind.

By: niki

niki — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:12:34 +0000

Good for you, sister!

I recently realized I suffer from the same dilemmas. I am exhausted because I do way to much. I was guilty of this before and cut out nearly every outside obligation and started taking my family to church. And then slowly over time I started getting weighed down with too many church related obligations. It leaves me feeling no differently. I cannot help every person every single day. I have to help my family first.

Thanks for writing and sharing this. It is nice to know I am not the only one.