Life Skills...For Them and Me

Another week and we are off to a wobbly start! Just so much to do and so little time. Too many kids and one not so little mom! I am a manager of the masses and yet can't seem to finish my own little tasks.

Planning the weeks ahead the goal is to do all my errands on Thursday and Friday. (I'm a home school mom so I need some time to make sure the studies are being complete and mom is available for help.) But so far it's Wednesday and I have been gone everyday for about 5 hours! Goodness! I can't even complete one week right. What hope is there of an entire semester?

Knowing something has to give...which really means mom needs to time manage better but knowing when you are working with imperfect people (including myself) things WILL arise and must be dealt with accordingly. My hope is having a schedule with some margin at the same time training my children to manage their time, learn responsibility, and to have proper people skills. The problem? This takes TIME...TIME I run short on yearly, daily, hourly, but regardless must be done.

I realize I am at capacity and need a little motivation and a little creativity to help the process along. I wake up this morning and look over at my nightstand to see "Life Skills for Kids" by Christine M. Field. Knowing I am going to the dentist office with 3 children I will be sitting still for awhile and maybe I can absorb a little information (seizing my moment). I forgot how good this book was for me awhile back. I'm digging it back out again to keep me motivated for the tasks at hand!

I think I don't have time for so many things and then I read this....

"By the time your children reach eighteen years of age, they will have spent 32,234 hours under your guidance and training. Consider that it takes only 2,100 hours of classroom and outside study time to complete a bachelor's degree in college and half that time to learn some skilled trades. Your home has sixteen times more teaching hours than does the university."

I'm thinking no matter how busy I am, I obviously have a little more time than I think...as long as I don't squander it!

So, I hope to be challenging my children to do more, do better, all the while with a happy heart.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord not for men." Colossians 3:23

I do believe it starts at home, it starts with MOM!