There’s going to come a time when it gets old — this having one car thing.
But for now, on this snowy afternoon, it’s pretty OK.
I think it helps that it’s not forever.
I was thinking about not-forever recently — my kids were taking Christmas break seriously, playing lots of video games and enjoying more candy and treats than normal.
There was a day I found myself ready to get pretty irritated about that, until I reminded myself that a break isn’t really a break if we keep doing all the old regular things.
And so, I took a deep breath, and ate some chocolate with crushed up candy canes in it and I felt better.
There have been so many things over the years that have driven me crazy simply because I’ve lost perspective. A child who no longer wanted to nap, for instance, was once enough to bring me to my knees.
It’s not as bad as it sounds. I was hiding. I was hiding in a nook between my bed and the wall because I just needed 5 minutes.
I think it might have actually been a game now, come to think of it …
But sometimes, as a homeschooling mom, I forget that stages come and go, and “educational standards” are completely arbitrary and made up anyway.
I forget that I am a bit of a rebel.
I forget to ask, “Who says!” and instead find myself worrying that my children will suffer if I don’t force them to learn all their multiplication tables right this minute.
I mean, we prefer slow math with window crayons any day.
Which brings me back to this having one car business.
Having one car is very manageable for the time being. I am baking more, because I have time to let things rise. (These English muffins are amazing.)
I am looking at my kids more, because they are beside me instead of the in the back seat.
We are even reading together more — I am making tea every afternoon, and we are finally finishing this book, which is wonderful.
I am communicating with my husband more, because we have to know what the other has going on; lest someone get left somewhere.
And it is very cold. That would be very bad.
Most things are tolerable (even enjoyable) when you know they are not going to stretch into forever.
And then … there are things that you want to last forever, and they go by way too fast.
But that’s another post, I think.
So enjoy your kids’ imperfect ages and stages today, friends.
Remember:
Nothing lasts forever, and we all know hearts can change.
And it hard to hold a candle, in the cold November rain.
Wait. That’s Guns and Roses.
Much love,
Kara