A Quiet Meal At Home

It's been a long, hectic, crazy week. News from my surgeon on Tuesday was good: No tumor! Hooray. This news early in week allowed me to plunge ahead full speed into the busy-ness of life without school, with three kids during the holidays, later in the week. The part that really confuses me, though, is why this week has been so chaotic. I don't even do most of the things that create chaos for most people at this time of year. I don't shop. I'm not baking for the entire neighborhood. I'm not writing Christmas cards and sewing costumes for the pageant. What gives?

I suppose that simply being a single parent, with three kids who are active and involved, who get around without a car, is enough. At lunch yesterday, we all sat down at the table. Janey was the first to notice that it was the first time we had all sat down for a meal together, in our own home, all week. Now that, is some kind of crazy. The number of meals that we are cooking at home and eating together at home is certainly a barometer for me on how we're doing as a family. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief as we ate lunch and talked about the week. We reviewed the events and rehearsals and meetings and Parks Days and festivals. All of them were fun. We felt grateful to have so many cool opportunities to be involved and get together and spend time with people that we enjoy. However, we also all agreed that it was too much. We didn't have enough down time. I was frazzled and grouchy most of the week. The kids were tired and stressed. And in a few short hours, they would be leaving to go to their dad's house for the weekend. Bummer. Just when we were all ready to settle in and just be together, it was time for them to go.

That's the thing about unschooling. The kids aren't occupied by a school scheduled Monday through Friday. We are free to say YES! when cool stuff comes our way. That's my favorite part, actually. Being able to say yes when opportunities come up. But sometimes saying no is the better choice. That's the tough part for me. I've always been very comfortable staying busy. As I've become older, and a bit wiser, I'm learning to be comfortable not being busy as well.

So this weekend, I am getting some much needed rest, and doing a lot of thinking about what, if anything, we might be able to cut out for next week. It's already gearing up to be a whole lot more of the same: going in nine different directions, all day long, for days on end. There are a few commitments that we've made that we won't back out of. But I'm thinking about what we can let go of for the sake of sanity, and a few more quiet meals at home.