January 1st may be the official start of a new year, but for me, it’s always been fall that has signaled new beginnings. And this fall has been a season of MANY new beginnings for me and my family. The school of life is back in session, bringing with it a whole host of lessons and takeaways from the season.
1. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed does not (necessarily) mean I’m doing something wrong.
There are few things more annoying than hearing someone prattle on about how busy they are. It comes across as either a humble brag or a complaint, and it never sounds original or revelatory because ALL of us are busy. I mention this to explain that I understand if you’re tired of hearing me share about my busyness in recent months; I’m tired of talking about it, and I’m trying to reframe this busier season in ways that honor how I’m feeling (overwhelmed) without allowing myself to wallow in all-consuming stress or wear my busyness as a misguided badge of honor. This reframe has meant that I’ve had to stop thinking of my current busyness as a problem to be fixed; it’s simply a reality to be observed, acknowledged, and incorporated into my life. Sometimes busyness means that a person’s schedule needs to be adjusted, but sometimes it just means that life is full of a lot of good things, and it’s an attitude adjustment that’s needed, not a change to the schedule. That said. . .
2. Some thing (or things) may have to give.
A fuller schedule has meant that I’ve had to scale back or even let go of a few things I love. I cut my blogging in half, I’m reading far less than I’d like, we put dance and gymnastics classes on hold, and Luke and I haven’t gone on a date night in almost six months. Those are all great things that are still important to me, but right now I’m needing to shift priorities. This scaling back doesn’t make me a failure, it just means that I’m a human who can’t manage ALL the things. And that’s okay.
3. Classical Conversations is the perfect fit for our family.
There were a number of factors playing into our decision to join a CC community, but the leading reason was our desire for homeschool community. In our previous five years of homeschooling, had never been part of a co-op, and it was something I really wanted to make happen this year. Since joining CC, we’ve been reaping the benefits of homeschool community and we are LOVING IT and realizing (sadly) how much we missed by not finding a similar community sooner in our homeschooling journey. But CC has offered us so much more than friends: it turns out that the curriculum blends beautifully with my educational goals for our kids, and we are loving everything about the content AND the learning methods. A bonus is that I am learning so much myself! Classical Conversations talks a lot about how the curriculum offers parents an opportunity to redeem and reclaim our own education, and while I feel that I got a decent education in the California public school system, there were definitely some gaps that I’m thrilled to be filling now as I learn alongside my kids.
4. Kids have an incredible capacity to retain new information.
Foundations is the CC program designed for kids in Kinder through 6th grade, and a core component of the program is memory work across several subjects (history, science, English, geography, math, and Latin). The kids (and moms) memorize a TON of information every week, and it’s awesome to see how quickly these young minds absorb information—including facts they don’t entirely understand, like multiplication facts and Latin verb conjugations and historical events. It’s so cool to watch their sponge-brains soak up knowledge that will provide a foundation for deeper learning as they get older.
5. For me, music is the key to mastering memorization.
I get intimidated each week when our CC tutors provide us with the many facts to be memorized over the next seven days. But most of these new sets of information are accompanied by songs: for instance, the European mountain ranges are sung to the tune of “It’s a Small World,” the parts of the sun are sung along with “This Little Light of Mine,” and multiples of 13 fit with the tune to “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.” Some of the other kids and moms are better helped by the hand motions that accompany our memory work, but it’s the musical scaffolding that’s most beneficial for my own brain and learning style.
6. A few small changes can totally transform a kitchen.
A couple of months ago, Luke added stainless steel cabinet and drawer pulls to our kitchen cabinetry—a simple upgrade with huge impact! Just a few weeks later, in the greatest of ironies, our kitchen faucet gave up the ghost on the very day that I published a blog post about not owning a dishwasher. We can live without a dishwasher. We cannot make do without some way of washing our dishes. Luke quickly set about finding a replacement for our broken faucet, and while he was at it, he decided to exchange our former two-basin sink for a new model with a large single bowl. I am LOVING the large basin that is much more conducive to washing large pots and pans, and I’ve been surprised and delighted that this small change makes it feel like I have a whole new kitchen.
7. My kids are growing up.
I know, I know; file this one under Captain Obvious. But something about this season’s milestones—one kid entering the final year of elementary school, twins starting elementary school, and a newly minted 1-year-old—that REALLY has me thinking about how fast my kids are growing. Time is a thief. That’s something that’s easy to forget when I’m home alone with just my kids who will always be my babies. It’s harder to ignore when I’m spending time with other 1-year-olds and Kindergarteners and 5th Graders whose ages are not filtered through Mama Eyes. I’m proud of the people my kids are becoming, and also sad to see the younger versions of them fade into the past.
8. Fifth-grade girls aren’t (always) intimidating.
I was terrified to lead a small group of 5th graders as a volunteer for mid-week discipleship at church. But these girls aren’t scary, they’re adorable and smart and fun, and leading them has been a delight! They are also VERY different from my 5th-grade boy, which is more surprising to me than it should have been.
9. The fussiest of babies can turn into the happiest of 1-year-olds.
A year ago, when Nico was just emerging from the newborn stage and was glued to my chest, I wondered if he’d ever willingly part from me. I even worried he may be a perpetually unhappy child. It’s hard now to reconcile that fussy newborn with the happy, independent toddler he’s become. He never cries when I drop him off at the church nursery or childwatch at the Y. He’s content to play with his siblings or by himself while I do chores around the house. He smiles and waves at everyone he sees. He’s always been cute, but that cuteness is much easier to observe and celebrate when the tears and the clinginess are kept to a minimum.
10. God can redeem the most horrific circumstances and use them for good.
I was shocked and saddened by Charlie Kirk’s murder in September. I was even more surprised by the outpouring of love that followed his death, accompanied by a spiritual revival that seems to be strongly correlated with (if not directly caused by) the loss of this spiritual/cultural leader. It has been amazing to see God transforming a horrible event into something that builds up His Kingdom. It’s not that this type of redemption and transformation isn’t taking place ALL THE TIME; it is! But right now we are all getting to bear witness to God’s redemptive work, and it’s incredible. Meanwhile, the enemy is also at work; the infighting and division we are seeing among Christians has been disheartening, and I sense that spiritual warfare is responsible. The enemy is strong; thankfully we serve a God who is infinitely stronger.
11. Genuine faith requires a softened heart.
This is a theme that’s been coming up a lot for me this year, in my personal spiritual walk and in the walks of those around me. We cannot hear from God if our hearts are hardened by sin and disobedience. We cannot be full participants in the work God is doing if our hearts are not bent towards the Lord and His desires. We cannot properly engage with new believers and nonbelievers if our hearts are aligned with false idols or misconceptions about God and His will. As spiritual revival appears to be breaking out in our country, I want to maintain a posture of softness that is rooted in truth but also willing to be molded and shaped in ways that might be uncomfortable.
12. Our family loves a good group costume theme.
We’ve had themed Halloween costumes since Charleston was a year old. It’s gotten harder to find a theme we can all agree on, and each year I wonder if our time of Halloween themes has come to an end. But the kids still REALLY love matching our costumes, and each fall we work together to settle on the right theme. I think this year’s Happy Holidays was our favorite theme yet! On the way home from a costume party, Charleston commented on how proud he is that our family has managed to keep up with the theme tradition. I’m pretty proud of it, too, and I’m happy to report that we are already brainstorming ideas for next year’s costumes!
How did your Fall Semester pan out? Any new insights or nuggets of wisdom that you’d like to report? I’d love to hear what YOU have been learning lately!
