The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

emerging from your gangly boy. Enjoy their growth, humor, and fresh insights.

Look deeper, into their characters. What strengths are growing? My son struggles with math but says algebra taught him perseverance. In our carpool, I watched a boy grow patient with his sister. Look for progress. Small steps are easy to miss; looking back a few years can help.

2. Nurture your marriage.

After our first child was born, a highly respected older man confided to my husband that during thirty-three years of childrearing, he and his wife had drifted apart. They had to rebuild their marriage.

Surprised by his candor, we heeded that warning. When our kids were small and money was short, my husband and I took hardware store dates. While a friend babysat, we bought doorstops and toilet-repair kits—romantic, huh? But we figured if we did not talk about the children at least half the time and stopped for ice cream on the way home, it was a date. When our children were old enough to be left home alone, my husband and I jogged or walked together. We would talk about the kids, but also about work, our parents, dreams, and concerns.

. . . Realize you
need to rest and
replenish so you
can keep giving.

Time alone together is important. Whatever your strategies, the goals are to remain friends when you become empty-nesters and, beyond that, lovebirds in that empty nest.

That will not happen if we harbor grievances and dwell on disappointments. Decide to “rejoice in the wife (or husband) of your youth” (Proverbs 5: 18). Remind yourself what is admirable about your spouse. I will never forget visiting with a gentleman at a nursing home; his wife was suffering with dementia. She didn’t seem aware of anything, yet he focused on God’s kind-nesses to them over the years and counted himself blessed. Do we?

3. Take care of yourself.
I’m not saying “live for yourself,” but
realize you need to rest and replenish
so you can keep giving. Otherwise, we
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
homeschooling moms can become too
weary to stir ourselves up to work, and
discouragement creeps in.

•;“Every;wise;woman;buildeth;her;house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands” (Proverbs 14: 1).

•;“Keep;thy;heart;with;all;diligence;;for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4: 23).

•;“Rejoice;forever.;Pray;without;ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” ( 1 Thessalonians 5: 16–18).

Seek the best
help you can,
make decisions
prayerfully, and
trust God to work
through it all.

•;“.;.;.;Whatsoever;things;are;true,;what-soever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4: 8).

Homeschooling is a noble calling, but it should never be the center of our lives. We were made for more. Some begin their homeschool journey with eyes on the Lord, but many of us get caught up in the day-to-day, “distracted by much serving,” like Martha was (Luke 10: 40). Then we wonder what’s happened to our sanity and our joy. We need to look up, give thanks, and remember the One we are following. Leaning on Him as we work and serve, we are promised rest, peace, and joy.

Veteran homeschooler and author Kathy Kuhl ( Learndifferently.com) offers ideas and encouragement for all parents, but especially those whose children are struggling, discouraged, gifted—or all three! The author of Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner, Staying Sane as You Homeschool, and the upcoming Encouraging Your Child, she speaks internationally, gives phone consultations, and offers book reviews and tips at her website.