Water, water everywhere and life NEVER going according to MY plans

Way back in mid-February, on an already busy Saturday afternoon, as I got ready to go to our upcoming Teams of Our Lady meeting, Tim decided to fix the bathroom faucet that had very low water pressure.  

Things didn’t go as planned.   

The valve broke off the pipe and water gushed into our house at an alarmingly rapid rate.  We had water pressure now- but now we couldn’t turn it off.  The water main shut off was completely stuck.  Water poured into our house for about 45 minutes or so while we waited for a plumber to come and fix it.  The whole house was flooded in the process.   

We didn’t make it to our Teams meeting.

The insurance claims process, the water mitigation, the clean up and put back together of our soggy house has been long and exhausting.  Nothing has gone according to plan.

Not really a picture of our flood.  This is from last summer at the local "spray ground."  But it was cute and it fits the theme of water water everywhere.

The chaos and unpredictability of it all started almost immediately with four hours of ripping apart the wet mess of our home, followed by four days of dodging huge dehumidifiers and fans all over.  Followed by four five weeks of waiting…waiting…waiting for the new flooring, painting, minor carpentry repairs, and new bathroom vanity.   

In the meantime- under our old laminate, the kitchen floor was the most indescribably hideous, disgusting linoleum that was covered in mismatched patches and textured with streaky stripes of old tile glue.  It wouldn't come clean- I know, I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed it with multiple cleaning agents ending up with bruised knees and a floor that still left the bottom of our socks a dingy brown color.

This week, more than a month since the flood, the contractors hired by the insurance company began the restoration work!!!!!  

First thing, Monday morning, we got a call- the flooring sub-contractor was coming to install the new laminate.  I looked at our school work for the day and planned out how to accomplish it all in the midst of workmen taking over our kitchen.  Then, an hour later, I got a call from the flooring company again.  They weren’t coming after all, because of rain in the forecast.  As we did our schoolwork, I watched out the window as NO rain fell on our house.  Nothing was fixed on Monday.

Tuesday, we got the same call again.  The flooring men were on their way.  The kids and I went to Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation assuming the workmen would arrive soon after we got home.  Instead, we came home to a voice mail message- the painters were coming.  Long story short—still no floors but the painters were at our house ALL day leaving at 5:30 with only one room completed!

Our leftover paint all lined up

 

Wednesday, there were paint cans, drop cloths, ladders, brushes, and baseboards stashed all over my house, but the painters weren’t coming because FINALLY the flooring WOULD be installed!  One team of workers took on the kitchen to install the laminate.  Another team tackled the bedrooms to put down new carpeting.  We couldn’t get down the hall, had to literally climb our way to the toilet, and had furniture and toys and stuff all over the family room (and all the painting supplies too) because it was the one room that would not be getting new flooring.  What a mess of a day!  The kids and I did about half of our planned work and then gave up because the distractions were too overwhelming.  When Tim got home from work the floors looked AWESOME, the house was mostly put back together and the kids and I were having trouble keeping our eyes open through dinner because we were so tired from all the chaos of the day.

Thursday, the painters came back.  Another loooong day of painting.  Workers all over my house.  Paint fumes permeating the air around us.  Apologetically sneaking by the painters and all their supplies to go to the bathroom.  And seemingly endless phone calls to figure out when the last of the work would be finished (our baseboards were never finished and somehow in the craziness of Wednesday the pile of uninstalled ones completely disappeared.  No one knew where they went.  No one was scheduled to finish them.  And no one would tell me when or IF they would ever be done.  The new bathroom vanity has not come in yet.  No word on an estimated date of arrival for that either.  Oh and the family room carpet is supposed to be professionally cleaned for us.  No one has even mentioned that.  AUGHHHH!).  My kids have been amazing troopers and have kept up with their school work as well as they possibly could.  They have stayed out of the workmen’s way and have not complained about the disruption of our lives.  We are hanging in there keeping our positive attitudes and our sense of humor about the whole situation- but just barely.

Our new kitchen flooring- still waiting for the baseboards.

This morning it’s Friday!   We still have no baseboards.  Still no official word on them even.  Still no word on any of the other unfinished work either.  But the kids and I have our co-op classes and after not leaving the house all week because I had to be here to supervise the workmen, we are all anxious to go see our friends and get some fresh air.  But….a half hour before we were set to leave, my four year old threw up ALL over the beautiful new laminate flooring.   No co-op for us….

Lent is all about letting go of our will and submitting to God’s, right?  I think I’m getting the message..… Can things quiet down just A LITTLE NOW?!?!!?!?!?!

Our first of day of school!

            When I was a kid, I used to start anticipating the first day of school a few weeks before it was actually upon me.   My anticipation was not full of joy or excitement but instead, dread and anxiety.  I remember quite clearly, the butterflies that filled my stomach and the “what ifs?” that filled my mind as the day drew nearer and nearer.  What if I don’t like my new teacher?  What if I don’t have any friends in my class?  What if I can’t to rise to the standards of a new grade with greater expectations and a more difficult workload than ever before?

            

            I always did well in school.  I got good grades and I got along with all my teachers.   My fears were proven irrational and remained unsubstantiated year after year.  Yet, each new year, I fretted all over again. 

Following my graduation from high school, I thought that my first day anxieties were finally behind me forever.   And until this year, that has been true. 

I’ve home schooled my children fairly successfully for eight years now.  And like in my youth, I’ve anticipated the beginning of every year starting a few weeks before the first day was actually upon us.  Thankfully, I have anticipated each home school year with optimism and excitement.  Until now….

This year is the first year I have felt reminiscent of my old attitude towards the first day of school.  This year I have been nervous and worried about home schooling.  I have worried I could not rise to challenge again.  I have worried that my lingering feelings of burn out from last year would prevent me from being patient and motivated.  I have worried I just don’t have it in me to face third grade again, and fifth grade again, and seventh grade again, and pre-school (at home with me) and high school for the first time.

Today the first day is upon us though!  For weeks, I have been praying and praying and praying for this school year to be successful and peaceful.

In the past, like for New Year’s Day, I have made resolutions for the beginning of the school year.  This year, instead of resolutions, I am focusing on one word as a theme for our new school year.  My word for this school year is “balance.”  I will pray for and seek a balance

• between structure –and- flexibility,
• between projects and activities that are enjoyable and uncomplicated –and- hard work that challenges and stretches us,
• between time devoted to and focused completely on educating my children –and- time for myself, to catch my breath, to sit in silence before the Lord and allow my soul to be fed, to do the things I enjoy (like blogging!). 

So far, so good!  Our first day went well.  We achieved our goals for the day and found the balance we needed today.   We'll tackle tomorrow when it comes.  :)  

             My plan is to take things one day at a time and to continue to rely more on prayer this year.  I’m very hopeful that, like in my youth, my anxiety for the past few weeks will prove completely unfounded and my worry-filled “what ifs” will never materialize.

A Bit Burnt Out

           I had high hopes for this summer and big plans.  Most of them did not come to fruition and the past two months have not been what I expected, but it was still summer.  I have always enjoyed summer break and when I realized the other day that ours is practically over now, I was sadly shocked to realize the time had gone by so quickly.  

We will be starting our 9^th year of home schooling in less than two weeks!   And I hate to admit it but I am feeling a tad bit burnt out.  I had hoped that summer would be refreshing and relaxing and that fall would find me renewed and excited for a new year.  But…. the struggle to keep up with all the different grades and different learning styles and different personalities of my beautiful children while attempting to educate them each properly and patiently is just not always easy.  And after 8 years, home schooling just doesn’t excite me like it used to.  

I still love the family friendliness of it and the flexibility and the wonderful blessing of being able to be together every day.  I still appreciate the opportunity to give my children a truly Catholic education in the loving environment of our home.  But, the thought of the actual work of lesson planning and teaching and grading and record keeping and just plain juggling exhausts me a bit.  

I still feel called to home schooling.  Without a doubt, I know this is still where God wants our family to be.  So, I realize, as I did in our early years, that I must trust that if He calls us to it, He will see us through it.  The more I feel burnt out, the more it is an opportunity to turn it all over to Him and to rely even more on His strength.  Right?!?!?

As a family, we have been praying a nine week novena to St. Martha perpetually for nearly a year now.  We started it last September and at the end of each nine weeks, we start it anew for another intention.  St. Martha has been awesome in interceding for our every intention so far.  So when we realized last night that our next nine weeks was just beginning, we decided to offer this novena up for a successful home school year- for motivation and positive attitudes to make this year a great one.  

I’m still feeling a little unprepared for another year of home schooling but it is nice to know, it doesn’t all rest on my shoulders.  Through St. Martha’s intercession, I know God will see me through.  And maybe this will be our best year yet?!?!?!?!?!?!

St. Martha, pray for us.

The End

No, not of this blog but of so many other things……
     

This time of year brings so many endings.  The end of the school year, of course, but other endings too.  This year, it all seems so much more significant than in the past.  

A few weeks ago, Tim ended his two year program for his Master’s degree!  On June 1^st he will graduate with his MBA.  This is one end I am thrilled with.  I am very proud of my husband for his hard work and dedication.  He earned his degree and kept his GPA above 3.5 all while balancing two jobs and a family as well.  

My oldest daughter is ending her last year of school before entering high school.  In my education, having gone to public school, there was no such thing as 8^th grade graduation.  I learned from my Catholic school friends though that this is a pretty huge deal in some circles.  We will not be celebrating my daughter’s 8^th grade graduation as a big milestone but my heart is painfully aware that it is a milestone, one which marks her rapidly dwindling childhood.  It means, of course, that there are only 4 more years until she sets off for college, leaving my little nest for the big, bad world.   I’m not ready for that yet, and I suspect, I won’t be in 4 short years either…..

And speaking of four years that have flown by incredibly quickly--Tonight is the end of my reign as Little Flowers leader.  We will have our last end-of-the-year tea party.  We have finished up the last of our 4 “wreathes”.  I’m sad about this ending too, as I will miss the fun of the meetings with the wonderful little girls I’ve come to love.   At the same time, I know life is getting busier and I would not have the same time or energy to devote to it next year.  I recognize that the timing is perfect since I need to free up a little more of my schedule for other endeavors.  Still, I don’t like “good byes”.

Wait, there’s more….My son quit boy scouts.  Maybe the timing is perfect for that too.  If the proposed changes go into effect, we were probably going to remove him from the organization anyway.  But on his own (and ignorant of the possible changes in policy) he decided he was done.  He just wasn’t enjoying it anymore.  

And then……We are discerning an end to our involvement in our amateur movie-making group.    The co-op we’ve been doing all year with three other families is almost over and we will not be continuing next year.  My “baby” will start pre-school next year so I feel like her babyhood is officially ending now (though at almost 4 years old she hasn’t really been a baby for a loooong time).  

The good news in all this though?  Summer is just about to BEGIN!  And that means almost three months of relaxation and family fun before I really have to face all the changes most of these ends will bring…..

Chocolate and home schooling posts never get old, do they?

I have read lots of home schooling books.  One of my very, very favorites is Homeschooling for Excellence by David and Micki Colfax.  By most standards, it is an old home schooling book- practically ancient really- and it’s been a few years since I've read it (though it was quite old even then).  But, I loved it because it was all about finding balance in our home schools- between rigorous, structured learning and hand’s on, interest-led projects.  I'm not always very good at that (especially the rigorous part).  What I liked about the book most though, was that it was also about supporting our children in pursuing their passions and about helping them to excel in whatever areas they feel most called to.
 

For the Colfax children, I believe that included pig farming and raising goats.  I can only imagine the mess and the stink that came with supporting those interests!  I do all that I can to follow the model of Mr. and Mrs. Colfax in supporting and encouraging my own children’s interests.  Thankfully, there are no pigs or goats involved. But there is mess!

Here is our version of "homeschooling for excellence"..... 

My mornings are spent helping the kids with their school work.  We work on academics until all the subjects are finished for the day.   Spelling, math, science, religion, geography, the list goes on…..  The piles of finished work add up.  Hopefully, their little minds fill up as well.  We usually finish all our work just a little after lunchtime.  

Our afternoons are filled with the things we love.  We all have our hobbies and our interests.  And the afternoon hours seem to fill themselves up quite easily.  

The younger children just like to play, play, play.  They have great imaginations and elaborate pretending games they enjoy together.  Their favorites are anything sensory- play doh, the sand box, painting or coloring projects.  I provide the play doh, the sand for the sand box, the art supplies, etc….  There is crusty play doh cemented on all my kitchen utensils, gritty sand that was once stuck to sweaty little piggy toes scattered all over my floors, and paint stains on my tables and chairs.  I also provide the soap and the elbow grease to try to keep up with it all.

My oldest daughter has discovered a deep and abiding love for chocolate.  Her afternoons lately are spent slaving away in the kitchen trying to perfect her chocolate recipes.  She dreams one day of becoming a successful chocolatier.  Being a supportive, encouraging mother, I do all that I can to provide her what she needs to follow her dream.  So for my budding chocolatier, I buy the supplies and ingredients, I assist with stirring or rolling or measuring when needed, I taste test the final products…. and then, I help scrub every inch of the chocolate drenched kitchen and wash out the chocolate ensconced dish towels and dishrags.  

 

 

 

Creativity can be a demanding and messy thing…. Thankfully, at my house it's sometimes a very tasty thing too……