Some things in life are cut and dry, black and white, right and wrong. Not everything is though. Sometimes our choices and decisions take us into the gray area. Or the way I like to look at it Good,Better,Best. The decisions I make for my family and myself,what I deem as “Best” may not be what is best for another family.
I’ve had one of those sort of decisions on my mind lately. Being a home school mom I LOVE to learn. A few things on my list to learn are: Massage therapy,culinary school,sewing, and becoming a sign language interpreter.
I discovered through my late night ramblings on the internet that there is a culinary school about 40 minutes from our home in Washington. I thought about all the things that would make culinary school an option right now or rule it out.The two main things were:
- Cost
- schedule/would it interfere with home school
I got some information and neither thing actually ruled it out!The cost was no where near as bad as I assumed it would be and being a military family we have several financial aide options.
The schedule although not what I would have wanted wasn't bad either. I was hoping for something part time, maybe two days a week late evenings so that the kids would be with Daddy during that time.The schedule was actually five days a week from 6am to 9am. We don't start school before 9 on any given day so that schedule wouldn't interfere with school. The major downside though would be that I would have to wake all four kids early and take them to a babysitter.
Now I could rationalize that being with a babysitter in the early hours of the day and still being together as a family all day wouldn't be bad.That it wouldn't interfere with school at all and that the skills I learned I could use at home to benefit my family. This really is a good option for me and my family.
As I have spent the week praying about the decision though God has pointed out several things to me.What is BEST for my kids is being with me not a babysitter.What is BEST is to not put extra financial strain on my family for something I can learn on my own.That what is BEST is learning new skills along with my children.That what is BEST is taking this short season I have to raise my children and really devoting my whole self,my time and energy to them. I have the rest of my life to pursue my own goals and interests.
Going to school is a good thing.But its not what is BEST right now. Its really encouraging to know that I can happily devote myself to raising and nurturing my family right now and down the road I will still have plenty of time to focus on myself. I know it may be stating the obvious here but God sure is smart! To every thing there is a season =0)
4 comments:
I love this post! Eternally speaking, it's true it is such a short time they are with us to teach and guide. When my focus in in the home and on my #1 callings of eternal helpmate and mother, it seems life goes so much smoother and our family grows spiritually by leaps and bounds.
You could always make "culinary training" a part of your homeschool! Find new and fun recipes to try together, or have them watch you (pretend it's a cooking show).
I appreciated your reminder of Good, Better, Best. My oldest just turned 10 yesterday - a very sobering reminder that I really only have him in my home for 8 or 9 more years.
Thanks for the comments! Jennifer it really has been a wonderful thing to realize! Crazy4boys those are fantastic suggestions! Ones I definitely will be acting on =0)
Yeah Christina! I really want to study to become an herbalist. I looked into it and while most of them are study-at-home courses, they are expensive and require me to complete work by a certain time (which is hard with 4 boys and a husband in the military). So I decided to create my own home study program. I looked at all the major schools and made a booklist using what they used. Now I'm slowly working through them at my own pace. Sometimes I can get a lot done, other times I go for months without studying. I'll have no formal certificate at the end, but I'll have the knowledge and that's what I really wanted anyways. We can almost always find a way to study and learn what we want, if we're creative and put the Lord and family first.
Heather
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