The Winter of our Discontent

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

I know this is Shakespeare and means something entirely different, but man has it been a long winter! I was recently talking to a friend who was considering not homeschooling anymore. She's a great mom and a wonderful teacher to her kids. So I encouraged her to see this winter as a traumatic event and to not make any big decisions for at least a month. Seriously, it has been a traumatic event kind of winter.

Recently I needed to call our school to ask if they would move our son and daughter's lockers away from each other due to their infighting. What struck me about the conversation was how negative the woman was when we started. After I asked for the move, all she said was "Why?" in a tone that said, "it's been a really long winter for me too lady. Don't make my life any harder then it already is!" So I simply shared my weary heart with her and asked her to please help me. Within minutes, she was helpful and accommodating. "A gentle answer turns away wrath." Thank you Word of God!

We also needed to separate our oldest daughter and exchange student from their shared room. The cabin fever was too much for all of us! Everyone just needed space to breath again. But we also learned something about our kids. They live with assumptions. Our kids felt trapped and did not see how it would ever get better. They assumed they just had to deal with it, or they assumed we would not be open to their ideas on how to solve the problem. I remember how my daughter burst into tears when I said "Lets just move you." Clearly she had never considered that option. My other daughter suggested the locker move idea after getting busted for a mean spirited practical joke on her brother. But she said it as if we would never be open to the idea. I moved my daughter out of the room within the hour and moved the lockers the next day. Momma gets stuff done!

All of it was very helpful and we have continued to make some changes that have brought even more harmony. But I was struck how we needed to be the adults who intervened on behalf of our kids and saw their bad behavior as a cry for help rather than just selfishness.

Kids need heros. Sometimes they need to be rescued from themselves. I got to feel like a hero this month. It was a good feeling amidst this long winter of our discontent. I will consider it Another Homeschool Success Story!