I homeschool one tween and two teens, and Mondays aren't our best days. Like many kids, they struggle waking up, whine and drag their feet getting ready for the day. One of them, my nephew Justin, doesn't live with us and he drags on Mondays too, so I know it's not just my family!
When I began teaching last year, I quickly learned that Mondays were the toughest days. I'd steel myself for the tardiness (yes, you can be tardy in your own home) and cranky faces. At first, I was angry, because as adults, no matter how bad we feel, we have to get up and do our jobs.
The problem is that they're not adults.
And if they get sick, mom will feed them chicken soup and grilled cheese sandwiches and snuggle on the couch to watch a movie. As a homeschooling mom with chronic pain, I have to nurture myself as well.
So this year I did something drastic. I gave us all permission to go slower on Mondays. We ease into our lessons, eat snacks and candy while we work and laugh away our attitudes. In fact, the other day I said to my son, Sam, "I'm just a mess on Mondays." and he said, "Yeah. You're a mom. Get it?" Frankly, I didn't so he spelled it out:
M.O.M. = Mess On Mondays
Last Monday, thankful for the holiday and our veterans, I took Dania on a photo shoot for some shots of the American flags in our town. Instead, we ended up in a garden and while we were there, God reminded me of something important. Like me, my children are late bloomers.
They're like these camellias in the garden. The other camellias bloomed early in the spring, but these beauties are taking their own sweet time.
Have a Messy Monday!
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