So I'm Told... I Need A Break

I have a dear friend of mine who whenever I brought the subject up about home schooling the kids this past summer she would highly protest against it. "They need to learn about the real world now, " she would say. "You can't keep them with you forever, you'll cripple them...... And you need a break."
A break? But I do get some down time I explained... I have daycare at the gym and on Fridays they will go to school. I'll have at least 4 hours to myself. I also have what I call "Sanity Sessions" when Justin get's home from work. Someday's he insists I go out and just do "something" without the kids. I usually go to Target or the mall. Meet a friend for coffee. Or sometimes just take a walk. I also have bible study every other Friday where I talk with real grown-ups and everything. However, even these breaks are not enough for my friend. She is convinced that unless I get away from my "offspring" for several hours every day, I am going to permanently lose my brain. From her point of view, the whole situation is simply unhealthy for each and every one of us.
For those of you who know me and probley even to the casual observer know that I lost whatever mind I had to begin with along time ago. Ask, my husband or sisters who knew me before children. I really don't think sending my kids to school will help reclaim it. LOL
The idea that we can't cope with life's events without sending the children away is fascinating to me.




Yes, I have house work to get done and things to do and they are so much easier to do when the kids are elsewhere. On the other hand, it's probably healthier for them to know that there isn't some vacuum cleaner fairy that comes along side and makes everything nicer. Now that I don't have a house cleaner anymore:( Dishes don't just get done and put away, food doesn't cook itself, and the laundry is not a mysterious process attended to by elves. For good or bad, the children get to see me in all of my natural glory. They will learn and appreciate hard work.
I hope they will also get to experience the fun parts, like when they see me up on the roof trying to fix the heater(yes I did that, but didn't even know what i was doing or looking for once I was up there.) I hope they will learn things for me just by being around me and everyday life.
How does someone repeat the short period of time when childhood is full of the miraculous and everything is new and wondrous? I love seeing my children experience new things and learn new things. Do I really need a break from that precious AHA!!! That moment, that look in their eyes when they really understand what they've been working with? No one knows when it will arrive, I just happen to be lucky enough to be around sometimes when it does.
Sure, I have bad days. I am human, and haven't mastered the art of perfection quite yet. Bad days happen whether your children are in school or not. Stress is reality, and how we deal with that stress is an important lesson to teach our children. Now, does anyone know where I put my key's??? Im on my way to another
"Sanity Session."