How are you sailing? 

As our family begins to wrap up another term of study, and we pack our books back on the shelves, we will be heading into a relatively busy time.  Our home is about to become a hive of activity.  Wedding prep is heading into full swing now, as we count down the days to our daughter's wedding in July. 

On the inside, I am looking for a quiet port somewhere to anchor my boat.  I am looking for rest.  I am looking for quiet.  I am looking for the home fires to sit beside for awhile.  I am looking for a space to reflect on our year to date.  To take the pulse of our family life, our spiritual life, and our learning life.  A place to recharge my batteries.  A time to realign my life to my compass.

Anyone else find motherhood overwhelming at times?

My best kind of busy days, the ones I end tired but feeling accomplished and encouraged, are the days where I have ticks on my revolving to-do list as I work on that next thing and I have pockets of rest in winter sunshine that revive my body and my soul.  Those days where the practise of my good habits outweigh the failings of my bad habits.


During this season I am meandering my way through Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson and her podcast series, At Home With Sally.  The cup of something warm and delicious, the delight of winter sunshine rest, and the encouragement to a sometimes weary homeschool Mum, provide a perfect quiet port to anchor in for a few moments, before sailing back out into my day.  I just have to remember those ports are there.

Literature - from stories, classics, biographies, and non-fiction - has formed the core of our experience of learning at home.  Our 14 years of learning at home, and our 20+ years of living and working together as a family, can be seen in our home library.   We began with a modest half shelf of books.  We now have grown into 7 book shelves. 

Sometimes I wander through our family library, browsing our shelves, remembering books, our responses to them, the reasons behind my choices, the season of life we were facing at the time, and the lessons we needed to learn.  Our family library holds so much heart.