Being Still
Today I find myself taking my own advice about being still.
The Ladybug was told to bring Penny in so we could leave for school.
Our boys have been running fevers and now we’re dealing with a possible case of hand, foot, and mouth disease. The good news is that it’s not as serious as it sounds (CDC: Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease page) and it’s not at all in any way related to hoof and mouth disease, hoof rot, or sore mouth–which are all very serious livestock diseases.
She got a little lesson in the frustrations of disobedience.
The bad news is that it’s hard to diagnose if it’s a mild case–especially with Speedracer already having very sensitive skin that’s prone to break out if you breath to hard on him. Mouth sores are the classic symptom and they don’t have any. Speedracer’s mild rash could be from the fever, from dry skin, from helping me feed hay the other day, any number of things around here. The Dr said just watch it and plan to come in if it turns into anything other than what it is right now.
More good news? We’ve all be totally brainwashed about washing hands, not sharing cups, and sanitizing our houses, so the preventative and treatment measures come pretty second nature.
{Note to self: Stop freaking out. You’ve been doing this motherhood thing for 8 years now and so far nothing has been as serious as you thought it was at first. You should be getting the hang of this by now.}
I think it was good for her.
But once we tackled that last night, we had to open the Ladybug’s mid-term report.
Ugh.
My girl is finding school challenging right now–which I am finding challenging right now as a parent.
Everyone could use a little time in someone else's shoes once in a while.
I don’t know what’s worse–seeing her give up and refuse to try, or seeing her try so hard and not get the results she expected. Both are heart-breaking. Do you become a Tiger Mother, or develop an unschooling philosophy? Is the middle of this road “moderation” or just “mediocre.” Do you reward or discipline? What? When?
Which tears are true frustration and which are just manipulation? Mine or hers?
Oh how I pray for wisdom and discernment!
And long-suffering.
(BTW, I just included these links for those of you who might not be familiar with the terms to get the concepts. I’m not endorsing either of these as examples or considering these articles exhaustive on the ideas. They’re illustrative only. I highly encourage you to just Google the terms and read for a few months before making any firm opinions.)
Eventually I had to go out and help her. Never let the dog win these battles. Ever.
And then it turns out that my blog was acting funny yesterday. I didn’t know about it until it had cleared itself up (I hope!) and I guess it was just a server problem (I hope). I haven’t had a chance to log in and check out it, yet. But I thought, no big deal, it’s not like my stuff is earth-shattering or anything.
Well, first impressions are first impressions and Murphy’s Law is Murphy’s Law. I had two sponsorship possibilities (which I had practically forgotten about) and an affiliate opportunity email me yesterday that they couldn’t access my site because it was “still under construction.”
Of course.
But I'm going to get LOTS of miles out of this 10 minute lesson!
Oh well.
Let’s look on the bright side. My boys are acting perfectly normal so whatever this virus thing is, it’s passing. I had to put their stick horses and guns, light “saviors”, swords and shields, and eventually their hands and feet in time out this morning to get them calmed down before school.
The Ladybug has an A+ in verbal communication and plays well with others.
My blog seems to be working now.
And all these things can work for my good, if I just give them to God.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)Onward and upward.
So sorry about all the sickness- and your little one struggling. I don’t have any answers – but I totally will pray for you and her!
Awesome about the sponsors!! Woot 🙂
Thank you! I’ve been praying that I would be hit with some creative ideas to try and help her. I don’t quite understand her learning style and I think that would help me make the most of the time I have to help her with her school work at home. Her school is very small and loving too, and if we could figure out something that really helped her I’m sure they would use it there. It’s just figuring out what it is.
if there is one thing i have learned with our three is that each is different, in all kids of ways. But…for them to get good at something they must practice…right now it is Kayla with Chemistry, Cheyenne with Geometry, and Jeremy with…oh just about everything. Jeremy gets weekly reports sent home because he has struggled so much. I can’t wait until mid term and try “encourage” after the grade is so low. It is hard to dig out of a bad grade. 8 years old was a hard one for kayla (2nd grade right). She hated all the reading that they had to do. Which really bothered me because I love to read. The teacher told me to just give her time, it would come. And she was right. She loves to read! I’m sure Lady Bug will be alright, just keep encouraging her to do her best. That is all we can ask of our kids. With Jeremy I had to realize his best may only be a B (at best) or a C. But he is trying.
Pray I will! Our kids (all of our kids) need lots of it! {{hugs}}
What a great lesson Lady Bug was learning with Penny! That made me chuckle!
Your “freaking out” comment really touched me as my much younger sister made me aware of how much I do that. Her 3 yo twin boys keep me freaked out! She told me to stop “what if’ing”…here I have 3 almost grown kids (i’m about to the grandma stage of life I guess)!
Parenting can really shine a light on our personal weaknesses too, can’t it?! I’m struggling to have patience with her about it, but not accept poor work or a poor attitude and that’s a really fine line to walk. I’ve also had my personal talents misunderstood and unappreciated before and I’m a little over-sensitive to that for my kiddos. It’s just one more example of what true parenting is–diving in hard and getting to know your kids and their little hearts and all their little quirks and needs.