When I became a stay-at-home mom 4 years ago, it was the first time I didn’t have bells telling me where to be for the first time since I was 5. And I was terrified.
How was I supposed to structure my time wisely without anyone checking off my attendance?
How was I supposed to feel productive without someone to report my work to?
How was I supposed to find routines that worked my (then) 2 very small students as well as myself?
I can now say with confidence that I was right to have all these fears. They are exactly what makes being an at-home parent so difficult. They are some of the things I miss about being in the classroom even now.
But having navigated them for the last 4 years, I can say that I am grateful to have experienced them. They give me more insight on why it’s so important to honor student agency and teach them to be masters of their own time and learning before they leave the structure of the bells.
They have also given me a lens to how messy real life is — and to accept and even celebrate it. Reality is…
….some days, we feel like we’re on our A-game, and other days, we just don’t.
…some days, we feel inspired and energized, and other days, we have trouble even remembering that we were once capable of energy.
…some days, the very small students in our lives are agreeable and engaged, and other days, they are cranky and irrational (this one tends to change by the hour or even minute at times).
All of this is not only ok, it’s what makes life rich.
I continue to take my current role as an at-home parent one day at a time. I still look forward to classroom teaching again in a few years. But I now know that each day of this messy, bell-less life is a blessing for me now, and will be for years to come.
featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto