Press the Pause Button

Posted by Melissa | 0 comments

My days were starting to feel like a fast moving treadmill I couldn’t get off. From homeschool to housework to helping my husband, I felt scattered and pulled in every direction. The clutter was growing, the laundry was multiplying, our homeschool was dragging and my stress was mounting. I started each day feeling behind before even beginning. No matter how much I got done, there was always more waiting. I desperately wanted a ‘PAUSE’ button for life–a chance to put everything on hold and catch my breath.

As a homeschooler, I am free to set my own schedule and take breaks as needed. I have this freedom for the taking. I don’t need a note from my doctor or a letter of permission from anyone to do it. That’s the beauty of homeschooling; I can press the PAUSE button, so to speak. Many of us know this and yet rarely take advantage of the freedoms we have. We’re driven to ‘keep on keepin’ on.’ I know I can make the decision that we need a break, but what good is this if I never DO it?

I needed that break this past week. I was mentally and physically drained. I was weary of the work. I caught a glimpse of myself and really worried that if I didn’t stop, I was in for trouble. These are some of the symptoms of overload, and if they are ignored, more trouble awaits. So after our fun field trip on Wednesday, we took Thursday and Friday off from school. I pressed PAUSE.

It was an instant lift for my spirit (and my kids, for sure) to take a break from book learning. I told the kids we would not be doing school as usual, but they would be working. We set the timer for 30 minutes and each got to work cleaning the main rooms of the house. We alternated rooms and worked together folding the many loads of much-needed clean laundry. I had time to remember the phone calls and paperwork that had been too long forgotten. Each task accomplished lifted my weight of my burdens.

The change of pace was a soothing balm for my weary soul. I let go of everything to do with homeschool for those few days. I didn’t do any planning or preparation for the next week. I just focused on my home and my family. I let myself slow down to recover the mom who had been missing in action; too busy for fun. I let the kids make and decorate cookies on Friday. We were playing catch up. Yes, we had caught up on housework and caught up on laundry, but what our break really allowed me to do was catch up with my family. I was able to tune into the relationships and not just the routine of work that had become my daily focus.

I know not all mom’s struggle with giving themselves permission to take a break, but I suspect many of us do. We can be our own worst critics and judge ourselves too harshly. We can keep a pretty crazy pace for a time, maybe even a season, but we are moms, not machines. As moms, we have to give ourselves the grace to know when we have reached our limits and take time to PAUSE. Take a break to catch up without feeling guilty for it. Maybe it’s playing catch up with the messes or it might be the relationships that need our attention.

I feel refreshed after my homeschool holiday. I’m ready to start the week with renewed focus and a cleaner house. My sanity doesn’t feel so slippery anymore. It’s amazing what a little break can do. It’s like a vacation with no suitcases to unpack at the end. And everyone has something clean to wear if they decide to get out of their pajamas.

Melissa Morgner is a happy wife of 16 years to her college sweetheart and mother to six loud, but lovable children ranging in age from 12 down to two. After eight years of homeschooling and sampling way too much curriculum, she takes an eclectic approach in their little schoolroom, choosing resources that best suit the children and the teacher. Her busy household puts her gifts of juggling and winging it to the test each day. She steals moments here and there to write on her blog, Day In Day Out, about the lessons she’s learning from the Lord in the routine but privileged tasks of mothering and homeschooling.