August is upon us!!!

It’s that time of year again…

You know, the time when all thoughts of the homeschooling mom turn to 

school days, 

and dreams of school supply shopping.  

There might be random moments of admiring the beauty of NEW crayons and markers in their fancy little packages, planning, planning, and yet more planning; 

what to do for the rapidly approaching new year, 

how to do it all, 

how to possibly do it better, 

organizing those wonderful school supplies, 

when to start, 

what is most important, 

which curriculum to use, 

which method to give a shot, 

to co-op or not, 

this field trip or that, 

strict schedule or flexibility, 

still searching for a magical way to sneak hiring a maid into the budget, 

piano lessons or art,  

how to “socialize” these kids to the liking of this person or that, 

P.E. or drama, 

sharpening all those wonderful new pencils that STILL have erasers, 

how to teach the big ones and little ones at the same time, 

how to dream up the perfect chore chart so your house doesn't fall apart leaving you living in squalor, 

dual enrollment options or at home full-time, 

pondering whether or not they will be prepared for college/life . . . 

the list is endlessly long!

Add to that, the impending doubt and feeling of doom that will surely hit as you are trying to formulate                        "The 

         School Year" 

for you and your kiddos; all the while giving it your best shot to STOP those moments of self-defeat before they have the chance to take over!

Yes, AUGUST is upon us!!!

The time to finalize it all . . . tie up all of your loose ends.

Time to rally the troops and get them excited about the upcoming school year, time to gear up and be ready for that big 1^st Day Back to School!

Not to be a total downer, but I just have to tell you the truth, at least the truth as I see it. 

That 1^st Day back will quite possibly be a 

major disappointment 

if you set the expectation in your mind 

that it will be the perfect day; 

that your kids will perfectly love everything you put before them; 

that you will behave yourself as any perfect mother would, 

and that your house will remain in perfect order 

and dinner will magically appear in a most perfect sort of manner 

on your perfectly set and prepared dining room table.  

Oh, and lest we forget – 

your perfectly charming husband will appear at dinner time with the most perfectly arranged bouquet of flowers and decadent chocolates in gratitude for all you do for this perfect little family of yours! 

Dreamy, I know!!! 

But snap out of it . . . 

because you can’t live in a dream world and survive the job of a homeschooling momma!

After 18 years of homeschooling, 

I’ve yet to experience one of those “perfect” 1^st days that I always manage to dream up in my mind . . . I guess it’s my reality check each year . . . it tends to set me back and force me to my knees in search of new answers and new ideas . . . and generally instills in my heart a desire to slow down, watch, listen and focus on the FIRST things I had planned before ADDING in all the extra fluff that I thought would make for the perfect homeschooling world. 

Please be easy on yourselves this month . . .  

Yes, you NEED to plan, 

you REALLY NEED to buy some of those wonderful NEW school supplies and look at how marvelous they look in their boxes—

after all, it won’t be long before most of them are lost, so enjoy it while you can!  

And you need to be ready for a new year . . . 

but do your best to not over-plan 

or over-expect or over-do.  

Know that every day will not be perfect, 

every day will not be dreamy, 

but every day can be a new adventure 

and you can enjoy that adventure right alongside those amazing kiddos you have.

Wishing a Happy August to you -- 

happy planning, happy shopping, happy organizing and happy YOU time when needed.

Best Wishes ~ Stacey

(Written for THE BUZZ ~ DHSA August 2013 Newsletter)