SAVORING A SLOWER PACE

I was scrolling through our family's photos (trying to pull together some long-overdue albums) when I saw these snapshots:

And, because the house was quiet, I was able to dwell on the memory of that simple day. I remember traipsing through the woods with my boys. Splashing in the river. Skipping rocks. Collecting sticks. Watching birds. Finding bugs. Boy stuff, really. But this mama LOVED every second of that afternoon. These slow-paced days are GLORIOUS, and I wouldn't trade this time together for ANYTHING. The opportunity to savor childhood (and motherhood!) has been one of the sweetest blessings in the last few years.

Full disclosure here: I haven't always been a savor-the-moment kind of girl. "Slow" isn't exactly written in my DNA. (I have too much type-A energy coursing through my veins - my poor husband, I know!) But, alas, God had a way of slowing me down with this Lyme stuff. Actually, He slowed the pace for our whole family. With 3 of us battling tick-borne diseases, we had to say goodbye to some of our after-school "extras," like baseball, soccer, piano lessons, and drama classes (only karate and swimming are in the mix these days). We've been forced to homeschool at a more relaxed pace too (which, as it turns out, has resulted in more time to focus on the best and juiciest morsels of science, history and literature - yay!). I also had to say goodbye to event planning and volunteering (that was tough, y'all). But really - WHAT A BLESSING it's been for our family! We've discovered the richness in slooowing down. In simply being together. Strolling through the forest. Watching the clouds change shape overhead. Talking about God. Sharing our dreams. Just being together, really, without having to rush home to anything at all. Like that Trace Adkins song suggests, someday I'm gonna miss this:

The ability to savor time with my kids has been one of the silver linings of our health struggles. And it's one of the many reasons that I cherish our homeschool life, especially during these early years. Time is such a blessing. And it's a precious gift that we, as homeschooling mamas, can give to our kiddos. Time to explore. Time to breathe. Time to BE KIDS. I pray that we'll fiercely guard this gift from all the busyness that's trying to steal it away. I pray that we'll be the "guardians of childhood." Kids need breathing room (I've witnessed this firsthand!). Kids need space to roam. They need friendship, and they need AMPLE freedom to engage in unstructured, make-up-your-own-games PLAYTIME with those friends. (My kiddos will vouch for this!) According to numerous studies, kids thrive - and learn best! - through UNSTRUCTURED PLAY. That's tough in our modern world, but we can reclaim this old-school childhood for our little ones!

I sincerely, wholeheartedly, and humbly thank God for SLOWING THIS MAMA DOWN. As time marches along, I hope and pray that I'll remember to savor every moment with my family. I am so grateful for each day!