Moving Stones: The April Blahs....overcoming burnout and finishing the year strong

Is this you? You may have the April Blahs.

Years ago a sage, old woman laughingly told me, "I think God removes all memories of labor pains after we give birth. That way we won't let that stop us from having more babies."

This week I came to the realization that this is true of other challenging experiences that produce beautiful fruit including homeschooling. Every year I begin homeschooling again in August I am filled with anticipation and excitement. As the year progresses that euphoria changes and I think to myself on hard days, "Just wait till April, it will be (insert positive adjective that is the opposite of the struggle I am feeling that day)."

Somehow I have created this Utopian illusion that April is easier. I don't know where I got this idea but it has been there every year, "Just wait until April...."

Here's what I've realized: April is HARD! Every year April rolls around and I am mentally exhausted. And I know I'm not the only one. I keep running into bleary eyed and discouraged moms who have the April blahs.

April is when we are mentally assessing how the year has gone for each of our children in their education as well as other areas of their lives we are responsible for shepherding. We are also looking ahead to the coming 'new year' and making decisions that involve course corrections, continuing what 'ain't broken' and adding the next steps for each of our children in their journey.

We're tired and everyone has Spring Fever. The weather is beautiful and beckons to us to traipse through creation's wonders while the end of year wrap up calls us back to our 'desks'. Our kids have lost their minds with scholastic exhaustion and typical childlikeness so they are all for jumping ship and at times that seems like a really good idea.

So what are we to do?

I don't have all the answers but these are some things I do.

1) Reboot!
Sometimes my computer needs a system reboot and I have to clean out the creepy crawlies that have attached themselves to my operating system. I remind myself of the vision that has been given to me to fulfill for this school year. I re-examine it and remind myself of what the long term goals are for each of my children. This means I may toss out a few 'good' things that have gotten in the way of our goals. There are lots of opportunities that come my way that are 'good' but if they don't line up with my big goals then I sacrifice them. By doing this I am able to then focus on what are the most important things and help my family get back on track.

I also look back at the 5 R's of Homeschooling Jill Dixon talks about:

• Relationship with my God, my spouse, my children
• REAL learning
• Reading real books and learning to analyze them
• wRiting to communicate critical thinking
• aRithmetic goals for our family are mastery of the foundations

2)Refresh!
Do something to fill your tanks! I know I just said 'cast aside good things' if they don't meet the goals I have but one of those goals is joy filled learning. If a special opportunity shows up that truly will fill us with joy and not just be one more distraction then I will go for it.

REAL Learning means sometimes letting go of lesson plans.
 

An example was last week. We are currently learning about the Renaissance and Explorers. The replicas of Columbus' ships sailed into town. That day I 'threw out' our lessons for REAL learning.  We went on a field trip with other families because it would reinforce what we were learning as well as give both the kids and I a chance to enjoy the outdoors and our friends. We came home feeling revived from being with good friends and experiencing a unique, serendipitous moment that excited us about our studies.

The rest of the week I determined what academic lessons were the most important according to our goals and excused a couple of small things. This week there are other opportunities I'm saying 'no' to because we said 'yes' last week. There is a balance my kids need to learn between experiencing joyful learning and practicing the skills that will support their ability to pursue life (ie- meeting deadlines, research skills, communication skills in writing, etc.).  To have only 'fun' or only 'work' is not balance and not a realistic preparation for their lives.

3)Recalibrate!
It is also important for me to spend time refreshing my mind and my spirit. The business of life takes over and the most important things that actually keep me on the healthy path get cast aside. Recalibration doesn't have to take long but it does require intentional choices of how I spend my time, who I spend time with and what thoughts I dwell on.

I am currently saying 'yes' to being with people who will add to my mind and spirit and 'no' to what will drag me down. I think based on what is in my heart therefore
I need to examine what I am putting there and what influences I am allowing in my life. This takes discipline but even 15-20 minutes of praying, reading and worshiping alone daily or 20 minutes visiting with a friend who builds me up results in recalibrating my mind.

Sometimes this recalibration means rethinking solutions to problems. I delegate things to other people or I partner with other moms to come up with a solution to a roadblock (ie- working with other moms to find a way to teach things I struggle with like science or forming a study group to make an appointment for my family to learn which results in greater productivity).

We can't toss out all the things in our life that create stress or worry but we can adjust how we approach them.

In the end I have to remember I was called by Him to live life abundantly. His yoke is easy and his burden is light....as long as I follow close to him and stop trying to do this life thing on my own.

Want more tips on preventing the April Blahs and stress next year? Check my suggestions for preparing for next year now.