Back At It

Today marked our official first day back to homeschooling after an extended Christmas vacation that took a lot out of me, and I'll be honest about the fact that I was not looking forward to it last night as I settled into bed.  Our Christmas this year was CR-AZY as crazy can be, definitely the busiest so far and one that has us looking forward to making some changes next year as kids get older and get up earlier (4:30 am this year for the first time ever - argh!  Haha!)  Add to that the fact that my husband was on call from December 22 to December 30 (during which time he worked his standard Monday-Friday schedule which blessedly did not include Christmas day, but did include Saturday and Sunday between Christmas and New Years, in addition to extra long days and a few late-night call-ins), a Boxing Day wedding and a New Year's Eve wedding (the latter of which my husband was a groomsmen in), the usual family get togethers and Christmas/New Year's Mass schedule that are busy all on their own, and we were needless to say exhausted.  Jeff was thankfully able to take the first week of January off, and when he asked that I not do school for the week so he could enjoy the family time he missed out on over the holidays let's just say it didn't take a lot of convincing.  That week overflowed as well with much joy as we had friends from out of town visiting for the first part, and Jeff's brother and girlfriend arriving from Toronto later in the week.  Christmas has grown to epic proportions around here and we were all living it up. I was not looking forward to getting back to the grind this morning.


And yet, here I am.  And I have to say - it's glorious.  Sure, I miss my husband almost more than I can stand, and I wish he didn't have to go to work (but honestly, I feel that way every day!)  My laundry is overflowing and my kitchen is a disaster.  But those books I dreaded so much getting out this morning, they were actually a comfort.  Thinking ahead to the busy days that make up my week - Monday as "catch-up" day, Tuesday as "baking day", Wednesday as our "piano/library/ballet" day, Thursday as "Bed and Bath" day and Friday as co-op day seemed so overwhelming last night, but today I feel like I can handle it.  In fact, I'm a little excited about it. Our vacation was so needed, and the extra week just felt like a glorious indulgence that seemed to top us up emotionally and spiritually from an intense holiday season that was stressful and crazy and beautiful all at the same time. But being back to normal also has me seeing that break in its proper perspective.  Sure the ordinary is busy, but there is comfort in the ordinary too. We all need breaks, time for feasting and celebrating, and throwing out schedules and indulging.  But if we stayed there we would miss out on the joy that is the every day.  The pleasure of reading to a small child, of helping a beginning reader sound out words (and being thrilled at the progress she is making).  The joy of learning new things together, of reading science books and history books, and thinking that even though you're supposed to be the teacher there is a lot you don't know either (and it's really kind of cool!)  The satisfaction of working together to get the house in order, putting things in their place, and getting back to normal.  This is the ordinary - and it's beautiful.

As we head back into Ordinary Time in our liturgical season, may the beauty and joy of this season not be lost on us.  Celebrations and feasting are so necessary!  But there is grace in the ordinary too, and what was so daunting to me yesterday now feels blessedly familiar.  May the peace of the newborn Christ continue to reign in our hearts as we step onto the comforting road that is Ordinary Time.