Time has been a constant theme on my mind lately. I'm "in trouble" at the college where I teach for ending class early on a day when I was very tired and very sick. A student complained to the staff that she wasn't getting her money's worth.
Most professional educators seem to be of the "more is more" mindset - more testing, more standards, more technology, more homework, more workbooks, more seat work....I constantly feel as if I should be giving my students more assignments.
It takes me an hour to bottle feed five adorable abandoned lambs. I do this daily at 5 a.m., mid-afternoon (if possible), and 9 p.m. During the morning feedings I listen to gentle praise music, and I enjoy watching the babies hop, skip and jump around the kitchen. They playfully head butt one another and nibble at my clothes.
Somewhere in the 9:00 p.m. hour the older boys come home from school. They are usually very hungry and very tired. It's show week, and their rehearsals last all afternoon. Even once they arrive home they have homework and chores to complete. I can see that they are growing more and more tired every day.
The oldest turned 18 last weekend. It was difficult to find a time to celebrate his birthday WITH him. Yet, I'm very grateful for our church friends who treated him to breakfast, spent time painting a guitar with him, and took him to a water slide park. He is making memories.
During parent-teacher conferences for the younger boys it was suggested that TIME spent on homework and TIME spent together might help the younger boys rise to the "levels of fourth/second graders." They aren't tidy enough for their age. They are disorganized.
At first I felt a strong sense of mother-guilt. If I only had more time to spend with the children. If only the electric bill, car insurance, mortgage payments, etc. weren't so expensive that I could work less. If only they had grandparents or aunts and uncles who could spend time with them while I work. (If only I lived in Europe and had more than one lousy week of vacation per year.)
Instead, I'm resolved to give them time...to develop. Childhood is so short. Why fill it with MORE paperwork for the sake of learning to focus on details?
Let them be little. We have been spending time raising abandoned lambs, hosting students from Vietnam and Mexico, and helping a dear friend from Japan. These are also important life lessons.
Time together is so precious. I hope to keep that idea front and center as I choose my activities and make priorities.
A friend and beloved member of our community was moved to a Hospice room just this morning, where he will spend the last minutes of his life with his wife and child. I can imagine that there will be music and prayer. I'm grateful for Wayne's time here on earth. Please Lord, ease his pain.
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