Connecting with others who understand is one of the things I
2. Expect people not to understand. I went into a crisis two years ago expecting people to want to understand what I was going through. But, one crisis was the catalyst for two more involving family members who took it personal when we struggled to cope with the primary and then secondary crises in our lives. I learned from the experience to share when I could tell someone really wanted to understand and not to share if they didn’t.
3. People will tell you what they think you should do, but that doesn’t mean you have to listen and do what they say. Two well meaning ladies from my church lectured me in the midst of the crisis. I walked away from the second who came after me and I respect her for reconciling with me after the accusations she threw at me. The first told me everything she thought was wrong with me, to which my husband reminded me that the woman was responding from her own wounds and putting her opinions on me which wasn’t how God made me.
4. To Give Myself and my Kids Extra Space
There was a great story in an American Girl magazine about a girl who’s mom was sick. It opened the door to my kids and I talking about how sometimes people won’t understand our lives and what we’ve gone through. They may judge us and treat us differently, but when they experience something like it themselves, it will change them.
#2-4 don’t directly apply to homeschooling, but indirectly I think they do. I had to get emotionally on stable ground before we could tackle our days and have patience with my kids as they did their work. I learned how to give myself space, let them work independently for a little bit in the mornings and then get going.
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