Lessons Learned in May

What did I learn last month?  Once again, I'm using this space to reflect back on the previous month for lessons learned, challenges faced, and ideas gleaned.

1.  The process of re-entry into home life (from the road), into normal homeschooling routines (from the roadtrip style learning), and into church work (from sabbatical) has been exhausting, but not nearly as stressful as it could have been.  I have actually found myself keeping some of the let-it-go/let-it-be calm that I found during my sabbatical.  I want to commit myself to remembering what this feels like, and striving to be accepting of life as it is.

2.  The concept of "Scruffy Hospitality" floated through my feedly this month, just as I was also pondering whether I could embrace my home as it is.  My husband told me at one point this month that if there was a home-dysmorphic disorder (like body dysmorphic disorder) then that would describe the way I always see the house as much worse than he thinks it really is.  Now, I don't know which of us is actually seeing it realistically, but maybe that's not the point.  Maybe the real point is that it hasn't done me much good to be always unhappy about the cleanliness of my home.  I gave up on trying to have a magazine perfect personal appearance, and it was a good thing for me.  I'm going to try and give up the idea of a picture-ready home at all times, as well.

3.  My kids keep surprising me with how independent they are growing.  My parenting role is changing rapidly, and I find it bittersweet.  Mostly sweet.

4.  I've tried to "give up processed foods" in my grocery shopping, and this month has been a learning curve on that.  The first week or so the kids felt like they were starving.  Now, although I miss the ease of breakfast cereal and I'm spending more time cooking than before, we are all pretty happy.  But what counts as "processed"?  Dried fruit and roasted nuts have been one of our arguments.  Yes, they are processed, but I think we will keep them in our diet.  Giving this effort a label or strict rules will probably not work.  The effort to make our diet healthy, environmentally sustainable, ethical and fair, tasty, and affordable will continue.

Another good month in the life!