Life at Oak Grove

This week question for the Blog Cruise is:

“How do you find free time?  Is it ok to take time for yourself?  If so, how?”

Me time.    It is something that the world is pushing left and right, back and forth.   It has been years now that we hear the Me, Myself and I expression and we see this attitude being more present in the new generation.

But can we really have free time and time for ourselves when we have decided to homeschool?   Is it realistic to think that way?   My answer to this is a simple NO.   It is not realistic to think that way.   Homeschooling is a lifestyle that will bring you to spend lots of time with your children.   So if you expect having time for yourself while embarking in the adventure of homeschooling, you better remove those pink sunglasses right away because your “ME” time will be reduce to almost nothing.  

Notice that I said almost nothing.  Why?   Well, if you have a spouse who is willing to support you and that encourage you in pursuing the homeschool adventure, well you can be assure that this spouse will also make efforts to give you some much needed time to decompress and relax once in a while.  

These days, I’ve seen comments from people who send their kids to school.   Comments like “It the most wonderful time of the year!” and “I can’t wait for the kids to be at school, I’m tired of the bickering and the fights.”.   Part of me are sad for these people because I sense that they don’t realize how blessed they are to have their children.  And I wish I could encourage them to  consider homeschool because that way they will have the privilege to get to know their kids better. 

Do I get discourage sometimes and want to give up?  Yes I do.   But I have been blessed with an understanding husband who knows how to encourage me.    Since last year, he has send me to our RV alone so I can have some time alone to recharge my batteries and to connect with God amidst the busyness of homeschooling.   It was very good and by the time my two days were up, I missed my family very much.
During the school year, I also recharge myself by taking naps sometimes and by reading.    Reading has always been an important part of me.   I love to read – actually I devour books.    And thanks to a friend I discovered the world of reviewing books and blogging about it.    I love it and it feeds the bookworm living inside me.  *grin*

Something else I do sometimes would be creating cards and scrapbooking.  I must admit though that scrapbooking has been on the back burner for a while now but I hope to reconnect with this hobby during the coming year.

My solution is not very fancy and doesn’t require caffeine (even though a chocolate or two once in a while would be perfect!).   It is not expensive like getting a pedicure or a manicure (I got my first one for my 40th birthday and it was nice but it won’t be something I would do regularly though!).   But it can be sometimes a movie out with a friend or a day activity like going to Mud Oven (which by the way I just got a rebate from Groupon.).

No realistically finding a “ME” time while homeschooling is not something you can have on a day to day basis but with effort and creativity, you can create some special time to recharge your batteries once in a while.  
Having said that – I think I will go enjoy a Three Musketeers chocolate bar and savour it.