Three Weeks
Three weeks left of this school year. How did that happen? Where has it gone?
On the whole a reasonably good school year for the children – a couple of highs and one big low (which we have survived and moved on from without any lasting effects). A lot of stress as always – our school system, especially for the older kids who make it to the Gymnasium is pretty brutal and it doesn’t let up. Unless of course you are the mother of a genius (which I am not), in which case it’s a breeze. There are still three critical weeks to go and some pretty big tests before now and the end of the year. Things could certainly still go either way. We aren’t out of the woods yet.
I think I probably need to stop worrying about failure so much and let things happen and if failure is involved help the kids to deal with it. I mean, we all fail in life sometimes, right? The trick is to know how to pick yourself up and move on. I still feel a huge need to protect everyone from the upset – which of course I can’t really do. Because at this stage in their lives it really isn’t down to me….
Anyway, back to the stuff that I can control…
I’ve been thinking about the goals I wrote about at the beginning of the school year…
Mmmm Goals….
It isn’t looking good. I mean the chances of having achieved the goals aren’t very high when I can’t even remember what the goals were!
I checked.
1. Write every day (this is aimed towards that best-selling novel that I’ve been going to write for the last 10 years). Mmm yes. Pass on that one. I did get into quite a nice little routine for a while – 1,000 words a day. I loved it. I also wonder what happened? I guess life got in the way…
2. Play the piano every day – well, I didn’t manage every day, but I did continue playing regularly. When you have a weekly lesson, you have to really. Otherwise it is just mortifyingly humiliating. I can’t say I did enough to make huge amounts of progress, but I am plodding along!
3. Stop shopping. Probably the less said the better. The yarn situation is pretty much breaking even, fabric is up about 35 yards, books I’m not even going to talk about (dire, but I’m going to have a lovely summer reading them all!), and clothes not bad at all. On the whole, not great. Must try harder. The only answer may be to block Amazon and the Fat Quarter Shop on my laptop.
4. Simplify my life. I actually think that I’ve made some progress here. Not a lot, but steps in the right direction have been made and I have decluttered quite a lot, although I think decluttering is probably part of life’s process when you have a family.
5. Take time to smell the roses. Tick again. Could do more of course, but I have taken time to have a couple of lovely days out with Mel and I did have my sewing day last week. I am slowing down a little and taking time to enjoy the little things. This is a nice one. Sometimes we busy bees do really need to be told to stop and enjoy life!
6. Take time to spend with friends. I admit to having hibernated quite a bit over the winter – partly due to having a spinal injury, but since the spring I’ve been a whole lot more sociable. I do have hermit tendencies though, so a little push in this direction is always good.
That’s all. Moderately successful. Sort of.
Amazingly I seem to have omitted running from the list. I assumed that the marathon dream would be right up there, but it wasn’t. Darn it, that’s the one area where I’ve actually done something! Well signed up, at least. This weekend is dedicated to putting together my training plan for the Luzern marathon in October. I need to start in earnest by the beginning of July. For the first time ever (and I’m kind of ashamed to admit this, because I’ve been competing for so many years), I’m going to follow a proper scientific training plan. I’m going to actually train properly for a race, rather than just trotting around in the woods a few times a week. Do I have the willpower to stick to that? I’m not sure, but I’m going to give it a go!
And now I have 3 weeks to get back on track with all those goals.
A little discipline is called for 🙂
Have a nice weekend!
Helen
June 25th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
I agree that decluttering is a process when you have a family. If I could just remember that, then I might not get so discouraged when the decluttering and simplification of life isn’t going as quickly as I wish! Best of luck with all of your goals!
June 26th, 2011 at 2:14 am
Ah Helen you are tough on yourself! Sometimes I am just amazed that I survive a week with the family, so all the things you achieve are not to be sniffed at. Not least that you are a very regular blogger – that’s a form of writing, right? The FQS and Amazon websites are a couple of my guilty pleasures too – but as busy Mums I think we deserve a little sweetener occasionally!
June 27th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
I think you are extremely successful Helen. You produce socks and quilts by the truckload on top of writing your lovely blog and keeping a family going AND running a business. And running. I don’t know how you do it.
We’re into the last week for Rors at school. Caiti had her last exam today and Benj finished last Fri, so we’re pretty much in holiday mode now. Results come next week and then we’ll know where we are.
Swiss schooling sounds brutal, I have to say. I thought the French system was tough enouhg, but at least it’s fair.
June 27th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Hi Helen! I have recently discovered your blog and am enjoying your posts. (I also knit, quilt, and run!) I must say I agree with the other comments; you need to give yourself a break and appreciate what you are accomplishing and try not to focus on the list of way too many things that we always give ourselves. I am valiantly trying to follow my own advice as I have been beating myself up over the list of summer projects that I haven’t started up or made progress on yet. I had to remind myself today that my kids only got out of school last Wednesday…
Good luck to your children on the end of the school year, and celebrate those accomplishments!