We’ve Changed

As the new school year starts we have decided not to send our A to preschool. This is NOT a post about if sending your kids or not sending your kids to school this year is “right” because honestly either way it’s a tough decision. This post, however, is about how deciding to not send our son to school led to other decisions.

2020 has been a roller coaster for everyone from the oldest person you know to the smallest one. While we didn’t choose all the crazy that has happened this year, we can choose how we move forward. We are not choosing to mope around waiting for the world to be magically “fixed”. We are choosing to embrace the blessings God has given us and choosing to make the best of the time we have. Our family is choosing joy, love, and life!

There are three ways that we are specifically implementing our choice to focus on joy, love, and life. While we haven’t been able to get back to Church in person, we are making it a priority to focus on Bible stories, lessons, and virtues with our boys. Thanks to Pinterest (I’m 100% a Pinterest mom), I have been able to find kid friendly ways to talk to them about God and make sure they know that mom and dad make faith a priority. Not only are the boys at a great age to begin to understand stories from the Bible, but these “kid friendly“ stories/activities are keeping my husband and I accountable as we walk through our journey with God. I’d call this one a win win.

We are choosing joy, love, and life by implementing a picnic out with a family/friend. I could say COVID has caused us to be distanced from our families and friends, but honestly it is all the things of life in general. So, the boys picked out lunch boxes when the school supplies were out and we are taking time each week to spend quality time with a family member or close friend we don’t see very much. Not only is this a great way for the boys to learn from and connect with others, but it’s been an amazing way for me to reconnect as well. These are people who were a part of my life journey and now they will get to have a closer bond with my boys as well. These picnics really help my heart remember that there is good and gentleness in the world if we take the time to slow down for it.

Lastly, we are choosing to be more intentional with our time with the boys at home. I am home all day with the boys so no I’m not planning out every second of the day. I am however making sure that there are at least three or four times throughout the day that I am doing something meaningful with the boys and I am 100% in the moment with them. This can be reading books, baking, doing a science experiment, doing our Bible lessons, or playing whatever it is they’ve asked me to play with. My phone, the tv, and any other distractions are off limits. I can already tell the impact these intentional moments are having on the boys. My husband is having great intentional moments with them when he gets home from work too. One of the boy’s favorite things is when they see dad pull into the driveway. They run to him and and A says, “bed”! This is code for their boys club where they all go play in A’s room jumping around, giggling and just being silly. They always shut me out during this time and I don’t mind. I love the fun they are having during “dad time” and honestly it means I can fix dinner a little easier and faster.

These three simple decisions we’ve made have caused more laughs and smiles, more memories, and more hope. We chose joy when life was getting us down. We chose love when the world was pushing hate. We chose life because we weren’t meant to spend our time on Earth hiding and waiting. 2020 isn’t over yet. Who knows what the future will bring, but today you can make a choice. How do you choose to live this one life you’ve got?