The snowstorm was a gift today, a haven of rest between weeks with extra commitments.
Being away from home is not the hard part - being out & about is fun - it's the coming home. It's deciding what to do with our precious time at home: clean, do laundry, cook, organize, rest, read, or do lesson plans. There's no time for all of it, so we choose to let the house go, or have a week of relaxed school, or eat bread and cheese so we won't have a mountain of dishes or grocery shopping to do.
Saying "yes" to one thing often means committing to five things and saying "no" to almost everything else. Extra activities stretch me, force me to be more flexible, help make understand the difference between relaxed and lazy. I learn that when I am struggling, I have to be careful who I complain to, even other homeschoolers.
Our extra commitments are a gift, especially in the performing arts. It's not about competition and winning, it's about creating something beautiful for God, something that edifies the soul of each participant and the members of the audience. It's the Miss Rumphius principle.
Next weekend I will be helping backstage as a runner for The Nutcracker. This means that I will be responsible for getting the dancers from their room, to stage right, and back again. I'll get to usher the littlest angels on and off stage, help lift the frame of the hoop skirt over Mother Ginger's head, and watch the lead dew drop fairy catch her breath when she flies off stage during Waltz of the Flowers.This has got to be the best volunteer job on the sign-up sheet.
