Interruptions Are Opportunities

Life doesn't always go as planned. In fact, I would argue that life is not supposed to go as planned all the time. This is because we don't live in the Garden of Eden. We live in a fallen world. We are dust and to dust we shall return.

We had a lovely discussion on our weekly Sunroom call recently regarding this very topic. One member asked the question: How do you not allow life to interfere with homeschooling?

The short answer is... We don't!

Instead, life becomes the lesson. Our children learn more from how we respond to life's interruptions than they possibly could from any book or lesson plan. We teach (either actively or passively) as we deal with the surprises that inevitably interfere with our plans.

Maybe the baby starts crying or the toddler dumps the entire box of cereal. Maybe the teenager forgot about a deadline and is melting down with anxiety. Maybe your mother-in-law calls needing urgent help with her smartphone. How we respond teaches something.

Do we teach frustration and anger or love and compassion? Do we model despair and resentment or critical thinking and problem solving?

C.S. Lewis wrote: “The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,' or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life -- the life God is sending one day by day.”

So then, those interruptions ARE God's will, and He plans for them to teach us AND our children faith and virtues. If we embrace Lewis's way of thinking, we see in each of life's surprises the opportunity to turn to the Lord and show our children how to do the same!

Responding to life's interruptions with grace is easier said than done, of course. And if we choose to dedicate energy to improvement in this area, we need to seek progress, not perfection, like with all other personal growth.

A few other thoughts on this topic which we shared on that Sunroom call were...

• Some interruptions are distractions and need to be managed, but some interruptions are completely outside of our control. It's essential to recognize the difference.
• Dealing with interruptions as efficiently as possible is key, so we don't let them derail us unnecessarily.
• Some interruptions do require recovery time, physically and/or emotionally, and we should allow for that type of rest, as long as it's not excessive.
• After dealing with the issue and any possible recovery time, it's super hard to get back to the school plan, but it's essential that we do at least a little bit as soon as we can to bring back some stability and consistency (for our sakes and our children's).

One day last week, I had the choice to be upset that 4/5 family members at home faced varying health challenges when we were trying to get to Mass and our activities, or to improvise, adapt, and overcome, doing the best I could to stay positive.

Because even though our days don't often go as we planned, they go exactly the way they are supposed to go, because God's actually the one in charge. Not you. Not me. What a relief!