Do you make a New Year's resolution? I think homeschool moms make every day resolutions, at least that's how it feels in my house.
"We will get all of our planned academic bookwork done today... tomorrow... this week..."
"I will be gentler with that sensitive child."
"I will be stricter with that strong willed child."
"I will make sure everyone is showered and dressed by the time Dad gets home for dinner, even me. Tomorrow."
Whatever level of goal setting or resolution making you are at, know that you are not alone. We are all trying to find ways to be better, to do better, to accomplish more. In 2022, I set a goal to read 122 books. It seemed challenging, but reasonable. I made it to 100, barely.
I also planned to write a book of my own. I finished one travel journal of our month out east. It's free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. I did not finish the novel I've been trying to write for the past seven years. It just keeps eluding me.
But, instead of saying, I can't do it, I just set a new goal for 2023. Many new goals in fact. But, I set them based on what I learned.
1. I loved the journey through 100 books. I read books I never thought I would get to as I pushed myself to put away the phone and read, to choose a story in a book instead of a story on tv, and to take on books that would challenge me. I learned that I can read a hundred books in a year, but I cannot read a hundred heavy academic works in that time. I found myself rushed to finish for the sake of finishing, when part of me really wanted to linger in a text and take it in. So, I will aim for a hundred books again in 2023, but I will read more fiction for the pure enjoyment (and speed) of it, and I will take the time to really enjoy and take notes on the more difficult texts.
2. I hoped to write a blog, the kind that makes money, and I tried for a bit to learn how that happens, but it seems that the only way to make money from a blog is to sell yourself. What I mean by that is that you must write in SEO (search engine optimization) - looking for ways to write the words that make the search engines boost you to the top of the listings, or pay for ads to be boosted to the top so that anyone will find you in the first few results because don't look further than that. Then, when you get enough hits, advertisers will pay you to drive traffic to their site. I hate clickbait as much as anyone, so I chose not to be that person. It probably means no one will ever read my blog, but I write it as much for myself as anyone so I choose to keep writing, keep posting and be happy with it for its own sake.
3. I imagine myself an urban homesteader even though I've never managed to make a single plant grown on my own, and our only animals are an indoor cat and a pet bunny. But, I keep reading, keep learning, and maybe someday I really will do the things I dream. In the meantime, I am teaching my children where our food comes from and how much work it takes to get it to our table. I am teaching them that learning to do things that are not in your natural skillset is worth attempting.
4. I have all the same goals and struggles as any other homeschool mom. After 20+ years, and a wide range of needs and skill levels, we have been through a lot, and we just keep plugging on. Every day, we set new goals, we face new challenges, and every day we try to do better, to be better.
