Hearts Unleashed 2014: Week 6 {Catch the Moment 365}

• Day 36: Dylan’s first day of preschool (after a 1 month hiatus)!
• Day 37: Ice cream – Wyatt usually asks us to help him whenever he’s eating out of a bowl.  Usually just the last few bites.  Dylan’s been taking the initiative to help his little brother a lot lately.
• Day 38: Though Wy’s usually thrilled with his brother’s attention, he doesn’t always want it…
• Day 39: We went to a birthday party at our neighbor’s house this Saturday.  It was for a little girl D’s age and he had so.much.fun.  It was a princess party.  Good thing he loves princesses!  I was sitting with him playing with his sticker book after we got home while Wy napped.  I tried to grab the tripod and remote discreetly, but that’s not really easy to do, so it turned into photo-booth time with the remote.
• Day 40: The boys were playing in the kitchen.  Dylan was tackling daddy and Wyatt came running over and dove into daddy’s arms.
• Day 41: Wyatt likes to slide this and his little step-stool all over the kitchen.  Somehow he’s not killing the floor.  This is a daily occurrence, as he must to be a part of every kitchen activity, of course.
• Day 42: Wyatt’s a little mover.  Anytime there’s music playing, he grins and jumps up to dance.  He also sings a long with this one song that plays on the radio often.  I wish I could remember which one right now.  Both boys love to sing and dance.  I hope that lasts for a long-long time!
• For more posts like this, check out Behind the Camera and Dreaming
  

Why is it so hard for adults to find a rhythm in life?

Do you feel that way?

Kind of like dancing, I think the key is loosely relying on a routine while letting the rhythm of the day carry the pace.

I honestly yearn to plan better and organize my life.  I find, though, that the more I try to control, the more seems to go against me and the less I’m filled with compassion and grace.  I am a planner, though I know no one thinks of me that way.  I’m a planner in the sense of the bigger picture.  I have a map in my mind of what I want out of life that highlights what’s most important, and I it makes decision making pretty easy.  Unfortunately, I’m not so great at shorter-term plans that make up day-to-day life.

I’ve thought about and talked about possibly home-schooling my kids.  With my personality and life stage, it kind of feels like a pipe dream.  The rhythm of our life with Dylan home just wasn’t really flowing, no matter what I tried.

Dylan was in a Montessori school before we moved back to Colorado.  It was a perfect fit for him and he loved going to school.  We initially signed him up because I felt like such a constant mess with a newborn, sleepless nights, constant lactation issues, and a very independent, energetic, and curious 2.5 year old who gave me no time for a nap.  It ended up being the perfect place for him.  His school gave him so much confidence in his abilities and cultivated his independence in such positive ways.

When we moved, we put him in a non-Montessori preschool that was really more of a daycare in their mentality.  School started precisely at 9 and pick-up was by noon and not one.single.minute earlier or later would be tolerated.  I do think part of the problem was that we rushed things and should have waited until we were settled to get D in school, but that school wasn’t a great fit for this family either.  Beyond their policies, Dylan just didn’t seem like his vibrant, confident, capable self at that school.  He didn’t have any friends when I came in to help with his Christmas party.  In fact, he just seemed really unhappy despite saying he liked his new school.  His words and his actions just didn’t line up.

As you saw on at the beginning of Week 6, he started preschool again.  At the beginning of January, we pulled him out of the preschool we had him in and started the preschool search.  We found an awesome local Montessori preschool, that was unfortunately full, so we placed him on the waitlist.  Then, last Monday (after about two weeks) we got the call that a spot had opened up.  He started last Wednesday and I’m so happy to report he’s thriving!

Do you see a common theme in this weeks photos? The theme I see from last week and extending into my week 7 photos is: D’s confidence.  I find his desire to do things himself and to help his brother amazing.  His teachers tell me ever.single.day how well he’s adjusting and that they enjoy having him.  I also had the pleasure of seeing, first-hand, how well he gets along with the other kids in his class when I helped with his Valentine’s Day party yesterday.*

So much of my life there’s been a clear right or wrong answer.  Parenting, is the hardest thing I’ve ever done because it doesn’t work that way.  There are so many different options out there, and each decision feels like the biggest decision I’ll ever make.  What I’m learning is, if I let go of the things I cannot control, and I do my best with the things I can, the decisions get a whole lot easier.  I cannot control the day-to-day or even Dylan’s personality but I can do everything in my power to encourage him and help him grow into the confident, compassionate, godly man I see budding in him.  I think, right now, with this school, we’ve found a good rhythm for our family.

*Another difference in schools.  At his last school, I had to sign up to volunteer and they told me what time to be there.  This school, I just stuck around because I had time and they happily put me to work.  Their open-door policy is apparent and refreshing.

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