Challenge – Struggle – Resolution
I bet you’ve experienced plenty of challenge and struggle in your parenting journey. And I imagine what has often followed these growing pains has been some sort of resolution.
Ah, sweet resolution.
If only the resolution could come WITHOUT the challenge and struggle. I mean, that sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.
Alas…
This is often NOT the way things pan out while on our parenting journey. And these growing pains are usually plentiful while traveling down the homeschooling path too.
Hooray.
Challenge. Struggle. Resolution.
Becoming a mother for the first time was so disorienting. When Tiny Dancer was born, it didn’t take long to realize that she was going to be ONE TOUGH BABY. She cried incessantly and hardly slept. All of the people who said that my newborn would just eat and sleep the first several weeks… yeah, those people LIED TO ME. We hadn’t even left the hospital yet when it hit me…there was going to be A LOT of crying in the days to come.
SO MUCH CRYING.
I naively assumed I would just ease into motherhood. I had spent most of my life caring for children of all ages. But this was before giving birth to my own baby. My very own CRIES-ALL-THE-TIME and WILL-NOT-GO-TO-SLEEP baby.
Of course, things did become much easier as time went on, as is often the case in life. As I navigated that first year of motherhood, I noticed a cycle. I would feel completely overwhelmed by a parenting challenge, struggle through figuring out a solution, then eventually find a resolution.
But the resolution never seemed to appear without some struggle.
Eventually, the cycle would begin again. And again. And again.
New challenge. New struggle. New resolution.
Now I don’t know about you, but I felt this was entirely unfair. I mean, I deserved to bask in the glow of resolution, didn’t I? At least for a little while? Perhaps a specific amount of time to tap out and rest up before having another challenge thrown at me.
But nope, this apparently was NOT part of my new mothering gig.
Honestly, this realization was pretty annoying.
And yet…
I took a deep breath, (a metaphorical deep breath, mind you) and decided to wave my white flag, (again, use your imagination here) and surrender to the cycle. I mean, what was the point of fighting it, really?
Challenge. Struggle. Resolution. Repeat.
I began to anticipate the cycle. But not in an anxious, dread-filled sort of way. It was a bit more subtle. More like alright, you’re obviously heading back this way at some point so I’ll just be here, ready to see what you have to teach me.
This does NOT mean that I like all of the struggles. No way. You’ll usually find me annoyed or anxious or completely freaked out while struggling with a challenge.
But you know what? Recognizing that these challenges will always be around have helped me begin to accept the cycle.
As Tiny Dancer began to walk, then talk, and then have opinions of her very own, I began to see this cycle as a gift. An annoying gift at times, sure, but a gift nonetheless.
Because this challenge, struggle, resolution cycle allowed me the opportunity to receive some truly remarkable gifts.
Gifts like…
Confidence. Trust. Connection.
Confidence comes when we challenge ourselves. We struggle, we learn, we grow our confidence.
Trust comes when we struggle with a challenge and come out the other side. We gain trust in the process when we know that on the other side, all will be well.
Connection is the gift we feel to those we’ve struggled with or on behalf of. This could be our child, our spouse, ourselves.
So how does this relate to your homeschooling journey?
Well, I truly believe that homeschooling is identical to parenting in so many ways. I guarantee that you are going to experience some very real challenges. It’s unavoidable. And the struggles you will navigate will sometimes be really hard and exhausting.
But on the other side is sweet resolution.
It might not be what you’d planned for or pictured, but it’s still there for you.
And in that resolution, when you have the hindsight to see the cycle clearly, you’ll be able to recognize that you have gained so very much.
Confidence in your abilities.
Trust in the process.
Connection to your child, your family, yourself.
New challenge. New struggle. New resolution.
= Confidence. Trust. Connection.
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