Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and writer at Steady Mom

Dear Trishna, Jonathan, and Elijah:

I’ve watched the school bus go by for years now–sometimes with envy, longing for a bit of extra “me” time and a bit less responsibility.

Lately, though, I watch it through the early morning fog–with a deep sense of rejoicing.

You mean, we get to do this…together? The learning, the living, the loving–all of it?

It’s almost too good to be true.
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Written by contributor Kris Bales of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Hi, my name is Kris and I used to be obese.

Sometimes I wonder if that’s how I should introduce myself. On the one hand, it’s cool seeing the look on people’s faces when they hear how much weight I’ve lost. (Just being transparent…I’ve never accomplished anything quite so impressive as losing nearly 100 pounds before.)

On the other hand, it’s also nice having people only know me as “skinny me.” (Skinny being a term I use rather loosely considering I’m still “overweight” on most charts.)

Usually, I opt to tell my story, though – not to brag, but to inspire. You see, after 16 or so years of obesity and multiple failed weight-loss attempts, I do believe that if I can lose weight, anyone can. There are no magic pills or special diets. It’s just a lot of hard work and determination. It’s completely changing your lifestyle and your eating habits. It’s not easy, but so worth it.

So how does a busy homeschool mom find time to completely change her life?
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Written by contributor Jessica Fisher of Life as Mom

Ever have a day when it feels like you can do nothing right? That your efforts to do well land you flat on your face? That you’re being criticized left and right?

These kind of days are a wonderful wake-up call to me. As much as I hate those feelings of discouragement, they remind me that my kids have days like this, too.

In that moment, I realize that I’m guilty of treating them the way I have just been treated. It gives me pause and makes me mindful of being more encouraging, less critical, and motivated to change.

Here are some of the things that I’ve learned about all that.
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Written by contributor Rachel Wolf of Clean and LuSa Organics

Lately I’ve been reflecting on how our relationships change when we become parents.

My relationship to my husband, myself, my community, and my friends transformed on account of parenthood.

And I didn’t see that coming.

I thought life with children would be much like life before, just messier.

It wasn’t.

I think I called my friends to apologize for the curveball but – with a screaming baby in my arms – said we might never finish a phone call again.

Then I promptly hung up.

We made it through, of course. (Mostly because my friends soon had children of their own and they started hanging up on me, too.)

The second curveball came when we chose to homeschool.

Somehow I didn’t see that one coming either. But homeschooling (like parenting in general) changes our relationships.
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Written by contributor Rachel Wolf of Clean and Lusa Organics

I am a morning person.

I make tea and start work while the rest of my family is still asleep.

Still in my pajamas I jot down my daily “to do” list. Housework, writing, homeschooling, errands, classes, laundry… You get the idea.

(Quite well I suspect.)

Like yours, my day is often full before it has begun.

But recently I wondered: what would happen if I began today without the “to-do” list, but instead with the simple intention of having more fun?

What if I made joy my top priority?
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