Synchronized Swimming

Have you ever watched synchronized swimming? It’s a beautiful thing, especially from the overhead camera angle. The swimmers all seem to be intricately intertwined parts of one organism gracefully moving and creating different patterns like a kaleidoscope.

There was a day last week that I felt like a synchronized swimmer. I had my schedule and my to-do list and everything fit together perfectly. My day went as smoothly as butter melting on hot corn-on-the-cob. I took care of all the laundry, the shopping, the appointments; and I remembered to put supper in the Crockpot that morning so that it was ready at just the right time. All I had to do was put it on the table. I felt so good as I lay in bed drifting off to sleep that night, basking in the glow of my day’s accomplishments.

Then I woke up the next morning. My day started out just like all the others with my alarm going off at 6:15AM. Something was amiss, though. Chaos was afoot. My schedule wasn’t as full as it had been the day before, but I just couldn’t seem to get myself going. I couldn’t keep my head focused on the task at hand and I ended up trying to do too many things at once—laundry, dishes, schoolwork, a jigsaw puzzle, supper plans, etc. No matter what I did I just couldn’t seem to get my groove back from the day before. I don’t think I finished much of anything that I started that day. I went to bed that night feeling frazzled and overwhelmed.

I have to be honest and tell you that I have many more frazzled and frantic days than I do smooth ones—probably something like 364 to 1. I love feeling like a synchronized swimmer, but more often I find myself dog-paddling my way around (usually around and around in circles). I’ve tried all kinds of organizational techniques and I keep a calendar with me at all times (except for when I lose it), but I can still manage to make myself crazy with trying to keep up. I think the problem may not be entirely one of disorganization. The fact of the matter is I can’t schedule a child getting sick, someone growing out of a pair of shoes overnight (okay, maybe I can plan ahead for that), the cat coughing up a hairball on the living room carpet. No matter how hard I try to be an organized, on-top-of-things Super Mom, I’m not ever going to be perfect. My kids aren’t going to be perfect. And my house is not going to be perfect. The fact of the matter is—life happens.

For us homeschoolers, school and life are basically one in the same. When life gets messy and I get crazy, I miss teachable moments while trying desperately to hang onto the last remnants of my fleeting sanity. I must find comfort, though, in knowing that maybe my kids are learning how to be flexible and patient with others—especially with the mentally and organizationally challenged. All I can do is my very best and pray that God will somehow fill in the gaping holes that I leave behind. Instead of trying so hard to be a graceful synchronized swimmer, maybe I just need to focus on being a grace-filled dog-paddler. Father in Heaven, please help me keep my head above water.