Thin is for pizza crust and body weight
Have you ever spread yourself a little too thin? I recently did a bit to much and failed at most of it. I spend the last month or two looking for a job, doing laundry, walking dogs, writing a novella, two blogs,teaching ESL to my neighbors, gardening, and so much more. Yes is good but too much yes is bad.
The danger is that I have Fibromyalgia and chronic pain (resulting form arthritis, and spin things). I did very well going to classes in pain management. Then like with many other things, I stopped doing my routine. I didn’t need to pace myself. I was feeling great! I could a few more things. The few more things turned into a lot more.
I was so thin I tore apart. Great holes in my energy level developed. I ended up with pain so bad I spent three days in bed. This was not good and not necessary. I know what makes me feel good and stay on track. It occureed to me that I do the same with homeschooling.
We would get into these trends of doing things every day. High energy learning weeks followed by weeks of blah. Pacing is for more than chronic pain treatment. It is for life and living fully. I know what I need to add to our curriculum, spreading out the work not the person. For now, I’m thinking thin about pizza crust and body weight.
cgailb
July 16th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I can completely relate to you here. I homeschool my four boys with fibro and it is such a delicate balance of trying not to do too much.
My personality is such that I want to join, do and see everything, but my body completely disagrees.
I have been the same way with our school, having great weeks of creative, inspiring learning followed by just getting by with the basics.
I have learned to listen carefully to my body and to be strong and say no to people when I need to, or a terrible flare comes on.
As much as I hate to hear when others have fm, it feels good to know I am not alone in trying to do it all while dealing with a not so healthy body. Stay positive and know that you are not alone.
July 17th, 2009 at 8:40 am
I hope things are better now! I think spreading oneself too thin is a mom thing. I do it, too. But you are right. We shouldn’t. :^)
Kandy
August 1st, 2009 at 10:43 am
Like you describe, I worked too hard this past year, because it was all things I really wanted to do. My son suffered for it, and so I did too. We’re doing better now.
I think having times of lots of energy and times that move more slowly is fine, though. My son and I really love having a day where we don’t do much at all. But more than a few days like that, and my son starts getting cranky.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
That is some inspirational stuff. Never knew that opinions could be this varied. Thanks for all the enthusiasm to offer such helpful information here.
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January 15th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
A thoughtful insight and ideas I will use on my blog. You’ve obviously spent some time on this. Well done!