In the home stretch..

Two weeks of school left. Just two. Why do the last two weeks seem so daunting? The difficult lessons are all behind us. All that remains is to finish up the books, and pack them away ans enjoy our brief summer break before we start the whole cycle over again.

We will do things a little differently next year. For example, we will not take such a long break for Advent and Christmas. I had such high hopes for a holy season in which to prepare for the birth of Christ. What we got instead were bored children who couldn’t go outside because it was too cold. They drove me crazy and destroyed the inside of the house. In this case, traditional schools have it right. Two weeks of Christmas holidays are long enough. Just long enough for them to rest and be recharged and ready to tackle their lessons with renewed enthusiasm.

I’d also like to be able to work in at least one daily Mass per week. I set this goal for myself every year, but haven’t been able to live up to my good intentions. This summer we’ll start attending Mass without having school to complete afterwards. Perhaps if it is already a habit then we will be less inclined to skip it when we get back to our lessons in the Fall.

I’d also like to begin an evening family rosary. My husband is a pretty new convert, and the rosary is foreign to him still…but the families I know who do this say such wonderful things about what it does for them. I’m willing to give it a go.

I have all of these great plans and ideas for next year….but first we have to get through these last two weeks. Just two weeks. It’s my annual endurance test…the weather is great and I just want to take them all to the park and play in the sunshine. It’s like the last mile of a marathon when walking would be so easy to do, but you force yourself to sprint to the finish instead. I’m ready to sprint it out, even if it means dragging everyone across the line with me.