Flourish by Mary Jo Tate - Apologia Book Review

Honestly, I was nervous to take on this review.  I, a homeschool mom, struggle greatly with finding balance in my day, my week, my life, and reading had somehow gotten knocked near the bottom of my list of priorities.  I had been existing in survival mode.  However, when the opportunity to review Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms came to me through The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew via Apologia Educational Ministries something in me told me to take on the challenge.  The big clincher for me was that Mary Jo Tate is a successful homeschool mom that works from home, and when I reviewed the chapters of the book I saw that she included one titled Home Business where she shares her personal experience and wisdom as a successful, SINGLE, work-from-home, homeschool mom.  Talk about some pretty big hats!  My attention had been peaked, and I accepted the challenge.

If I chose to focus on the perceived negative, I failed my challenge.  I have not finished the book.  However, I choose to focus on the positive.  There are 16 chapters in Flourish, and I am a mere five pages from completing Chapter 15, Home Business; the magic morsel that I had been searching for when I began this personal challenge.  I did get a little more than I bargained for.  Once I received my book in the mail from Apologia, and I read the first chapter, I was hooked.  What I didn't realize was that Mary Jo Tate would call on me to take some action on my own behalf.  At the end of each chapter Mary Jo a page titled Take Action!  I was a little nervous when I saw that first action step at the end of Chapter One.  However, I would not be so easily discouraged.  I grabbed a blank composition book from our homeschool cupboard and got to work.

The first Take Action! step was basically a review session for me.  See, I have been really working on self-reflection and have really been taking the time I need to evaluate where I am as an individual, where we are as a family, and where we stand as entrepreneurs.  I have been doing a bit of the dirty work already, so the first step didn't throw me any real curve balls.  The one glaring thing that did stand out to me though is that I do not have ANY written goals.  NONE!  I, the constant goal setter, had somehow allowed the waves of life to grab hold tight and beat me against the shore, over and over again.  Somehow, I have managed to lose my footing and stop doing something I consider completely essential to a successful life.  I have NO written goals for myself.  I have NO written goals for my family.  I have NO written goals for my homeschool.  I have NO written goals for our business.  ZIP.  ZERO.  ZILCH.  NADA.  This, thanks to Mary Jo Tate, will soon be remedied.

I have worked myself through each chapter so far diligently working on each and every Take Action! step at the end of each and every chapter.  I even completely read the chapter on single parents.  If you are not a single-parent this chapter is still for you.  Mary Jo does a wonderful job giving insight to both the single-parent that has made the commitment to homeschool her children as well as homeschoolers like me who have the benefit of a supportive husband.  She provides Take Action! steps for both groups of people as well.  I appreciate the wise quotes throughout the book as well as the personal input from real-life individuals in the trenches today, especially in this chapter.  The single-parent led homeschool family can easily slip through the social cracks, so to speak, and there is great advice given here that both empowers the single-parent as well as equips the traditional homeschool family to be both empathetic and supportive.

Mary Jo Tate has provided a true blessing in the writing of Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms.  I have been telling others about it since I read the first four chapters in one sitting.  (Your do remember what I said about my struggle to find time to read above, right?)  It's a breath of fresh air, and should hold a place on the shelves of all homeschoolers, both new and veteran.  It would make a wonderful gift for any occasion to any homeschool mom.  Flourish is loaded with practical advice given from personal experience.  It is real life lived successfully with bumps and bruises bared.  For me, this equates to wisdom, and wisdom shared is multiplied.  Mary Jo Tate has effectively shared with us wisdom worth sharing.  Reading Flourish has been a blessing to me, and I know it will continue to bless me and many others for years to come.  It may just be the best $15 investment you'll ever make in your self, your family, your homeschool, and your business; all in one fell swoop!

"Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, 

for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. 

She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. 

Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. 

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace."

~Proverbs 3:13-18

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Artificial Time Lines

For those of you that regularly stop by here you know that I have been struggling with exhaustion and being overwhelmed with my personal demands on my time. I have been actively trying to face this challenge and not succumb to the resulting depression. That seems to be a normal course of events in this situation. I have made several changes over the past few months, and they all seem to working for my overall good.

One thing that I am currently reevaluating is my perception of the way things should be done. In so doing I have been forced to think about the demands on my time and why they are there. What I have come to realize is that there are real deadlines and artificial time lines in all of our lives. We fall victim to social standards without really realizing it if we don't pay attention and make a conscious decision to be a free thinking individual.

As a homeschooling mom the most obvious one for me is educational time lines. Who says we have to start school at three, or five, or six, and why not ten? What about graduation? Why do we need to graduate at 18? Why not 14, or 16, or even 22? Since when do we all fit into the same mold? How on earth could our time lines all be the same? What would life be like if we were free to do EVERYTHING at our own pace? I think it would be pretty cool.

In this line of thinking I discovered that one of the things on my agenda, or artificial time line, that was bogging me down was the deadline I inflicted upon myself to have our chosen subjects of exploration completed by May 31st. Who says? Why? To what end? Why on earth does it matter if we complete the Ancient History curriculum that we chose to explore this year by May 31st? If it's not working for us right now, it's not working. Since we learn everyday what harm is there in taking a break when it is needed? My conclusion is ABSOLUTELY NONE!

We are not sitting around like lumps. We are not losing knowledge by putting off a self-inflicted schedule. On the contrary we are learning other things. My 15 year old is currently making a map collage of territory maps of times past. It's rather interesting and amazes me how he can just look at them and know exactly what empire it is strictly by viewing a blank map. My 17 year old is engrossed in writing. He has been writing stories a lot online at a website that others view your work and tell you what they think. Some criticism is useful, and some not so much, but he does enjoy it a lot. Think about the learning and creativity going on here. It's amazing and inspiring.

If my boys are self-aware enough to occupy their time with what fits in the moment, why on earth am I so unable to do so myself? Why do I struggle with doing what feels right for the moment? Why am I inclined to fight my instincts over and over again? When will I ever learn that there are some deadlines that are important like paying the bills on time, and then there are others that are not so important. Life is full of choices, and what we are inclined to think is right is not always the case. Sometimes a reevaluation is in order. When is the last time you took a moment to take a close look at what you are doing with your time? Are you focusing on what is important, or are you paying more attention to something due to an self-imposed deadline. Take a close look. You may be surprised as to what you find.

I Can't Believe it's Friday!

Where on earth does the time go? Normally, I am not on the computer right now, but I had something that needed to be tended to immediately, so here I am. When I checked my email there was a message from Karen at My Funny Dad, Harry thanking me for my advertisement purchase. In it she said, "Happy Friday!" Who knew it was Friday? I couldn't believe another week had zoomed by already.

Do you remember being a child and time just seeming to stand still? I sure do. It seemed like time would go on forever. Summers lasted much longer as did the days in general. Now, as an adult I find the time slipping by more and more quickly with each tick of the second hand. There's just something about being an adult and the responsibility that comes with it that our time gets used up much more quickly. We really don't seem to live in the moment so much as adults. There really is something lost there.

There was a time when I actually used to get pleasure out of crossing the day off the calendar. It gave me a sense of accomplishment and relief. My responsibilities were met for another day. There's nothing left to deal with for now. Can you believe it? I mean, really think about that. Once a day is gone, it is gone forever. There is absolutely no getting it back. In reality there is a level of sadness that goes with each passing day. That time is gone forever.

On the other hand there is a level of joy in knowing we are one day closer to meeting the Creator. However, just how one is spending one's time comes into question. Have I made the most of my time? Did I spend my time wisely? Did I spend time with God? Was I kind to others and myself? Take a moment to think about the way you spend your time. Is there room for improvement? Are you making the most of God's gift of life?