The Joy of the Everyday

It is Sunday afternoon. I've just added about thirty books to our homeschool wish list, because I just get so excited about how many things we could learn. Z reads for pleasure, both to herself and aloud to E, and I cannot tell you just how thrilling I find this to be. If you can read and enjoy it, you can learn anything. We may have our challenges related to working memory difficulties, but oh! It doesn't impede the delight of learning new things!

Today I am rekindling my joy in the work I am doing. We have been far busier than I prefer to be, and that makes me forget how satisfying this work is. But today we are at home, and I am looking back over the photos I've taken this month of our everyday antics, and I am so pleased with the good work we have been doing. The house is a mess in most of the photos, but there's a photo of my children playing their ukuleles, a snap of them reading together, a mirror reflection above of sitting on the stairs, drinking tea, and giving Teddy the love he deserves.

We are so fortunate to have the life we do. That my children can learn in a way that brings them pleasure is something that is not afforded to everyone. We have been reading Helen Keller's autobiography, and when we came to the part where she talked about her early learning being a joyful endeavor, Z and I grinned at each other. We get to do that, too, mostly.

Oh, we have things to do that are drudgery. Absolutely no one enjoys correcting spelling. I am not awfully keen on teaching my children to read. But the payoff of these everyday tasks, well - that is all worth it. It won't be long before I've got two children who can read whatever they like off the bookshelves and learn something new from it. Their minds are breaking wide open with possibility, and it's because of these things we do every day, that are in and of themselves not very enjoyable. But put it all together, and here we are, in the midst of joy.

And all these other little things that I do to make our life work out, that I sometimes grumble about or scowl at, they make this joy possible as well. All those little tasks that seem like drudgery are the things that make this life the life we get to have. I write this not to boast, but to remind myself. Every time I adjust the budget, each time I repair something instead of getting a new one, every time I get up early to pack a lunch so we don't have to buy one out - I am making this life possible. This is good work, and it can be joyful work, and this post is really just a reminder.

We are living the good life. There is joy.