The Photo:
The Story:
This is what happens when EVERYTHING must vacate a classroom!
My school is moving to a new location. Things that would normally stay in the closets over the summer had to be packed into my car (5 trips, filled to the brim) and brought home...
The pictures seem to say that I am not what you would call organized, but I beg to differ!
(I'll admit that, at the end of packing week, I did get tired and just tossed stuff into any available box.)
See the boxes in the far left corner, the ones with the blue lids? Each one corresponds to a specific month or theme. I keep literature, pictures, props, and printables in these boxes. As the year progressed, I did a fairly good job of restocking these boxes.
But now I must sort a space filled with teaching guides, files, colorful containers, puppets, puzzles, games, art curriculum, and an enormous number of children's books/emergent readers.
The Moment Of Truth:
I could say that I'm still decompressing from the school year, that I need a few more hours of reality TV. But the truth is, it hurts to touch my teaching stuff. I want to use it again. I'm afraid that "sorting it" will turn into "packing it away"...for awhile.
I've done this procrastination thing before. You can't see the stash of containers under the table to the left, in the photo. They are filled with unfinished scrapbooks (the first two children have complete and beautiful books; the third and fourth have boxes). I could say that the speed of life kept me from keeping the memories up to date as I went back to teaching and the children began their school careers. But the truth is, I used my blog to catch the moments--not a bad plan, btw--and it hurt to revisit the baby days. Am I a sentimental mess?! Well, yes.
I have a hard time saying goodbye...to a time, a job, a relationship, a place. As a child, I experienced the death of a parent. As a parent, I lost a child. When my children were babies, I saved everything. I took tons of photographs. I tried to catch the wind. But the wind cannot be contained. As children grow and develop into their own selves, they become less and less an extension of the parents. I knew this, even as I rocked them in the night watches. I've been crying through the lullabies since before they were born.
Now, before you say, "Hmm. Chrissy sounds a bit depressed.", let me assure you that those baby days were filled with laughter and great joy! My children are happy and our family is thriving.
I'm admitting to my procrastination.
I'm admitting that I use it as a way to circumvent heartache.
Once again, for what feels like the 999,999th time, I need to trust God with my heart. I need to just "cowboy up and get 'er done'! May I use this space to hold myself accountable? I'll be back next week with an updated photo of the spare room1 :-)
"Behind the Scenes" is a fun link up where we show those photos - but tell the real story behind them. The sneak peek behind the scenes, a look past the edges of the photo to the real life behind it. WHAT IS THE "BEHIND THE SCENES" LINK UP?
Social media and online relationships can make us feel like everyone else has it all together. We're edited, proof-read, Pinterest-perfect versions of ourselves (or so some might think!) when - in reality? There is an unfinished pile of laundry around the corner. That cute toddler smiling for the camera just had a massive meltdown seconds ago. That yummy breakfast-for-dinner you just showed us on Instagram? It's because the cat licked the chicken that was supposed to be for dinner.
You're invited to join in - we'll write up our posts & link up on Tuesdays! Read more here!
