The Collective *sigh* Heard Round the Blogosphere

This massive "come clean" session that has started around the blogosphere has truly lifted my heart! I have an extra spring in my step, calling to mind the so many other holy mothers out there who are struggling from time to time, just like me. I have often wondered if I was doing the right thing homeschooling my children - after all, I would never take a teacher losing her cool with my child like I sometimes do!

Yet, just hearing that I am not the only one has been such a tremendous relief. I still need to work on keeping my temper in check and tightening up my resolve when it comes to hard discipline (like when things are so bad that all privileges are lost - I often feel like this is punishing me and am reluctant to follow through!). But just knowing that I am not the only less than perfect Mom out there keeps me from getting discouraged in the face of these setbacks.

The most ironic part is that after reading everything here yesterday, I was reading Mother's Rule of Life last night and came to the part where the author talks about discouragement. She mentions how discouragement is really one of the best tools the devil has for getting us to give up. Things aren't going as well as we like so we quit trying and give into sloth. This description fits me perfectly!

The best thing that we can do is to persevere - keep on keeping on! Let's not forget that is what we are ALL trying to do. Just like we tell our kids every day, we need to keep at it and do our best. Some days we will do better than others, but it will be fine if we keep trying and place our trust in God!