The giggles coming from the backseat were music to my ears. With each turn I made the little girls grew more excited and the giggles grew louder. They were in disbelief that mommy was riding all over the neighborhood chasing a rainbow. All of a sudden I became the most fun and coolest mom on the planet. I knew that reaching the rainbow was impossible. I could have simply explained to them why running after a rainbow will never lead you to it. But on a whim of goofy delight, I decided to heed the request to chase the rainbow by my preschooler. It was such a crazy thing to do but crazy things are often the most precious memories we make.
Sometimes being a homeschooling mom is not fun. We discipline, disciple, and disseminate grades. We catch falling tears from a struggling student. We nudge reluctant students on the path of learning. We soothe fussy students who just can’t seem to make sense of a lesson. It is easy to get caught in the daily grind of grades, dinner, and bedtime routines. Before we know it, we haven’t been fun in a long time. I feel closer to exhaustion than to fun a lot of the time. One thing I know is that my kids are happier when I am chasing rainbows and so am I. There are not times we should chase them. There are times we should take a break from chasing them to grade a paper or catch a falling tear. I prefer to chase the rainbows as my reflex reaction instead of looking up and realizing I spent more time standing in the rain.
I encourage you to smell the flowers along the way instead of losing the scent and feeling the desperate ache to stop and smell them. Be fun, be kind, and be blessed.