So there’s this book. People have literally been recommending it to me for years. But I’ve always shied away from it, for an admittedly lame reason. The title completely turned me off. I know, I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But I’m shallow like that.

I actually hesitate to share the title with y’all now. Because once I do, you’ll probably stop reading this post immediately. Although chances are, you're not as shallow as me.

So I'll share it. Do you promise not to laugh?

It’s called this: "Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit."

Yep. It totally conjures images of women in denim jumpers with stringy hair who quietly instruct their knee-sock clad children. Sort of like this:



Anyhoo. The book I didn’t want to read. A precious woman named Teri Maxwell is the author. Now, in defense of my shallowness… Terri is wearing a floral, polyester vest and a white collared blouse on the back cover of her own book. So cut me some slack for my ugly, judgmental heart.

But y’all. I finally opened the book. And I read and read and read. Teri rocks my world.

This is good stuff. And it’s SO not just for homeschooling moms. Actually, it’s not even just for moms. It’s for anyone. Like I said, Teri rocks my world.

I am literally dedicating multiple posts to Teri in this Too Good Not To Share series. So you might just want to go ahead and purchase the book yourself instead of reading all my blog posts with the ridiculous videos and other distracting information.

But here’s what I want to share for today (from my girl, Teri):

Our goals for our children should not match our expectations.

It's true. Let me explain…

I start everyday during the week with the same goal in mind. I have a goal that my children and I will have a productive day of school. I will teach, they will sit quietly and listen and learn. We will complete all of our work by lunchtime and then, after a nutritious lunch, we will take a nature walk through our neighborhood and perhaps stop to visit and chat with some elderly neighbors.

In reality… that typically does not happen. Not even close. Often my children do not sit quietly. Often, the baby and my two Ugandan treasures have “urgent” needs that must be attended to throughout the morning while I’m trying to teach. Often I find myself completing a 2^nd grade grammar lesson at about the same time my husband is walking in the front door from work, around 6pm. And we never went on our nature walk. And our lunch wasn't all that nutritious. Did we even eat lunch?

Goals are great and necessary things. We should all have goals. But they shouldn’t match our expectations. I should pretty much expect that my day will not go exactly as planned. And that'll save me a whole lot of anxiety, anger, frustration and irritation in the end.

That little minor adjustment helps me respond to my days better. It helps me take the interruptions in stride. And it makes me a happier momma. Which means I have happier children.

And that's some advice to live by. It's definitely Too Good Not To Share, if you ask me. If you're interested other such tidbits from Teri, check out her website at www.Titus2.com.