Wednesday, May 3, 2006

The Blob!

A blob has invaded my home. Slowly, at first, but then increasing in speed with each passing year, it is taking over my house!

It is the dreaded home school blob! Yes, the one that fills your every nook and cranny with educational books, supplies, games, learning tools, record books, workbooks, teacher manuals, and the list goes on and on and on. I've got Michael's kindergarten stuff, his 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade stuff as well as his current 4th grade stuff. It begins to take over everything!

We have this downstairs family room. It is now a homeschool storage room. There is little room for much else down there. You see, we have these "well meaning friends" who have contributed to the blob. Evidently, when people know you are home schooling, they say, oh I bet you could use this! Usually they are right, but every so often a home schooling family becomes a dumping ground for anything remotely educational that someone no longer wants and couldn't get rid of at their yard sale.

At first, everything was embraced with thankfulness! Wow, look what someone gave us! Then, as I learned more about home schooling and then as I began to do it, I realized that not every child will be helped by the same materials. Just because something worked for one child, doesn't mean it will work for all children. I began to realize that I could say, no, that is not something our family would use in home schooling. Unfortunately, I think I learned this lesson too late. The blob has a permanent foothold on our home!

So it begins. With the zeal of Carrie Nation, I must go attack that room (and everywhere else in the house where the blob has spread) and cleanse my home of the home school blob! And probably dump some stuff on another home schooling family that hasn't learned the lesson yet (hee hee hee).

Clutter, whether it is good stuff or junk, is still clutter. Things that keep you from moving freely in your house could one day make you fall and injure yourself seriously enough to require a physician or even an emergency room visit! So it is with other clutter in our lives. Mental, social, emotional and spiritual clutter. So, as I try to vanquish the blob, I'm going to be asking God to show me what is cluttering my spiritual life, and keeping me from being whole and healthy in Him.

3 comments:

David said...

Clutter! The American icon! Maybe its just another form of idolatry, just another distraction, another thing we might need, just in case! In reading about long-distance bicycle riding, one website writer said that the wise rider will not carry his load with him, but make use of his surroundings at each pitstop. He did carry some things, but his point was that the more experienced we get, the freer we become on the long haul trips.

That could easily parallel in every aspect of life. If we relied on God more, we would get by with much less stuff. Stuff! Ugh! What a five letter four-letter word!

Thanks for the post, Sharon!

Trailady said...

HA HA- had to laugh at this post. I can SO relate. I have since narrowed my blob down to one cabinet in the dining area. Aren't you proud of me?!

Yes, it is a discipline to avoid clutter in every area of our lives.

Deb said...

Sharon,

You wanna know what's REALLY bad??? i have the blob....i have it BAD AND i am not a parent. i am not a teacher. i do not even really work with kids anymore other than Sabbath school.

Educational materials seem to have united and plotted against me. The are drawn to my living room and no matter how much i fight them off they keep returning...stickers, and felts, and books OH MY!


:/