Year of Mercy 1

The beginnings of our Crèche and Jesse Tree (doors are made from tree branches), our Advent Wreath.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the first day in a new church year. Then on December 8, we will begin the Year of Mercy, a Jubilee year, a year for forgiving debts and righting wrongs. My task is my self as a homemaker and the cleanliness and order of my house. I will be using Flylady to help me reform (form anew!). It did not get this way in a day, and will likely take the whole year to get things going. Tomorrow I will start the baby steps. Today, I cleaned up in my closet, putting away clean clothes. I will wash laundry tomorrow. May my house become a place of blessing for others.

Magistra, May I?

There is a new master in the house: meet Magistra, the in-charge part of my self who is tasked with caring for me whilst providing structure and discipline and training.

I am my children's mother. I know this seems obvious, but that statement requires constant commitment. I am the mother. If they are poorly-rested, over-fed, sluggards, much of the responsibility for their state of being falls squarely on my shoulders at their age. And by the habits and environment that DH and I create and maintain, some portion of their future states is my doing as well.

But for myself, the time of looking to the past and to my own upbringing is well and truly over. I've been in charge of myself for long enough that it's mine and mine alone to accept responsibility for the state of my health, mental, emotional, and physical.

Magistra, may I stay up later?

Minime, discipula! Fessa es! (No way, you are tired!!')

If You Know Better...

If you know better, then do better. 

I can do better.

My youngest child is about to turn five. And my goal of being trim and active before before my children are old enough for my weight to overly influence their own body image and their concept of me...is gone. I treat Me horribly. Today at lunch, Me wanted to eat a bunch of candy after her sandwhich. So I let her. 

But this evening I realized that I do strive to attend to my children's diet and exercise, yet I do not care for myself. Why not? 

Why am I punishing myself?