Ahh, the loop life...
The loop life is good...
The loop life is trusted...
The loop life works...
and the loop life can make you feel, well,
loopy!
Believe me, I know what life in a constant loop feels like- I'm still living in mine today!
Where days just run together because the only thing different about the events in the day is that the number on the calendar changed.
Yes, of course, we all have a degree of routine to our daily lives, but not like that of the "loop". Some days you welcome it, other days you comply with it and on your hardest days, you attempt to change it- which always leaves you wishing you would have just skipped that fleeting desire to break the cycle and gone straight back into welcoming it.
WHAT IS YOUR LOOP?
I can tell you how it was that my loop began and how it has come to last for so very long. It all started because of a t.v. character that my son came to love and personify. As time went on and all the toys for this character were being acquired, unknowingly, I was also acquiring my loop.
I love to play, I'm good at playing. I can and was playing with my kids already, so I didn't see any reason at all not to play opposite to his toy character. After all, we had all the figures and I had been listening to all the voices for them as we watched the show.
SO... let's play.
The first day, second day, fifteenth day all went great. Hours passed quickly, my daughter joined in, and we were sharing laughs. As a stay at home mom, I needed to fill some hours in our day anyway, so this worked.
Time went on though, and the only thing that changed was that I was picking up more and more characters- filling more roles, adding more voices to my repertoire, and having to move more figures around. The play hours became routine and expected, required even.
Now this is the point where you're thinking, "Just tell them, no" or "I don't want to play right now" but here's where I remind you of
the loop.
You can't stray from the loop once it is set in motion.
"Why?"
I could and have at times broke the cycle, tried to let them down easy, or spent time explaining that I am a grown up and blah blah blah, but it never ended well. Those times never failed to be the times that we all wind up deflated and frustrated. Mom guilt sets in deep and the day just looses its smooth continuity. Worst of all we miss out on the laughs, bonding, and memories that could have been made all because I tried to resist what they loved doing with me.
No, it isn't always fun or easy. The mental battle is genuine. But 8 years later they still love to play with me and that won't last forever.
So take this bit of encouragement,
to those who are livin' the loop life with me, dig deep and stay strong, because you are doing amazing work! Day after day you are a constant in your family that provides care, love, and support that no one else can match. It may start to look the same each day and noticeably predictable, but don't let that steal the joy of your work.
Even if it makes you a bit loopy.
To see my home school loop visit me HERE.
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