My Goodbye Post (I hope anyway!)

[8FillTheHeart]

I posted briefly about this on the K-8 board, but there are people on this forum that I consider friends and I decided it would be rude to leave without saying good-bye. (a PM message I received really pushed me to post this)

So, I am re-posting my K-8 post over here

“I came home tonight from a beautiful Holy Thursday Mass where the service ended with the lights being turned off and everyone leaving in total silence. A commemoration to Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and the severe torment and death He faced because of my sins.

I came to the boards in an edified moment and am leaving deflated and saddened. I scanned the general board before coming to this one (K-8). I read your title (“I discovered my biggest problem”) and I was struck by it, b/c my soul responded, yes…..me, too. It is spending too much time on these boards. The feel of the boards is shifting and I am spending more time actually trying to find threads that I find valuable and worthy of time away from my family. (It takes way too much time to have read inside of every thread title looking for thoughtful discussions.) After scanning some of the threads tonight……I was struck with physical nausea. What have I been doing with my precious moments?? How many minutes have I spent on the computer on this forum that I could have been giving more smiles, hugs, kisses, and stories to the little people right in front of me. (too many I am ashamed to admit.)

Thank you for your title, even though your thread wasn’t going in this direction. Your question is really timely in making me face mine. As I reflect on the path Christ took for me…..I am sure the gift of my time is intended that I spend my minutes here in my home. Now….do I have the will-power to overcome this weakness? That is another question and one I will have to work on.”

So, while I love the interaction with you ladies and I have learned so much from you, I believe I have reached a point where it is taking more away from family than I am gaining from it (other than from my own personal selfish viewpoint anyway.)

So, as long as I can actually have the will to refrain myself, which I pray I do, hopefully this is goodbye, (except for possible excursions to the high school board for answers I can't figure out!!) If anyone wants to ask me homeschooling, Catholic theology, or Church history questions via e-mail, I would be more than happy to correspond that way. busyhsmomof7@yahoo.com (just put from WTM in the title, so I know it's not spam)

It’s been fun ladies. It is humbling to admit how hard it will be to not come to these boards. Some of you I will greatly miss. (BTW…..posting this publicly will help force my personal accountability!!)

Blessings to you all, especially on the Eve of the celebration that gives me eternal hope,
Karen aka momof7

[Jenny in Atl]

Thank you for all you have given the boards - We will be sad to see you go. I do love the saying though, family first; sounds as if you are listening to that voice.

Have a peaceful Easter and Cheers!

[Jane in NC]

After scanning some of the threads tonight……I was struck with physical nausea. What have I been doing with my precious moments?? How many minutes have I spent on the computer on this forum that I could have been giving more smiles, hugs, kisses, and stories to the little people right in front of me. (too many I am ashamed to admit.)”

Karen aka momof7

Oh Karen, your wisdom shall be missed.

Your comments are timely for me as well. The early part of the week was busy and exhausting with NC's Coastal Envirothon competition. Since that event, I have spent too much "recovery" time on these boards, but have expected my son to "hop to" with his school work. We do French together and who is holding him back? Guilty as charged.

Frankly I enjoy the mathematics and Latin discussions on the high school board too much to abandon them completely. I try to contribute something of general interest on occasion on this board as well, but I hear what you are saying. Much of the content goes beyond the "teacher's lounge" to areas that are beyond me.

My garden needs tending (physically and metaphorically). Thank you for the reminder.

Hugs, Jane (who will be in touch via email. So there!)

[beansprouts]

I completely understand how easy it is to get caught up in a message board. In the past I have left groups of people whom I had come to enjoy immensely simply because I was taking away too much time from my own family. I respect your very wise and mature decision, and I want you to know your wisdom will be missed.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I just wanted to let you know that I have saved much of your writing advice over the past few months (Incremental Writing) and I wanted you to know that your advice has helped me so much. I have kept your stuff in a folder and refer to it often.

We will miss you, but thanks for your contributions!

k

[LizzyBee]

Karen,

I will miss you! Many of your posts have been helpful to me.

Best wishes,

[Unicorn]

Karen, you will be greatly missed. I highly valued your advice on the curr. board. Thank you for the time/advice you have given here. ((((K))))

[kalanamak]

Karen, you will be greatly missed. I highly valued your advice on the curr. board. Thank you for the time/advice you have given here. ((((K))))

the brief post on the curr. boards about some new trick or book you found will not break your vow....I promise. Just post and leave again. What was that line about a light under a bushel?

[percytruffle]

I understand. With everything good in life there is always the temptation for more. If one cookie is good, the whole bag should be great. If one hour on the boards is good, two hours will be great. Before we know it our lives are unbalanced. I have had to call myself into account a few times in the past over the boards as well as other freetime activities.

Matthew 18:9

"If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

May "the boards" no longer be a stumbling block in your path or a grain of sand in your eye. Peace to you in your homechooling and your life.

[Bev in B'ville]

Karen, You shall be missed. Your wisdom was a wonderful gift to many, myself included when I first started this journey. I can't help but feel you are right. I wrote to a WTM friend of mine last week and told her much the same thing. I'm not enjoying the threads the way I used to. Too many times people respond who have nothing of value to add to a discussion and it's too time consuming to sift through it all to find the tidbits of wisdom. Please do pop in every now and then, especially when you come across curricula that's worth sharing. Hugs and more hugs, Bev.

[BizyPenguin]

do you think before leaving for good that you can pray about finding a happy medium? I have struggled with the whole internet thing for a while and I've found that as long as I don't prioritize the internet stuff, I'm able to still fit it in without feeling guilty. I make sure my kids aren't being ignored and the housework is up to par...that way I don't feel bad about being online. Quite often, I wait until the kids are in bed to go online or I check the boards early in the morning. Sometimes I don't go online or on these boards for a few days at a time. I've also struggled with the whole blogging thing. May I suggest the book, "Mitten Strings For God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry" by Katrina Kenison. It's wonderful! When you have a free minute, check my blog for my book study musings about this book. Just click on "Mitten Strings For God" in the sidebar. Also click on "Blogging" in the side bar and scroll down to the bottom and work your way up to read my thoughts about blogging/internet time. "To blog or not to blog" has two links that I recommend you check out, which are two totally different views about the whole internet/blogging/message board subject. My "Whoa Nelly" and "The Pressure Cooker Blogger" should help too. Whatever you decide, please know that you've been a kindred spirit here, and if you don't come back, you'll be truly missed. In the past I've taken a board bread from here for up to three months and happily returned. Perhaps that's all you need is a little board/internet break. Only you can decide what's right for you, though. All the best!

[BizyPenguin]

do you think before leaving for good that you can pray about finding a happy medium? I have struggled with the whole internet thing for a while and I've found that as long as I don't prioritize the internet stuff, I'm able to still fit it in without feeling guilty. I make sure my kids aren't being ignored and the housework is up to par...that way I don't feel bad about being online. Quite often, I wait until the kids are in bed to go online or I check the boards early in the morning. I've also struggled with the whole blogging thing. May I suggest the book, "Mitten Strings For God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry" by Katrina Kenison. It's wonderful! When you have a free minute, check my blog for my book study musings about this book. Just click on "Mitten Strings For God" in the sidebar. Also click on "Blogging" in the side bar and scroll down to the bottom and work your way up to read my thoughts about blogging/internet time. "To blog or not to blog" has two links that I recommend you check out, which are two totally different views about the whole internet/blogging/message board subject. My "Whoa Nelly" and "The Pressure Cooker Blogger" should help too. Whatever you decide, please know that you've been a kindred spirit here, and if you don't come back, you'll be truly missed. In the past I've taken a board bread from here for up to three months and happily returned. Perhaps that's all you need is a little board/internet break. Only you can decide what's right for you, though. All the best!