I Am Not An Airplane
I am not an airplane. This is something of a revelation to me. It happened while I was listening to Tsh Oxenreider’s first podcast, The Art of Simple.
She was talking with Emily Freeman, and Emily said one of her least favorite sayings is “the sky is the limit.”
“The sky is only the limit if you are an airplane. You’re not. You’re a human person,” she said.
I had to stop what I was doing to think about that.
How often do I live as though the sky is the limit?
Every time I sit down to plan a new homeschool year, I make a list of all the things I’d like to cover- all the subjects, all the books, all the resources.
It lives quite beautifully and impressively in my head, and as it spills onto paper, I ought to tell myself: I am not an airplane.
I am a “yes” person. Full to the brim with ideas for projects and websites and books and programs, I’m always at the yes, ready to run with it. I let those ideas spill onto paper so I can begin to put them into action, and I ought to tell myself:
I am not an airplane.
I wish I was a better housekeeper. I see piles of clean laundry ready to be folded and put away, a bare wall in need of pictures (I’ve needed to do that for a solid year, actually), notice dishes from last night’s chocolate-and-wine event with friends still in the sink. There are bathrooms that need cleaning and my bed is a mess of unmade sheets up in my room.
And when those thoughts of, “I need to be better at this, I’m a terrible housekeeper” start creeping in, I would do well to think: I am not an airplane.
I should work out more, I tell myself. Be skinnier. Wear hipper clothes. I am not an airplane.
I want to live big and full and far-reaching.
I want to do things that are just beyond my grasp. I want to be challenged every day, I want to be learning every day, I want to be soaring to heights every day.
But I am not an airplane.
I am a human person, with limited time and talent and energy.
The sky is not the limit, and though I hate to admit it, my feet must remain firmly planted on the ground most of the time.
Perhaps I see this most clearly in my homeschool plans.
It surprises me that I do it every year, even though I know better. I don’t treat my time as a budget- I treat it as a limitless resource. I sit down to do my planning and the first thing I ask myself is, “what should we learn this year?”
I start listing shoulds, like math and grammar and science.
I think about all the wants, like Shakespeare and poetry and Giotto. My mind wanders over the pieces of a Charlotte Mason education, a classical education, and I add in each piece as it dawns on me.
Logic.
Beethoven.
Dickens.
Latin.
Sentence diagramming.
And only after I’ve created this list do I turn to the boss- that page on which I’ve plotted out the hours of my day.
I never treat our money this way
When we sit down to make a budget, we never start by listing all the things we want to afford this year.
A mortgage.
A road trip to Yellowstone.
Dinner out.
A new car payment.
That would be silly. Foolish. Disheartening. No, when we sit down to work out a budget, we begin with what we have.
There’s a finite number in that place on the spreadsheet. It’s what we have to work with.
Next, we figure out the non-negotiables. Our mortgage payment. Utilities. Insurance. We budget in a reasonable number for food, for gas, and only then do we see what’s left over to play with as far as vacations and new Danskos.
What if I treated my time like a budget?
What if I started our homeschool year, remembering that I’m a human person, not an airplane with the sky as the limit.
168 hours. And not all of them are for work.
We must sleep, must eat, prepare meals, shower and pray and attend mass. What’s left?
That’s my sky.
That’s my limit. Because I am not an airplane. I’m a human person, with limited time, talent and energy. And regardless of where the vision takes me in my head, my feet are firmly planted on earth.
Which is right where He intends me to thrive.
I’m not a homeschooler, but this post still rings true to me. Thank you for reminding me that we are not – and don’t need to be – an airplane.
So perfectly said, thank you! And that last part was so right on!…. “..my feet are firmly planted on earth. . Which is where He intends me to thrive”
This was so what I needed to hear! Xoxox
So true. I spent last summer reading A Mother’s Rule for Life which gave me a clear way to see my true role(and true superior), the duties and obligations and how to properly prioritize. Once you pull up a daily schedule chart(digital calendar or scratch paper) you see what you’re really dealing with. I found it so helpful to see pockets of time to fit in the fun extras amd also where things were set ups for failure. Seeing things in reality like that is so helpful! It tells you when you have to say “No” so you can say “yes” to what really should and can accomplish.
Wonderful! Thank you.
I love this post!! Thank you!!
I read a quote today about the sky not being the limit, as even the sun knows this.
The sun does not look longingly at earth wishing it had that job, it fulfills the measure of its creation in its own purposeful way as does the earth and the stars. It does not look at other galaxies and moan about its lot. Each bit of nature has circumstances which are different and so each conducts itself on its journey according to that purpose.
The sky is not the limit, it is the sky – doing its job, fulfilling its purpose. Thank you for the encouragement to be me. 💛😊
This is amazing…third article in a row….and WOW… I literally had to laugh out loud when I read your “Shakespeare and poetry and Giotto” because Giotto is the first on my list for picture studies…and Shakespeare….and I just decided yesterday (literally) that I needed to start adding some poetry. By the way I blame you for Giotto….through a youtube (periscope) video I came across the picture studies on the CM website….LOL! Also Shakespeare….that’s your fault too. In all seriousness I truly appreciate you and your words and your heart. And your reminder that while Giotto and Shakespeare and amazing (and doable, right?) I AM NOT AN AIRPLANE! A sidenote…I went to copy my blog address into the “website” box on your comment form…and I had forgotten that the tagline of my blog was “finding victory in rest”…I wrote that well before I knew of you…so maybe we are soul sisters. Haha! <3
I love these thoughts, Sarah! They’re so true! I’ve always said that since God is infinite, omnipresent, and omnipotent He understands better than I do how limited I am by being finite, present in one location in time and space and limited in my physical capacity even better than I do.
By the way, I’m also a homeschooling mom of 6 (2 of which are twin boys).
It may not be the wildly elaborate and inspired set of homeschooling plans, the most beautiful vision I had dreamed up. But it’s our reality. It’s our life, our education, and it’s what we have to savor today.
I am there with you. With one alive here with me and four awaiting me in heaven, I often read articles like this and feel completely inadequate to say that I too have days that are just plain difficult. It s good to see I m not alone 3
Ah yes, but even knowing that I tend to underestimate how long tasks take. I do build in a lot of margin or buffer, but never enough. I like the analogy though.
As a retired home educator I have just one thing to say: Amen, sister! :-)
We get to retire? 😁
This is so meaningful to me right now as I manage the difficult choices my wife and must make in the prioritization of ours and our kids’ lives. In order to achieve more in the homeschool room, have plenty of time for the plethora of great books that a Charlotte Mason education guides us through, enjoy the outdoors: our hiking trails, the beach, or the backyard vegetable garden, squeeze in a board-game or two on the weekends, spend quality time with dear friends and family, finish the day with a read-aloud and some prayer time, maybe even a Rosary!, and then have enough energy post-kid-bedtime for a little mommy-daddy time before the “real” work of managing our home business begins, sacrifices must be made.
Your words here are encouraging for the times we have to leave dishes in the sink or scrap yet another “unit study” idea in favor of a priority higher on the list.
Thank you!
BRAVO!!!
AMEN!!!
THANK YOU!!!
Did I say, BRAVO, AMEN, THANK YOU?
BRAVO! AMEN! THANK YOU!!
This is a good reminder today. My sky is not as high as when I had planned to start homeschooling…before I had twins. We are just doing “kindergarten” with our 5 year old this year and by “kindergarten” I mean, sit at the counter for a few minutes a few days a week and talk about animals or numbers or something “academic.” The twins are 3 (I’m the one who hasn’t potty trained them yet) and I’m pretty sure that this will be impossible. One twin was mostly ok, but the other was into everything and I mean everything for the 10-15 minutes that my oldest was actually interested and wanted to “do school.” My skyline is lowering each day, but that’s ok because “I am not an airplane.” Thank you for this post!
Wow, I can so relate to this lowering of the sky! Sometimes my twins make me feel like the sky is actually falling!
Your kindergarten sounds perfect to me. :)
I have been feeling like I should be doing more, specifically cleaning, a lot recently. Emily’s discussion with Tsh was an encouragement to me too, as was this post. Thank you.
I love this: “I want to live big and full and far-reaching. I want to do things that are just beyond my grasp. I want to be challenged every day, I want to be learning every day, I want to be soaring to heights every day.”
It’s the backwards logic of following Christ – the way up is down.
I can so relate to your process of learning to scale back and accept (to own it) your humanity and then be so blessed by the freedom of living well within the boundaries.
I think for me, my toughest opponent to putting off the “sky’s the limit” mindset is the rebel or childish feelings like “but I want to…”
Thank you for this fleshed out advice.
Excellent post Sarah!…and very timely in the heart of homeschool planning season. I’ll be linking you to next week’s Friday Findings.
Thanks,
Melissa
Thank you, Melissa!
Thanks so much for the inspiring post. I am tired of curriculum hanging over me when I know we just aren’t going to get around to it. I plan on keeping things simple this year. I do want to feel organized about it. I like your binder as opposed to a pre-made spiral bound planner. Do you have any favorite planning pages that you could recommend? Thank you so much!
Hi Jerri! My favorite pages are in this kit: http://bit.ly/1KyuGBN
I love this! I’ve started using the time budget ever since I read “Teaching From Rest”. It has revolutionized our schedule and really simplified my expectations. Above all, it has revolutionized my peace as I don’t have the burden of the “sky’s the limit” plans for the year that I can never accomplish. Thank you!
Wonderful inspiration, thank you! It resonates with what I heard at an Opus Dei evening of recollection, “You may not need to do more, just BE more.” That simplified my schedule!
I love this. As a fellow non-airplane, this is a good reminder. I cannot do everything. Instead, I do my best to choose those most important things and focus on those.
Thank you. I sat down to do my time budget today, got overwhelmed, and ate chocolate instead. Keep saying what you’re saying, because the only reason I’m half as sane as I am today is because I found Teaching from Rest a year ago.
Amen!!
This is so true and counter-cultural. Along the same lines is this statement that often feels so scolding to me, “You just need to make it a priority!”
Ack…sure… That and 10 other “top priorities!” Can’t. Be. Done.
Thank you for not only recognizing this but calling it out publicly and being a “voice” that breathes freedom and refreshment and REST.
Our pastor often remind us not to “should” on ourselves, or each other ?
Wow, Sarah!! That was perfect!! What a great phrase to remember this year…”I am not an airplane” and the sky is not the limit for me. Thank you!
I immediately thought of my recent theme song. Perhaps you will enjoy it as well. Loved this by the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbWQV3OiRqA
OH! what a revelation! HAH, I think I might try to start with what I HAVE for homeschool planning… a budgeted approach! OF COURSE… thanks!
You know, Sarah, I felt it: the more plan, it appears that less can do. But the curious thing about this is that my children learn, regardless of my ability, what they need to learn and not more than that. God has told me a lot lately, and is now crowned with your posting, which is not what I want them to do or learn, but what God has planned for them. We do not know about tomorrow and not because we want all that we want our children to study and learn, but God knows what He wants for them and empowers them. The more I struggle with my limitations, the more God shows me it’s not me who should be in charge, but Him.
I still struggle a lot with myself and know me know that this still goes a little far. But, as with Saul, He Horse overthrow me, blind me so finally I can only look at him and understand that He is the Lord of my life, in everything, including the education of my children.
Thank you for your post. It is a comfort to me.
Big hug, dear!
Love this…Lord of all, including educating my children.
Absolutely love this article! Such a profound thought and so pointed for homeschool moms who tend to take on too much. I write a lot about saying no to good things so we can say yes to the best things. I’m always inspired by your writing Sarah!
I LOVE this post. I’m a bit of a Renaissance woman too, with many interests outside of educating my children, many of which I could make money at. I’ve had a photography business and have set aside for now, to concentrate only on freelance writing at the moment while homeschooling my 3 kids and caring for my baby. There is so much I WANT to do but time is short and the days with my kids are ultimately short too. And I want to be present for the moment and not stressed out. It’s important for me to weigh each “yes” with what I’d be saying “no” to.
My goodness, Sarah! This may be one of my all time *favorite* posts of yours {and there have been many}.
Thank you SO much for putting into words so eloquently what is on my heart and mind at this exact moment. Love this so much! I think this is going to be my mantra this year “I am not an airplane!” Maybe if I say it enough times, I will realize it in my soul and breathe easier ;)
I think {know} that is a real problem at times for homeschool mommas. We want to take on the world and show our children every little slice of life and it just is not possible to tackle it all at once.
How about being “The Little Engine That Could” instead…baby steps…I think I can, I think I can :-)
Slow and steady wins the race! Thanks for the reminder :-)
I hit a wall this past year and came to the exact same conclusion. It is actually very freeing when we don’t have to meet all our own expectations and can be more purposeful with time God has given:) Great post!
Beautiful Sarah. Just right. Rock on. xo
I have never been a planner- I just do it all (badly)- but this year, I am feeling like a grown-up NOT signing up my son for tae kwan do (4 classes a week….). he doesn’t need it. he just needs to play with boys (he is an only boy w 3 sisters)
“We must sleep, must eat, prepare meals, shower and pray and attend mass.”
I would also add educate the children for the required amount of days or hours, as required by state law. Though that may seem obvious, I also think it is worth grouping with the essentials.
lol the number of hours required by law in a homeschool sitting is unreasonable.. both too many and too few. By law, in a public school setting, children must be in their classrooms being educated. In a home, far less time needs to be spent per subject because you are teaching until they get it. You dont have to allocate two hours for math b/c little Jonny cant even count to ten, or suzy is running around the classroom screaming because her parents don’t believe in telling her no. The time you spend making lunch and talking about teaspoons and seconds on the microwave can be counted as education- real learning as well.
State law varies. Some states are homeschool friendly and easier. They don’t require testing, approval of curriculum or a set number of hours. In my state we, in many areas, dislike big brother’s socialistic fingers in our pie 🙂. Success, failure and charity are all our personal responsibility.
I love this post- the perspective of budgeting time and “Which is right where He intends me to thrive.”