Last week, H11, S9, M6 and I traveled from our house to my parents home in Florida to visit with sisters and cousins. It was a mini-reunion and birthday celebration. The only downside to the trip was the fourteen hour drive each direction. Thankfully, my children are excellent car travelers and made the trip as painless as possible. We listened to books, they watched movies, did a little school work and stayed cheerful, even when I wasn't.
During the visit with family, I heard my children asked several times what they thought of their new house. Over and over again, I heard them, individually and collectively, talk about how much they loved where we live now and why they love it. It did my heart good to step into warm weather and relax a little. It also did my heart good to know that when we returned to real life we would be returning to a place my children wanted to go.
Admittedly, saying goodbye on the last day of our visit was difficult. Goodbyes are never easy. The drive home was long and boring. We felt every one of those fourteen hours. The trip was broken by a stay in a lovely Marriott Courtyard in Rock Hill, South Carolina with an indoor pool. We all enjoyed the swimming time. The best part of the trip was knowing that we were coming home and that all of us were happy to be returning to a place that, even after only a month, we'd truly missed.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Funny (and somewhat inappropriate) Dick and Jane Story
Disclaimer: Mostly I'm posting this so that I remember it. I'm hoping it helps me be more empathic when others are dealing with the facts of life when imperfect people, in this case, children, are involved. Also, it's an example of how, even when we try our very best to create a Godly, nurturing and appropriate learning environment, our children will be children.
Last week I was at the library looking for some early readers for M6. She's still frustrated by "real" books but bored to tears by Bob books and the like. I did find some books that we could read together and then I found The Storybook Treasury of Dick and Jane. M6 was thrilled. She loved the pictures and was able to read it independently. She loved it so much she read more than half of it the first day.
The trouble began when S8 caught sight of Dick and Jane. He is, of course, an eight year old boy. The book title immediately caught his eye and he proceeded to make fun of poor Dick. M6 got upset at S8's interpretation of Dick's name. She was also disgruntled by S8's opinion that Dick was a horrible name for a boy and the typical eight year-old boy laughter that followed.
At this point, in walked K14. She heard S8 criticizing Dick's name and M6 lamenting her brother's criticism. Ever the peace maker, she chimed in with, "You are one to talk, your last name is Johnson." After a moment of silence and thoughtfulness, S8 began to laugh again and crowed, "That means people could call me Shane Penis."
Last week I was at the library looking for some early readers for M6. She's still frustrated by "real" books but bored to tears by Bob books and the like. I did find some books that we could read together and then I found The Storybook Treasury of Dick and Jane. M6 was thrilled. She loved the pictures and was able to read it independently. She loved it so much she read more than half of it the first day.
The trouble began when S8 caught sight of Dick and Jane. He is, of course, an eight year old boy. The book title immediately caught his eye and he proceeded to make fun of poor Dick. M6 got upset at S8's interpretation of Dick's name. She was also disgruntled by S8's opinion that Dick was a horrible name for a boy and the typical eight year-old boy laughter that followed.
At this point, in walked K14. She heard S8 criticizing Dick's name and M6 lamenting her brother's criticism. Ever the peace maker, she chimed in with, "You are one to talk, your last name is Johnson." After a moment of silence and thoughtfulness, S8 began to laugh again and crowed, "That means people could call me Shane Penis."
Weekly Recap 2/14-2/18
It's great to have a working computer and internet connection! EVERYTHING is now business as usual in our home. That is this week's highlight for me.
We are back to school in a routine way and it feels wonderful. Of course, we can't stick to a routine for long. Next week we'll be traveling to Florida.
This week we finished chapter 2 in Signs and Seasons. We found it particularly interesting that Dad has had the opportunity to see all the stars in the heavens during his trips to Australia and Brazil. We all hope we have the same chance someday. We have plans to make our yard compass if the weather holds once we get back from Florida.
We are reading The Canterbury Tales and I found it especially exciting that our reading of The Pardoner's Tale coincided with our Story of the World 2 chapter on The Plague. It's nice when learning relates like that especially when it doesn't require a lot of planning. Our favorite tale so far is The Wife of Bath's Tale. I guess we are all romantics at heart.
Everyone is moving forward in math. M6 worked on place value through thousands and carrying when adding. She seems to have no problem with either concept. Next week we'll try borrowing during subtraction. S9 is working on adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators and H11 is adding and subtracting mixed numbers with different denominators.
In reading, M6 got through a variety of blended sounds (ng, sh, etc.) in reading. She is really enjoying reading the old Dick and Jane readers I found at the library. I'll post a funny (and somewhat inappropriate) story about that later.
We are listening to Pinocchio in the car. We've enjoyed several parts of the story but have been very surprised at how little it resembles the familiar Disney version. H11 and I agree that the writing style and the narrator remind us of The Book of Lost Things. Later this afternoon we'll be making a trip to the library to stock up on audio books for our trip next week.
Because we've been so many weeks without convenient internet access I've got some pictures that should have gone with recaps of weeks past. Rather than going back to recap, I'm going to include the pictures here. Enjoy!
We are back to school in a routine way and it feels wonderful. Of course, we can't stick to a routine for long. Next week we'll be traveling to Florida.
This week we finished chapter 2 in Signs and Seasons. We found it particularly interesting that Dad has had the opportunity to see all the stars in the heavens during his trips to Australia and Brazil. We all hope we have the same chance someday. We have plans to make our yard compass if the weather holds once we get back from Florida.
We are reading The Canterbury Tales and I found it especially exciting that our reading of The Pardoner's Tale coincided with our Story of the World 2 chapter on The Plague. It's nice when learning relates like that especially when it doesn't require a lot of planning. Our favorite tale so far is The Wife of Bath's Tale. I guess we are all romantics at heart.
Everyone is moving forward in math. M6 worked on place value through thousands and carrying when adding. She seems to have no problem with either concept. Next week we'll try borrowing during subtraction. S9 is working on adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators and H11 is adding and subtracting mixed numbers with different denominators.
In reading, M6 got through a variety of blended sounds (ng, sh, etc.) in reading. She is really enjoying reading the old Dick and Jane readers I found at the library. I'll post a funny (and somewhat inappropriate) story about that later.
We are listening to Pinocchio in the car. We've enjoyed several parts of the story but have been very surprised at how little it resembles the familiar Disney version. H11 and I agree that the writing style and the narrator remind us of The Book of Lost Things. Later this afternoon we'll be making a trip to the library to stock up on audio books for our trip next week.
Because we've been so many weeks without convenient internet access I've got some pictures that should have gone with recaps of weeks past. Rather than going back to recap, I'm going to include the pictures here. Enjoy!
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| Really silly sentences. |
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| A battle between knights. |
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| Finding equivalent fractions. |
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Color of Grief
I never thought about grief as a color before but I’m beginning to feel that it is. The degree of grief, or perhaps the nature, seems to affect the hue but I feel confident in saying that the color of grief is gray.
The grief that I experienced during our move, grief over leaving a home, friends, and lifestyle that I really enjoyed, was almost transparent. Pearl gray shimmered like the fog in a valley on a spring morning. And like the fog, that grief moved to cover only a particular thing at a particular time, passing away quickly. It’s presence was almost unnoticed.
The grief of our failed closing and the wait that followed was a smoke gray. Unlike the fog I described previously, this grief was greasy and it hung on everything. Think of the stain left behind after a smoker, or group of smokers leaves a room. The texture and look of everything in the room changes. Or the damage that is done at the top of a wall even after the least destructive house fire. The evidence of the fire remains behind in a stain, difficult to hide and impossible to remove without replacing all it covers. The uncertainty of each day and of our future, in a limited way, were being determined by someone else and I felt the loss of control and the slipping away of a dream in each moment of the day. It wasn’t a choking grief, but the physical presence, that greasy gray, was constantly with me.
The grief I’m feeling with the loss of our dog is an ocean gray. Rolling and powerful, I look hopefully at every door and window. I pray for his safe return and I listen for his bark. It’s been more than 24 hours. It’s below freezing outside. It’s been snowing off and on. I pray that he’s with a family in a warm house. I wonder why no one has called the number on his tag. My thoughts stray to the darker parts of the gray waves, pulled there by the current that would suck me under. I fight to stay in the weak sunlight that is available.
I’m reminded of a dream that my foreign exchange student had about me during her stay last year. She came to breakfast upset and told me she’d dreamed that one of my children had died and that I hadn’t cried. I wondered about that dream. I wondered if I were really the frozen mother in her dream or if, rather, I would feel the loss of a child in a way that robbed me of any feeling. As an accident victim is often protected from the true pain of an injury by the body’s amazing ability to compensate and cover pain would my mind work to keep me from feeling the true depth and nature of my loss. I wondered if I would be leveled by the death of a child or I’d not feel anything. Maybe something in between or maybe both. I still don’t know. I don’t even want to imagine how dark and powerful that gray of grief would be.
And so, in this gray, this rolling gray, I continue to pray and hope and gasp for air. In my head, I know that a dog is a dog. In my heart, I know that this dog is a member of our family and that his loss is just as real and as valid as the loss of any loved one.
The grief that I experienced during our move, grief over leaving a home, friends, and lifestyle that I really enjoyed, was almost transparent. Pearl gray shimmered like the fog in a valley on a spring morning. And like the fog, that grief moved to cover only a particular thing at a particular time, passing away quickly. It’s presence was almost unnoticed.
The grief of our failed closing and the wait that followed was a smoke gray. Unlike the fog I described previously, this grief was greasy and it hung on everything. Think of the stain left behind after a smoker, or group of smokers leaves a room. The texture and look of everything in the room changes. Or the damage that is done at the top of a wall even after the least destructive house fire. The evidence of the fire remains behind in a stain, difficult to hide and impossible to remove without replacing all it covers. The uncertainty of each day and of our future, in a limited way, were being determined by someone else and I felt the loss of control and the slipping away of a dream in each moment of the day. It wasn’t a choking grief, but the physical presence, that greasy gray, was constantly with me.
The grief I’m feeling with the loss of our dog is an ocean gray. Rolling and powerful, I look hopefully at every door and window. I pray for his safe return and I listen for his bark. It’s been more than 24 hours. It’s below freezing outside. It’s been snowing off and on. I pray that he’s with a family in a warm house. I wonder why no one has called the number on his tag. My thoughts stray to the darker parts of the gray waves, pulled there by the current that would suck me under. I fight to stay in the weak sunlight that is available.
I’m reminded of a dream that my foreign exchange student had about me during her stay last year. She came to breakfast upset and told me she’d dreamed that one of my children had died and that I hadn’t cried. I wondered about that dream. I wondered if I were really the frozen mother in her dream or if, rather, I would feel the loss of a child in a way that robbed me of any feeling. As an accident victim is often protected from the true pain of an injury by the body’s amazing ability to compensate and cover pain would my mind work to keep me from feeling the true depth and nature of my loss. I wondered if I would be leveled by the death of a child or I’d not feel anything. Maybe something in between or maybe both. I still don’t know. I don’t even want to imagine how dark and powerful that gray of grief would be.
And so, in this gray, this rolling gray, I continue to pray and hope and gasp for air. In my head, I know that a dog is a dog. In my heart, I know that this dog is a member of our family and that his loss is just as real and as valid as the loss of any loved one.
Chickens for Dummies
R and I started attending Small Farm College two weeks ago. We are attending as our first step toward figuring out what in the world we are going to do with our farm now that we’ve bought it. I’m sure sensible people would have figured that out before they bought a farm. We saw an opportunity to fulfill a dream and took it. As so often happens when dreams come true, reality has a way of being… well, real. As a result of this realness, we have 37 acres, a barn, several outbuildings and very little clue of what we are going to do next.
R has the hopes that we will be able, over time, to turn this 37 acres into something that provides enjoyment and income. Most of the time, I just hope that I don’t lose my mind in the process. Don’t get me wrong. I have farm dreams too. Mine center around sunshine and green fields, beautiful flowers and children playing. These dreams are filled with prosperous vegetable gardens and fragrant herbs. Bees busy busily in and out of gleaming white boxes. Chickens peck quietly at the ground in the yard. Everything is lovely and peaceful. In my perfect farm world, there is a book and a glass of wine after a satisfying day of work while we enjoy the sunset. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
Now, we just have to figure out how to make it happen. And so, I am reading books about chickens and bees and farming in general. As I read these books, I have discovered how much I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I am also learning that farmers assume that the rest of the world knows a lot more about what they do and about how it’s done that I do.
Today I was reading a book about chickens. It’s called Keeping Chickens: The Essential Guide to Enjoying and Getting the Best From Chickens by Jeremy Hobson and Celia Lewis. The photos in the book are lovely. They truly represent chickens in their best light and the book is worth getting just for the pictures. However, when you get into the text, it is not a book for beginning chicken owners. The authors assume a base of knowledge and ability that is far beyond what I possess. Admittedly, the closest I’ve been to a chicken in the last 30+ years involves preparing, cooking, cutting and eating. I don’t even deal with chicken bones or skin. I do buy organic, local chicken so at least I’ve been close to "real" chicken but it was most assuredly dead and plucked.
As a result, I know less than nothing about live chickens. While I enjoy seeing the chicken pictures, what I need are step by step instructions on how to set up a coop, purchase birds and what to do to keep things going smoothly. I need pictures of feeders, watering systems, roosts and nesting boxes. When someone is as clueless as I am, nothing can be assumed. For example, this book spends a lot of time talking about showing chickens. Sadly, I admit that my first thought at the mention of showing chickens was…Show them what? As you’ve already guessed, that’s not what the authors meant. Evidently there are people that have chicken shows. I can only guess that these are similar to dog shows. My imagination comes up with all kind of chicken show activities; loudest cackle, longest feathers, biggest breasts, fastest layer…the possibilities are endless. I wonder if the chickens have to show their intelligence and carriage or if they are judged totally on their looks. Either way, for someone like me, the chicken clueless, the idea of a chicken show is beyond anything I’m prepared to face.
I haven’t checked Amazon yet but I’m pretty sure there’s got to be a book out there for me. (See! I knew they'd have it!) Chicken for Dummies is just what I need, provided that it tells me how to get my chickens, what to do with them once I bring them home and, especially, how to keep them alive. If it tells me how to get them to lay eggs so I can enjoy the fruits of their labor, all the better.
The really silly thing is that I have a great chicken coop. It is the original carriage house on our farm. It’s two stories high and divided into three rooms and a closet. Inside the walls and ceiling are lined with chicken wire. I’m thinking that the plan there is it keep predators out and chickens in. The result is that there several decades of really questionable dirt and debre stuck between the walls and ceiling and the wire. Inside, there are also a variety of shelves, boxes, bins and troughs. I’m fairly certain that each of these has a chicken purpose but I’m not sure exactly what they might be.
Maybe I just need to forget the books and call in a chicken expert. I’m sure the farm’s previous owner, Bob, will be glad to lend me his assistance. He’s been here once since we moved in and it’s easy to tell that he misses the farm and would be a wealth of knowledge. My fear is that if I ask Bob for help with the chickens they will no longer be my chickens and I’ll be seeing a whole lot of Bob. I’m not sure I’m that brave nor am I sure I want to let someone else know how chicken stupid I am.
Once again, I find myself so thankful that we moved into our farm in January. The time to figure it out is really precious to me. And whatever path I take on my chicken quest, I know that there are resources available. I also know that I can do this and that the results will be worthwhile.
R has the hopes that we will be able, over time, to turn this 37 acres into something that provides enjoyment and income. Most of the time, I just hope that I don’t lose my mind in the process. Don’t get me wrong. I have farm dreams too. Mine center around sunshine and green fields, beautiful flowers and children playing. These dreams are filled with prosperous vegetable gardens and fragrant herbs. Bees busy busily in and out of gleaming white boxes. Chickens peck quietly at the ground in the yard. Everything is lovely and peaceful. In my perfect farm world, there is a book and a glass of wine after a satisfying day of work while we enjoy the sunset. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
Now, we just have to figure out how to make it happen. And so, I am reading books about chickens and bees and farming in general. As I read these books, I have discovered how much I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I am also learning that farmers assume that the rest of the world knows a lot more about what they do and about how it’s done that I do.
Today I was reading a book about chickens. It’s called Keeping Chickens: The Essential Guide to Enjoying and Getting the Best From Chickens by Jeremy Hobson and Celia Lewis. The photos in the book are lovely. They truly represent chickens in their best light and the book is worth getting just for the pictures. However, when you get into the text, it is not a book for beginning chicken owners. The authors assume a base of knowledge and ability that is far beyond what I possess. Admittedly, the closest I’ve been to a chicken in the last 30+ years involves preparing, cooking, cutting and eating. I don’t even deal with chicken bones or skin. I do buy organic, local chicken so at least I’ve been close to "real" chicken but it was most assuredly dead and plucked.
As a result, I know less than nothing about live chickens. While I enjoy seeing the chicken pictures, what I need are step by step instructions on how to set up a coop, purchase birds and what to do to keep things going smoothly. I need pictures of feeders, watering systems, roosts and nesting boxes. When someone is as clueless as I am, nothing can be assumed. For example, this book spends a lot of time talking about showing chickens. Sadly, I admit that my first thought at the mention of showing chickens was…Show them what? As you’ve already guessed, that’s not what the authors meant. Evidently there are people that have chicken shows. I can only guess that these are similar to dog shows. My imagination comes up with all kind of chicken show activities; loudest cackle, longest feathers, biggest breasts, fastest layer…the possibilities are endless. I wonder if the chickens have to show their intelligence and carriage or if they are judged totally on their looks. Either way, for someone like me, the chicken clueless, the idea of a chicken show is beyond anything I’m prepared to face.
I haven’t checked Amazon yet but I’m pretty sure there’s got to be a book out there for me. (See! I knew they'd have it!) Chicken for Dummies is just what I need, provided that it tells me how to get my chickens, what to do with them once I bring them home and, especially, how to keep them alive. If it tells me how to get them to lay eggs so I can enjoy the fruits of their labor, all the better.
The really silly thing is that I have a great chicken coop. It is the original carriage house on our farm. It’s two stories high and divided into three rooms and a closet. Inside the walls and ceiling are lined with chicken wire. I’m thinking that the plan there is it keep predators out and chickens in. The result is that there several decades of really questionable dirt and debre stuck between the walls and ceiling and the wire. Inside, there are also a variety of shelves, boxes, bins and troughs. I’m fairly certain that each of these has a chicken purpose but I’m not sure exactly what they might be.
Maybe I just need to forget the books and call in a chicken expert. I’m sure the farm’s previous owner, Bob, will be glad to lend me his assistance. He’s been here once since we moved in and it’s easy to tell that he misses the farm and would be a wealth of knowledge. My fear is that if I ask Bob for help with the chickens they will no longer be my chickens and I’ll be seeing a whole lot of Bob. I’m not sure I’m that brave nor am I sure I want to let someone else know how chicken stupid I am.
Once again, I find myself so thankful that we moved into our farm in January. The time to figure it out is really precious to me. And whatever path I take on my chicken quest, I know that there are resources available. I also know that I can do this and that the results will be worthwhile.
Weekly Recap: Jan 17-21, 2011
It feels odd to be thinking about school in a focused way again. It seems like so long since I felt able to do that. My thoughts and attention have been so consumed with the day to day needs of a family and the chaos of the move. Nothing happened as we expected it to yet, here we are, just where we were intended to be.
Much of this week was spent in unpacking but we did do some very intentional schooling. We finished The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green. It was no coincidence that much of the play this week has centered around forests, knights and merry men with a brave maiden or two. I loved Maid Marian and was happy to see her become a part of my daughters’ role playing.
We also began grammar again. I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone is right where they should be according to the "master" schedule that I put together without a move in mind. Bonus for us! Math time was spent reviewing addition and subtraction for M6 and multiplication facts for S8 & H11. We’ve been working on time and money since Christmas so I felt like we needed to make sure our facts were still solid. They are.
M6 started her "aLatin" studies again. We are behind so we were able to remind ourselves of Christmas by learning the words for shepherd, star, baby, angel and lamb. M6 was even able to put her Latin to use by sharing with her dad that one of his favorite beers, Stella Artois, contains the Latin word for star. Not exactly the use I had in mind for Latin but at least she can see some practical applications for learning the language.
Next week will be business as before the move, I hope. Things are put away to the degree that we really have no excuse. I think we are all ready to get back to a normal routine. I know I am.
Much of this week was spent in unpacking but we did do some very intentional schooling. We finished The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green. It was no coincidence that much of the play this week has centered around forests, knights and merry men with a brave maiden or two. I loved Maid Marian and was happy to see her become a part of my daughters’ role playing.
We also began grammar again. I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone is right where they should be according to the "master" schedule that I put together without a move in mind. Bonus for us! Math time was spent reviewing addition and subtraction for M6 and multiplication facts for S8 & H11. We’ve been working on time and money since Christmas so I felt like we needed to make sure our facts were still solid. They are.
M6 started her "aLatin" studies again. We are behind so we were able to remind ourselves of Christmas by learning the words for shepherd, star, baby, angel and lamb. M6 was even able to put her Latin to use by sharing with her dad that one of his favorite beers, Stella Artois, contains the Latin word for star. Not exactly the use I had in mind for Latin but at least she can see some practical applications for learning the language.
Next week will be business as before the move, I hope. Things are put away to the degree that we really have no excuse. I think we are all ready to get back to a normal routine. I know I am.
This, Just This - January 21
Four beautiful children clothed in mismatched snow clothes, gloves and hats, an unruly dog escorting them across a perfect blanket of snow white under a smooth blue sky. My angels making snow angels where no one else had or would walk. That was my moment.
We may not have all of our things in place. We don’t have internet service, cable or an in-state driver’s license but at this moment I can say, "This, just this is why we made this choice and are in this place." I pray that there are many more moments that point to the rightness of our choice. I also pray for enough inner peace to recognize those moments when they come.
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