If you school year-round, you know the Summer Schedule doesn't mirror the winter, fall or spring schedules. It's different, somehow. For some families it's slower, just the basics; for others, it takes on a more literary focus and leaves off a bit of the drills. A summer homeschool environment, just like all homeschool families, can take on any number of forms and faces, styles and themes. The flexibility and variation are among the things we both love and hate about homeschooling, I think. Anyway, over at "the boards", the question of summer schedules has come up. That's one of my favorite seasonal topics, simply because everyone has their own touch, their own texture to add to the discussion. (I know I always learn so much from those threads.) Do you school year-round? If so, what does your Summer HomeSchool look like? (Or Summer Home Education Plan? Family Camp for the Incorrigibly Heat-Weary?)
I think we do read more in the summertime. Not that we don't read the rest of the year, but autumn and spring are so beautiful here. Winter reading probably rivals summer reading, except that winter is so short-lived. February, basically. If you take too long finding your gloves, you're likely to miss it. But summer in the South? We're acclimating, but I'm not holding my breath in the hope that we will one day be able to dance in the "sultry" summer afternoon humidity. So in the meantime, we do shuffle our schedule around a bit.
While it's still lovely in the mornings, we make use of it. There will be entire weeks of time later in the summer when we won't see the light of day other than to retrieve groceries. Until then, though, we get up and out early. Enjoy toast and yogurt on the front porch, maybe a chapter or two in a good book, maybe bird watch a bit. Then off to play with the dog, build forts, weed the garden (um, more on that later). Soon, we aren't feeling so perky anymore. Blech. Time to go in. We slink to the front door, and (this is how you know it's hot out) that chilly 80' a/c air gives us a Good Morning shakedown that perks us right back up. Ready to work!
Lessons. This is just a chunk of time, done in any order we fancy for the day. Latin, math, reading. Just like all. year. long. Finish those and take a break. Read another chapter or two. Share something you found. Play with EmBaby. Hey, how about a snack?
Science, History, Music, Art. Hey, how about an otter pop? Or lunch?
We finish up with the days' studies shortly after lunch. I put EmBaby down for a nap. We pile up/sprawl out/curl up somewhere comfy (usually directly beneath a ceiling fan) and read for an hour or two. Do a few chores. Start supper. Free time. Game of chess or checkers? How about that letter to Maddy? Anybody want to play gin? Mario Kart? Charades? If it's not stiflingly hot, or if we really need it, we'll head outside again.
This year is a bit different with the new activities. On game days, we have to head out right about our normal "suppertime". I've got to find a good groove, as it doesn't look like we'll have much of a break in between seasons this year (b-ball ends 8/2, f-ball begins 8/4). I've been making a light supper around 4:30 (we call it "senior supper"), and then preparing another light supper when we get home ("second supper"). On non-game days, when Zorak comes home, we eat, and the children have more time outside.
The mosquitos are getting bad now, with all the rain. Sometimes they're too tough to handle, so we stay in after supper. Most of the lightning bugs are gone now, too. (Though they were delightful while they lasted, and we look forward to them again next year.) All signs point to the beginning of our self-enforced exile from the out-of-doors. It's just for August. Then we can breathe again. This year's going to be tough, but not for schooling or lessons. Just for... being outside... in August... in the middle of the late afternoons... Come November, it'll be time to spend our afternoons at the duck blinds down at the Wildlife Refuge, and we'll be able to enjoy it because we got our other lessons done while it was hot. :-)
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
Thursday, July 12
Tuesday, July 10
Well, that's one way to do it...
Out of the blue today, James hits me with this:
Well, at least he knows what to expect, right?
Gotta love those little guys.
Kiss 'em and love 'em!
~Dy
Do you know why I remember things I've read myself so well? Because I know if I don't, you'll make me read it again.
Well, at least he knows what to expect, right?
Gotta love those little guys.
Kiss 'em and love 'em!
~Dy
More Reading Roundup
The boys and I also finished this week A Wrinkle in Time. That was a bit intense, I think, but we talk a lot about what we read and that helps. We moved the reading to mornings at snack and that worked much better than bedtime reading. There's a family tree in the back, which the boys spent quite a bit of time pouring over, and now they can hardly wait to get the rest of the series.
We spiked our bedtime reading with the second of the Indian in the Cupboard series, The Return of the Indian. This one is a bit darker than the first, and not as many laughs from the boys. They're still enjoying it, and it's good, in a different way.
Our current dish of Mental M&M's is the first book in the Young Jack Sparrow series. Total M&M's, and it's delightful. Well, no, not delightful. Not for me. There are far too many hints at romance between Young Jack and the Young Barmaid Arabella, for my comfort. Yet, James is getting older... oh, this makes my stomach hurt. Can we talk about something else?
Yes, the latest printouts from the Robinson disks are big hits. James is re-reading The Tale of Jolly Robin, and Our Hero, U.S. Grant, and he's thoroughly, deeply, and happily enjoying both of them. Of course, I'm starting him back quite a bit from his reading level, and we've agreed to play catchup over the summer. After reading Famous Men of Rome and Eagle of the Ninth this past year, these selections feel downright frolicsome. But I think it's good to frolic on occasion. It's good to slip back and re-read old favorites, re-explore the things you may not have picked up along the way the first time around. One day he'll be far too old to read Pollard's histories (which are geared for "the little boy, from six to twelve"), and as she says in her introduction,
John's reading all the poetry he can get his hands on, and (joy-of-joys!) he's reading the Young Jack Sparrow books on his own, as well. He reads ahead, then sits in for the read-aloud. I offered to change our order or even move to reading something else aloud, but he's enjoying this the way it is, and I'm not about to complain when the children are enjoying books in their own way. How else are we to make them "ours"?
Smidge "does school" every day now. It's cute. He's quite good at it, and knows far more than Zorak or I really understood. You can't learn by osmosis, but you can certainly learn more in a rich and varied environment, where you hear the lessons of your siblings daily and sit in on history lessons and bigger read alouds. Look at any younger homeschooled sibling and you'll see it in action. I forget about that. He wants so badly to have his own binder and "signments". I give him enough to keep him happy and keep him moving in a good direction. But with this one, I remember it wasn't too long ago that James was the one with the round little face and the squat little body and the days that seem filled with all the joys that toddlerhood offers. We won't be rushing that out the door any time soon.
We won't be rushing at all, if we can help it. The journey's just too interesting, and the company is too good.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
We spiked our bedtime reading with the second of the Indian in the Cupboard series, The Return of the Indian. This one is a bit darker than the first, and not as many laughs from the boys. They're still enjoying it, and it's good, in a different way.
Our current dish of Mental M&M's is the first book in the Young Jack Sparrow series. Total M&M's, and it's delightful. Well, no, not delightful. Not for me. There are far too many hints at romance between Young Jack and the Young Barmaid Arabella, for my comfort. Yet, James is getting older... oh, this makes my stomach hurt. Can we talk about something else?
Yes, the latest printouts from the Robinson disks are big hits. James is re-reading The Tale of Jolly Robin, and Our Hero, U.S. Grant, and he's thoroughly, deeply, and happily enjoying both of them. Of course, I'm starting him back quite a bit from his reading level, and we've agreed to play catchup over the summer. After reading Famous Men of Rome and Eagle of the Ninth this past year, these selections feel downright frolicsome. But I think it's good to frolic on occasion. It's good to slip back and re-read old favorites, re-explore the things you may not have picked up along the way the first time around. One day he'll be far too old to read Pollard's histories (which are geared for "the little boy, from six to twelve"), and as she says in her introduction,
"The big boy, who does not have to stop to spell out the long words and guess what they mean, will turn up his nose at it. But let him. That will not hurt us. It is the small boy we have set out to please..."One day, in the not-to-far future, he won't be bothered with anything like this. I'm so glad we didn't miss out completely.
John's reading all the poetry he can get his hands on, and (joy-of-joys!) he's reading the Young Jack Sparrow books on his own, as well. He reads ahead, then sits in for the read-aloud. I offered to change our order or even move to reading something else aloud, but he's enjoying this the way it is, and I'm not about to complain when the children are enjoying books in their own way. How else are we to make them "ours"?
Smidge "does school" every day now. It's cute. He's quite good at it, and knows far more than Zorak or I really understood. You can't learn by osmosis, but you can certainly learn more in a rich and varied environment, where you hear the lessons of your siblings daily and sit in on history lessons and bigger read alouds. Look at any younger homeschooled sibling and you'll see it in action. I forget about that. He wants so badly to have his own binder and "signments". I give him enough to keep him happy and keep him moving in a good direction. But with this one, I remember it wasn't too long ago that James was the one with the round little face and the squat little body and the days that seem filled with all the joys that toddlerhood offers. We won't be rushing that out the door any time soon.
We won't be rushing at all, if we can help it. The journey's just too interesting, and the company is too good.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
Monday, July 9
Reading Roundup
I miss my food-based book rating system. But I'm not hungry right now, and it's too hot to think of anything hot, meaty, chewy... belch. So, we'll go with the academic cowboy theme, right? Ah, the imagery.
I finished Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Zorak looked over and saw me reading it. Saw me grimacing.
"Isn't that the guy you didn't enjoy at all, except for the bit where he ripped on Byron?"
Yep. *cringe*
"Why are you reading that? No. Wait. Let me guess. This is part of your cultural education? It's an archetype, a social thread, and you want to understand the source?"
*raising my eyebrows and lowering the book* Wow, you're good.
"Nah, I've just heard it often enough. *pause* So. Is it working?"
Heh. Wait til they install the hypnopaedic rolls in homes. Then we'll see who's laughing. Well, no, I guess we won't, because we won't realize they've come and installed them, and by the time we do, we won't mind.
Yep. This book is going to give me the willies for a month. At least.
Shake it up a little, though. I'm one of the first to throw a rod when someone says, "Oh, that can't happen here!" (When referring to some governmental atrocity being committed elsewhere, generally, not with respect to Huxley's novel, per se.) And yet, it can. It has. It does. It's good to be uncomfortable, particularly if it spurs you into action. ...What is the reality-based equivalent of soma, anyhow?
I need to go read something uplifting and encouraging, like Lord of the Flies. Ugh. But I am glad I read this. Perhaps next time I pick up one of his books, I'll go for Crome Yellow (which Dover has on sale right now... hmmmm.)
Dy
I finished Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Zorak looked over and saw me reading it. Saw me grimacing.
"Isn't that the guy you didn't enjoy at all, except for the bit where he ripped on Byron?"
Yep. *cringe*
"Why are you reading that? No. Wait. Let me guess. This is part of your cultural education? It's an archetype, a social thread, and you want to understand the source?"
*raising my eyebrows and lowering the book* Wow, you're good.
"Nah, I've just heard it often enough. *pause* So. Is it working?"
Heh. Wait til they install the hypnopaedic rolls in homes. Then we'll see who's laughing. Well, no, I guess we won't, because we won't realize they've come and installed them, and by the time we do, we won't mind.
Yep. This book is going to give me the willies for a month. At least.
Shake it up a little, though. I'm one of the first to throw a rod when someone says, "Oh, that can't happen here!" (When referring to some governmental atrocity being committed elsewhere, generally, not with respect to Huxley's novel, per se.) And yet, it can. It has. It does. It's good to be uncomfortable, particularly if it spurs you into action. ...What is the reality-based equivalent of soma, anyhow?
I need to go read something uplifting and encouraging, like Lord of the Flies. Ugh. But I am glad I read this. Perhaps next time I pick up one of his books, I'll go for Crome Yellow (which Dover has on sale right now... hmmmm.)
Dy
Storms
Well, it's a beautiful day for a story. Big storm. Lots of rain. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll cancel the game tonight? (At eight - evidently, no, they don't have anywhere to be the next morning. I am SO glad we don't have to be anywhere other than curled up on the porch with a glass of tea and a good book, regardless. This is a great life!
Ooooohhhh, lots of rain and lots of thunder and lightning. I'm outta here. Maybe we'll play in the rain a bit if it lets up a little...
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
Ooooohhhh, lots of rain and lots of thunder and lightning. I'm outta here. Maybe we'll play in the rain a bit if it lets up a little...
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
Saturday, July 7
Our Latin Adventure
Well, the boys' Latin Adventure. I'm wallowing in Dowling and Henle, and while I'm making progress... it's like watching Stephen Wright parasail. (It's funny, but only if you pay very close attention.)
I'm not 100% certain what we'll do for next year. I do know that I've been pleased with the plan so far, if that helps any. If you have a young student - six to eight years old - I'd recommend starting with Prima Latina, for the child. Prima Latina can be done in six months, but with a younger student, why not buy yourself a year to get your toes wet while you figure out where you want to go from there?
John is using Prima Latina. I moved him back into that this spring, and neither of us have looked back. It's the perfect pace and tone for a six- or seven-year-old to get an introduction to Latin. Now, I won't sit here and say it's got any Latin grammar to speak of; it doesn't. (The prayers, obviously, are declined and conjugated properly, but the lessons don't cover the forms. They are for memorization - a teacher who is familiar with the material can certainly expound on it, but for that age, it's not necessarily going to sink in.) Prima Latina is best described as a basic Latin vocabulary & English grammar primer. As such, it does a phenomenal job: introduction, familiarity, use. LOVE it.
From there, I think you have to look closely at your student before making choices on programs. Fortunately, there are many to choose from, and there is likely to be one that will fill the need you have to reach your goals in teaching Latin. If you're looking for a Latin program, there is a nice collection of curriculum reviews at Paula's Archives.
John will most likely move into Latina Christiana I when we're finished with PL. I do like the Memoria Press Latin programs. I like that they are thorough, consistent, and well laid-out. What I don't like is that after Prima Latina, it gets a bit convoluted in the set up. We don't use Shurley Grammar. We won't be studying Rome at that point in our history. We won't be incorporating much of our additional reading in the same vein. There'll be a lot of work (for me!) to make it fit our school in order to get from the program as much as it has to offer. Also, it's dry as a bone. And let's be honest, most of the rest of my academic choices are also dry as a bone. (Perhaps this is my anti-humidity protest?) I know, I know, Latin is not the program you'd look to as your Fun Studies salvation... still.
James is nearly through Latin for Children Primer A. And yes, the rumors are true - there are typos and errors galore in this program. I appreciate that the folks at Classical Academic Press update their books each year, in an attempt to purge all errors from the texts. It'd be nice, however, if they'd just hold off, do a much more thorough job and get it right in one or two shots. James is learning Latin well enough, however, that he can catch and correct any mistakes in the book, on his own. He's got it, and it makes sense, and I credit that in large part to the Latin for Children program. So, for us, the typos and so forth aren't as much of a hinderance as they may be for others.
If you're going to use it, get the whole set. I don't know anybody who bought only the primer and stayed with it. At the moment, I don't know many who have stayed with it through two Primer B, to be honest, kit and all. Of course, many of these are families who were looking for a program that taught Ecclesiastical Latin, which Latin for Children is promoted as being...
And that brings me to what's killing me right now -- the program is touted as being usable for Classical AND Ecclesiastical Latin. But you can't get the DVD in Ecclesiastical, at all. According to their reps, they have no plans to make one for Ecclesiastical. The accompanying CD does offer both pronunciations, but the speaker (Dr. Perrin, I believe) slips up far too often, using Classical pronunciation on the Ecclesiastical tracks, for it to be of long-term benefit. As delightful as the CD's are, we have stopped using ours entirely.
James loves the program itself. And he is learning Latin beautifully - the lessons are thorough, interesting, and practical. He's learning it. He's loving it. He's making progress. Isn't that what we look for? *shrug* I don't know. Perhaps I'm just being whiney. In spite of all of the things we do enjoy about Latin for Children, I'm not sold yet on ordering Primer B for the coming school year.
Yet, he does need something, and he's not ready for Henle. (Heck, I'm not ready for Henle!) I'd feel completely comfortable putting John into Latina Christiana, but James is wired differently and needed a deeper, broader, more immersive approach to learning languages. So, the search continues.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
I'm not 100% certain what we'll do for next year. I do know that I've been pleased with the plan so far, if that helps any. If you have a young student - six to eight years old - I'd recommend starting with Prima Latina, for the child. Prima Latina can be done in six months, but with a younger student, why not buy yourself a year to get your toes wet while you figure out where you want to go from there?
John is using Prima Latina. I moved him back into that this spring, and neither of us have looked back. It's the perfect pace and tone for a six- or seven-year-old to get an introduction to Latin. Now, I won't sit here and say it's got any Latin grammar to speak of; it doesn't. (The prayers, obviously, are declined and conjugated properly, but the lessons don't cover the forms. They are for memorization - a teacher who is familiar with the material can certainly expound on it, but for that age, it's not necessarily going to sink in.) Prima Latina is best described as a basic Latin vocabulary & English grammar primer. As such, it does a phenomenal job: introduction, familiarity, use. LOVE it.
From there, I think you have to look closely at your student before making choices on programs. Fortunately, there are many to choose from, and there is likely to be one that will fill the need you have to reach your goals in teaching Latin. If you're looking for a Latin program, there is a nice collection of curriculum reviews at Paula's Archives.
John will most likely move into Latina Christiana I when we're finished with PL. I do like the Memoria Press Latin programs. I like that they are thorough, consistent, and well laid-out. What I don't like is that after Prima Latina, it gets a bit convoluted in the set up. We don't use Shurley Grammar. We won't be studying Rome at that point in our history. We won't be incorporating much of our additional reading in the same vein. There'll be a lot of work (for me!) to make it fit our school in order to get from the program as much as it has to offer. Also, it's dry as a bone. And let's be honest, most of the rest of my academic choices are also dry as a bone. (Perhaps this is my anti-humidity protest?) I know, I know, Latin is not the program you'd look to as your Fun Studies salvation... still.
James is nearly through Latin for Children Primer A. And yes, the rumors are true - there are typos and errors galore in this program. I appreciate that the folks at Classical Academic Press update their books each year, in an attempt to purge all errors from the texts. It'd be nice, however, if they'd just hold off, do a much more thorough job and get it right in one or two shots. James is learning Latin well enough, however, that he can catch and correct any mistakes in the book, on his own. He's got it, and it makes sense, and I credit that in large part to the Latin for Children program. So, for us, the typos and so forth aren't as much of a hinderance as they may be for others.
If you're going to use it, get the whole set. I don't know anybody who bought only the primer and stayed with it. At the moment, I don't know many who have stayed with it through two Primer B, to be honest, kit and all. Of course, many of these are families who were looking for a program that taught Ecclesiastical Latin, which Latin for Children is promoted as being...
And that brings me to what's killing me right now -- the program is touted as being usable for Classical AND Ecclesiastical Latin. But you can't get the DVD in Ecclesiastical, at all. According to their reps, they have no plans to make one for Ecclesiastical. The accompanying CD does offer both pronunciations, but the speaker (Dr. Perrin, I believe) slips up far too often, using Classical pronunciation on the Ecclesiastical tracks, for it to be of long-term benefit. As delightful as the CD's are, we have stopped using ours entirely.
James loves the program itself. And he is learning Latin beautifully - the lessons are thorough, interesting, and practical. He's learning it. He's loving it. He's making progress. Isn't that what we look for? *shrug* I don't know. Perhaps I'm just being whiney. In spite of all of the things we do enjoy about Latin for Children, I'm not sold yet on ordering Primer B for the coming school year.
Yet, he does need something, and he's not ready for Henle. (Heck, I'm not ready for Henle!) I'd feel completely comfortable putting John into Latina Christiana, but James is wired differently and needed a deeper, broader, more immersive approach to learning languages. So, the search continues.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
Friday, July 6
Will Undergo Surgery for Books
So, I had pretty much just planned to sell my left kidney and send the whole bag of cash to Yesterday's Classics, along with a note (probably written in my own blood) to please send me every book they've printed and launder the change.
Then I remembered that somewhere, deep in the hidden recesses of cardboard and camel crickets in the basement, I have a set of Robinson Curriculum disks. Hmmm. I wonder if... well, yes; with enough coffee, I can find almost anything! So I spent most of the last two days puttering around there to see if there's anything I can use. (Of course there is. Silly me.)
Tomorrow, I get to call Staples and find out if they'll have their binding services on sale any time soon.
But I'm so glad I printed out the book list and looked around for actual copies of the books, first. As handy as it is to have the books printed and bound (and with a laser printer, it really does come out to about $3 a book), we're not really 8.5" x 11"-size-book people. A book that size won't fit nicely on your lap on the couch, and it's horribly difficult to read in bed with a book that's wide enough to poke your husband in the head every time you turn the page or reach for chocolate. Not that these books are for me. Not all of them, anyway. *ahem*
Turns out there are just shy of a trillion places now re-printing old books! Of course, there are the Usual Suspects, but thanks to a little poking around on Amazon, I also found a few others. For instance, 1st World Publishing seems to have a nice selection of books. (I found them while looking for The Rover Boys series - the precurser to The Hardy Boys, et al.) There's a company called IndyPublishing, which has a big "get your book back in print" promotion going. There are quite a few options now, it seems. How fun!
Tom Swift? Back in print!
Rover Boys? Back in print!
Famous Men of _____ series? Take your pick of publishers!
Pyle? Synge? Pollard's histories? All in print.
*happy sigh*
So now I will have to divvy up the kidney funds among various vendors, but that's okay. We'll get more use out of a good pile of books than I would out of that one organ.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
Then I remembered that somewhere, deep in the hidden recesses of cardboard and camel crickets in the basement, I have a set of Robinson Curriculum disks. Hmmm. I wonder if... well, yes; with enough coffee, I can find almost anything! So I spent most of the last two days puttering around there to see if there's anything I can use. (Of course there is. Silly me.)
Tomorrow, I get to call Staples and find out if they'll have their binding services on sale any time soon.
But I'm so glad I printed out the book list and looked around for actual copies of the books, first. As handy as it is to have the books printed and bound (and with a laser printer, it really does come out to about $3 a book), we're not really 8.5" x 11"-size-book people. A book that size won't fit nicely on your lap on the couch, and it's horribly difficult to read in bed with a book that's wide enough to poke your husband in the head every time you turn the page or reach for chocolate. Not that these books are for me. Not all of them, anyway. *ahem*
Turns out there are just shy of a trillion places now re-printing old books! Of course, there are the Usual Suspects, but thanks to a little poking around on Amazon, I also found a few others. For instance, 1st World Publishing seems to have a nice selection of books. (I found them while looking for The Rover Boys series - the precurser to The Hardy Boys, et al.) There's a company called IndyPublishing, which has a big "get your book back in print" promotion going. There are quite a few options now, it seems. How fun!
Tom Swift? Back in print!
Rover Boys? Back in print!
Famous Men of _____ series? Take your pick of publishers!
Pyle? Synge? Pollard's histories? All in print.
*happy sigh*
So now I will have to divvy up the kidney funds among various vendors, but that's okay. We'll get more use out of a good pile of books than I would out of that one organ.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
Thursday, July 5
Productivity?
I have to get this out of my head, where it's ambling about, making me nauseous. Zorak took the boys to the field tonight. (For a 7 o'clock practice. Do these people not have jobs they have to go to in the morning?) EmBaby and I stayed home, namely because she was up past midnight last night, and had a whopping ten minute nap in the car today between the market and the video store. Wouldn't that be a pleasant scene at the field?
Obviously, if Zorak hadn't been home, or had a horrible accident on the way home and was in full body traction, yeah, I'd have gone. And I think that's my problem. Not that I'd have gone, but I feel guilty about not going. I always feel guilty about not going, even when my presence is not required. Even when I leap joyfully through the air as they pull onto the road, leaving me behind. I feel like I'm... well, not doing what I ought to be doing.
They left. EmBaby and I ate strawberries and chatted a while. Then she yawned. I know that yawn. In one fluid movement, I swiped her, changed her, dropped a nightgown over her head, and brushed her teeth. She was too confused to resist. We read a bit, and then I laid her down.
And then...
And then...
And then I wanted to come blog and hang out. I wanted to go read books in bed and eat chocolate. But I didn't. Partly because we don't have any chocolate (hard to buy that under the radar when all of them are with you, and wide awake). Mostly, though, because I FEEL GUILTY if I do nothing while they're gone. I feel as though, when Zorak returns from having taken the children away for a while, I need to have a clean home, fresh tea, a dead mouse to lay at his feet. Something. Something that says, "See? I didn't abandon you. I've been industrious and worthy while you were gone." (Please note: he didn't do this to me. He'd be glad for me if I'd just lay down and sleep. Or read. Really, he understands that sometimes a body just has to stop moving. No, this is aaaalllll me.)
So I cleared the dinner table, cleaned the kitchen, tidied the pantry, put the whites in the wash, cleaned up the bathroom, tidied our room, pulled all the curtains, gathered the bills to be paid, and made Zorak's lunch for tomorrow. The house wasn't dirty to begin with - it's not like I had a lot of work to do. But, I found work until some (previously unknown) internal mechanism kicked in that said, "OK, you've done enough. You can relax now."
Where did that come from? And how do I make it go away? Or should I make it go away? (It's quite possible this sensation is the only thing keeping me from collapsing into a Very Lazy Coma the second I'm left unattended, and I acknowledge that.)
It's disturbing to think that any of my good, productive habits have been formed from guilt. But then, entire nations have been build upon guilt and they lasted a lot longer than I'm likely to... so, there's that. It's just so completely foreign to me, as I know me to be. I don't get it. I just don't. But the house sure feels good now, and I think I'm going to go read for a bit. (I didn't say this quirk is without perks, did I? Just that it's a little jarring at first.)
Kiss those babies (and that one is never done out of guilt!)
Dy
"Who's torturing hogs in the bleachers? What? It's that little Precious Moments child? What are they DOING to her?"And when the media gets ahold of those people, they'll be the very ones to say,
"They seemed like such a nice, quiet couple."So. She and I stayed home. (Also, slightly less pressing, but in the spirit of full disclosure, my rear hurts and I'm tired, I don't have the snack-bag packed, I don't have any 3T clothes to take for the Little Red-Haired Girl to change into, and I didn't wanna go! There you have it; I am not up for being SuperMom, or SuperAnythingElse. Sorry.)
Obviously, if Zorak hadn't been home, or had a horrible accident on the way home and was in full body traction, yeah, I'd have gone. And I think that's my problem. Not that I'd have gone, but I feel guilty about not going. I always feel guilty about not going, even when my presence is not required. Even when I leap joyfully through the air as they pull onto the road, leaving me behind. I feel like I'm... well, not doing what I ought to be doing.
They left. EmBaby and I ate strawberries and chatted a while. Then she yawned. I know that yawn. In one fluid movement, I swiped her, changed her, dropped a nightgown over her head, and brushed her teeth. She was too confused to resist. We read a bit, and then I laid her down.
And then...
And then...
And then I wanted to come blog and hang out. I wanted to go read books in bed and eat chocolate. But I didn't. Partly because we don't have any chocolate (hard to buy that under the radar when all of them are with you, and wide awake). Mostly, though, because I FEEL GUILTY if I do nothing while they're gone. I feel as though, when Zorak returns from having taken the children away for a while, I need to have a clean home, fresh tea, a dead mouse to lay at his feet. Something. Something that says, "See? I didn't abandon you. I've been industrious and worthy while you were gone." (Please note: he didn't do this to me. He'd be glad for me if I'd just lay down and sleep. Or read. Really, he understands that sometimes a body just has to stop moving. No, this is aaaalllll me.)
So I cleared the dinner table, cleaned the kitchen, tidied the pantry, put the whites in the wash, cleaned up the bathroom, tidied our room, pulled all the curtains, gathered the bills to be paid, and made Zorak's lunch for tomorrow. The house wasn't dirty to begin with - it's not like I had a lot of work to do. But, I found work until some (previously unknown) internal mechanism kicked in that said, "OK, you've done enough. You can relax now."
Where did that come from? And how do I make it go away? Or should I make it go away? (It's quite possible this sensation is the only thing keeping me from collapsing into a Very Lazy Coma the second I'm left unattended, and I acknowledge that.)
It's disturbing to think that any of my good, productive habits have been formed from guilt. But then, entire nations have been build upon guilt and they lasted a lot longer than I'm likely to... so, there's that. It's just so completely foreign to me, as I know me to be. I don't get it. I just don't. But the house sure feels good now, and I think I'm going to go read for a bit. (I didn't say this quirk is without perks, did I? Just that it's a little jarring at first.)
Kiss those babies (and that one is never done out of guilt!)
Dy
Because he loves us,
Today, for no other reason than that he loves us, Zorak...
let the boys "help" make fried okra for supper (when it would have been much easier to do on his own)
packed a cooler and loaded the wagon into the Suburban (when he would have preferred to be sanding and prepping the eaves),
drove in horrible traffic (which he hates)...
to go to a Large Public Gathering (which he also cannot be classified as being "fond" of)...
to watch fireworks (which he doesn't hate, but could live without if he isn't going to be the one lighting them off - the whole display thing, eh, "pass".)...
fireworks that wouldn't begin until ten o'clock (on a weeknight - and although they ended before ten-thirty, it was still nearly midnight before we got home)...
When traffic was backed up for miles, he never complained (he thought it, but he didn't say it)...
When we had to loop into what we thought was paid parking, then loop back out, then realized there was no charge, and looped back in...
and he didn't snap at me.
And even when I snapped at him (because by the third bit of looping, I was pretty done, as well), he didn't snap back (too much).
All because he loves us. He likes to make us smile. And when he can make us smile, make us know we're safe and loved, make special memories that will last for years, all is right with his world.
And suddenly, it was all worth it. Simply because he loves us.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
let the boys "help" make fried okra for supper (when it would have been much easier to do on his own)
packed a cooler and loaded the wagon into the Suburban (when he would have preferred to be sanding and prepping the eaves),
drove in horrible traffic (which he hates)...
to go to a Large Public Gathering (which he also cannot be classified as being "fond" of)...
to watch fireworks (which he doesn't hate, but could live without if he isn't going to be the one lighting them off - the whole display thing, eh, "pass".)...
fireworks that wouldn't begin until ten o'clock (on a weeknight - and although they ended before ten-thirty, it was still nearly midnight before we got home)...
When traffic was backed up for miles, he never complained (he thought it, but he didn't say it)...
When we had to loop into what we thought was paid parking, then loop back out, then realized there was no charge, and looped back in...
and he didn't snap at me.
And even when I snapped at him (because by the third bit of looping, I was pretty done, as well), he didn't snap back (too much).
All because he loves us. He likes to make us smile. And when he can make us smile, make us know we're safe and loved, make special memories that will last for years, all is right with his world.
And suddenly, it was all worth it. Simply because he loves us.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
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