An Ode to Lego

You're colorful spread,
you're sizes and shape;
have often turned my sons' rooms into
a jumbled landscape.

A block with two bumps;
so innocent and small,
the simplicity and enticement
bring out the creativity of all.

Your defence mechanism is truly
effective,
for shooting pain in my foot,
makes my stepping selective.

Hours of silence,
creativity and fun,
you have managed to do,
what nothing else had done.

Gotta love Legos.

What I Learned from Spray Paint

• It's always important to be aware of your surroundings.
• Wind speed and direction do, in fact, have relevance in my life.
• You usually want to cover up something when you're painting it.
• Every passerby wants to know what you're covering up.
• If you get too close, things are going to run.
• No matter how hard you try, there will be evidence of the cover up.
• A new coat of paint doesn't always fix the problem.
• Sometimes even your best efforts to make something better, can make them worse.
• The quickest way is not always the best in the long run.

What IS a "Bad day"?

It's about perspective! We've all had days where it seems all we do is go from bad to worse. Mom's have days where we feel that maybe we haven't accomplished what we wanted to, in our home, with our children, in our relationships and in our schooling. IS that what makes a bad day?

I've had days where I felt I hadn't done anything right. I was sure my kids were better off in the care of someone else, this usually passes with a nap and some chocolate. Still, we are under alot of pressure to succeed with our children. We're taught to think of ourselves in terms of how well others around us, under our care, are doing. Did Jr. finish well in school? Did our daughter marry well? Did our sons find jobs? Are they lazy? We often gauge our success by the success or failure of our children. Is this the right perspective?

One question that always plaques my mind, was I prepared to raise, educate and train these children. I believe the answer is yes. Not because my parents educated me, for they did not. My parents were not even the ones who cared for me in most of my formative years. So... would you ask a one legged man to teach you to ride a bike?

What is his perspective? I would assume, my bad days ... are nothing compared to this day. How did he measure success? If the child does not learn to ride today, is it because he has one leg? Is it because the teacher was not prepared? Is it because he did not care enough?

I would think those things unfair, when applied to this situation. Yet, I'm that hard on myself.

Maybe I don't have many bad days after all. Maybe I just have the wrong perspective.

Measure success by where you were last year at this time. Measure the little things. Measure with grace for yourself and for the others in your life. Hmm guess I need to practice that a little more often. My life is good, I don't have the challenges many others have. I'm having a good day.

Spring, When did that happen?

Wake up, Spring where are you? My kids were watching "Franklin" about waiting for spring. I can't wait ... I'm growing seed in tiny pots, watching our geese come in and look for nesting grounds, poking around in the dirty to see what is happening in my yard, checking the composter and dreaming of planting new items in my yard. Spring must be here now. I'm not sure you know when it actually arrives until it's well into spring. The seed packages say "after last frost"... when is that exactly. You have to have several weeks of no frost to be sure it won't return. Then you're past the first chance to plant.

I think waiting for spring planting is like watching my kids grow. Growing children are something we see everyday and yet they suddenly seem to be in a new stage and we missed noticing until we look back and realize "last frost" was last week. A budding young son no longer needs me to spread his jam. A growing young lady, no longer wants the restrictions of being told what to study and when. Change doesn't seem to warn us ahead of time. It'd be nice to always be prepared, but somehow, I think we'd still feel a little off guard.

OH, I do want my children to grow. I want to love every stage of their growing years. I don't want a 40 yr old son who still needs me to cut his meat. I want my daughter to be able to self-regulate her studies. I want them to grow and mature. I want "summer" to come, but for now... I'll enjoy spring!

Choosing Directions

Well it's time to decide what to do for next year already. I feel sure I'm less worried about Homeschooling High School than I was when she was in grade 3. Is it just me? Or does everyone Homeschooler feel there's some special pressure that is supposed to accompany the High School years? I've decided, it's just another year of schooling in our home. Our direction is to find the area most promising, an area of interest, a possible career. We're going to keep reading good quality books. We're comfortable with our Math and Science choices and so we're almost done making the decisions for this next year.

I can't tell you how freeing it is to have the decisions made.

Why do we overwhelm ourselves so often about the future? Worry about every number, grade or subject? Why do we look for things to fret about?

What a great privilege and honor to school our teens at home. I, for one, am happy we've decided to go the less hoop-jumping route and keep doing what we've been doing all along.