Today as I vacuumed every square inch of carpet in our house (finally!!) I mentally took stock of what everyone in the family was doing. My hubby, who works odd hours, was mowing the front lawn (again, finally!!) and the two little elephants were out in the backyard, getting the wiggles out and soaking up some vitamin D.
It occured to me that our home is very, very gender stereotyped.
Here I was vacuuming, the man was mowing, and the littles were enjoying carefree play.
All was right with my world.
And I wondered why it is, if our household is perfectly content and functional with some easily recognizable gender roles and responsibilities, that people have to get all up in arms about it?
I mean, is there something wrong with me NOT wanting to ride the John Deere and get sweaty/dusty? Is the entire women's rights movement going to be reversed because I enjoy using my (amazing!) Shark vacuum on the gross cat hair that has a breeding rate of 5,000hpm (hairs per minute)?
Am I doing my daughter some grave injustice by staying at home, cooking, cleaning, crocheting, and (gasp) homeschooling?
Am I skewing my son's concept of men/women and what we "should" be doing by letting Daddy Elephant care for all things outside (except the garden; that's in the food department) like cutting grass/weed pulling?
I mean, if SOME ONE doesn't do these things, then they don't get done.
Did I ever tell my children that "women don't mow lawns!" ? No.
Did I ever tell my children that "men don't do craft projects!" ? No.
But I am very aware that my daily actions and the list of responsibilities in our household models a definite line between the genders.
My question is, what's so awfully terrible about that?
I mean, what's the big deal?
If I feel completly fulfilled as a woman by being "just" a mother and homemaker, is that so wrong?
If my husband enjoys taking care of his family financially and keeping the outside looking nice, is that so bad?
Exactly who are we hurting by not having daddy in the kitchen with an apron?
What specific kind of disservice is it that I am doing to my daughter by not correcting her "need" for a career in addition to her desire to "grow up and be a mommy"?
Is the whole of civilization going to collapse if my son isn't ever allowed to take dance lessons, or my daughter never made to use the weed eater?
Before I go and make dinner (yes, that is usually my responsibility, and no, I don't mind it) I just wanted to ask what's so horrendous about traditional gender roles?
There seems to be this huge idea that it's better to view every single thing under the sun as being an equal opportunity for both genders.
The problem is that we were never made to be the same.
We were wired differently in our very brains (girls, you KNOW what I mean about men and the way they think... or don't) from the beginning.
We are made physically different, right down to the muscle groups that are stronger (upper body in men, lower body in women).
We look different physically (at least, this used to be more easily distinguished until the advent of males-in-skinny-jeans...).
We are opposites in alot of areas because we were made to be opposites. We were made to complement eachother, not compete with eachother. Okay, go back and re-read that, because it's true.
If all these things are true, and the genders were destined to be different, then we naturally will have different roles to fulfill in life. What we do is going to be different! We need to be doing the best we can for our children, within the role designed for our lives.
I believe we do the best we can for our children when we seek to find and live out the will of God in our everyday lives.
I know it is His will that I be a SAHM and school my kids.
I know it is His will that my husband be the primary breadwinner in our house.
And I know it is His will that we point our children to His love every chance we get.
My role is going to appear different in thier eyes because I am a woman, I am a mother, and I am a wife.
My husband's role is going to appear different to them because he is a man, he is a father, and he is a husband.
We don't compete. We compliment.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Dairy Week
I am in love.
I am in love with a brilliant method of learning.
I want a t-shirt that says " I heart Unit Studies". We have been rounding out the remaining weeks of Kindergarten by doing various unit studies together. Today we finished up "dairy week" in which we learned about a different dairy product each day. We also made homemade butter and homemade ice cream.
I love that I can make all subjects "more" fun by encasing them in a theme. Dairy Week methods: Multiplication is more fun when you can color in the answer on a yogurt carton! Learning what a "sphere" and "cone" are and how they differ from a circle and a triangle is pretty cool when its all about ice cream cones. The library never lets me down; I found a great children's book all about how ice cream is processed. And there is the ever-helpful internet, land of videos on yogurt production and milking machine diagrams!
I love unit studies because Blue Elephant likes the fun and different spin on things... but I will tell you a secret: I love unit studies because I love getting to create them! Finding just the right "how it's made" video or drawing ice cream scoops around double digit addition problems makes my heart sing. And a hands-on, homemade butter project? I'm in heaven!
This is a huge step for me in my homeschooling journey. I feel like so much has changed since last August! I began the year pretty much in stark terror that I was going to be the first homeschooling mother to get this gig completely wrong. I was scared to deviate from the curriculum in any matter. It had all been pre-planned for me, after all, and we had spent money on it! I HAD to use it to it's fullest, right??
BE took to schooling like a duck to water. He has always had a huge thirst for knowledge, and I saw him drinking deeply every day. So deeply in fact, that he began to progress faster than the curriculum was allowing for. Then came a day about a month ago that I realized we had left the curriculum far behind. I had been creating lessons from bits gathered here and there, themed around a fun book or an animal of the week. Nature studies, tiger facts, dairy week, bug explorations... we were out of our seats for 75% of the day, and BE was blossoming!
I was "winging it" and I was not afraid. You might say that I finally learned to fly! :)
Now I will not pretend that there are not still "off days"... and I don't "unschool"... we still get in pencil to paper on 5 subjects a day, 5 days a week. But theres just so much more spark, color, creativity, noise, action, glue and glitter. And I am loving it!
I want a shirt that says "I Heart Unit Studies"... and maybe I will just have to pull out the puffy paint I just bought last week (on clearance!) and make one!.... As a part of a "fabrics and how they are made" unit study, of course!
I am in love with a brilliant method of learning.
I want a t-shirt that says " I heart Unit Studies". We have been rounding out the remaining weeks of Kindergarten by doing various unit studies together. Today we finished up "dairy week" in which we learned about a different dairy product each day. We also made homemade butter and homemade ice cream.
I love that I can make all subjects "more" fun by encasing them in a theme. Dairy Week methods: Multiplication is more fun when you can color in the answer on a yogurt carton! Learning what a "sphere" and "cone" are and how they differ from a circle and a triangle is pretty cool when its all about ice cream cones. The library never lets me down; I found a great children's book all about how ice cream is processed. And there is the ever-helpful internet, land of videos on yogurt production and milking machine diagrams!
I love unit studies because Blue Elephant likes the fun and different spin on things... but I will tell you a secret: I love unit studies because I love getting to create them! Finding just the right "how it's made" video or drawing ice cream scoops around double digit addition problems makes my heart sing. And a hands-on, homemade butter project? I'm in heaven!
This is a huge step for me in my homeschooling journey. I feel like so much has changed since last August! I began the year pretty much in stark terror that I was going to be the first homeschooling mother to get this gig completely wrong. I was scared to deviate from the curriculum in any matter. It had all been pre-planned for me, after all, and we had spent money on it! I HAD to use it to it's fullest, right??
BE took to schooling like a duck to water. He has always had a huge thirst for knowledge, and I saw him drinking deeply every day. So deeply in fact, that he began to progress faster than the curriculum was allowing for. Then came a day about a month ago that I realized we had left the curriculum far behind. I had been creating lessons from bits gathered here and there, themed around a fun book or an animal of the week. Nature studies, tiger facts, dairy week, bug explorations... we were out of our seats for 75% of the day, and BE was blossoming!
I was "winging it" and I was not afraid. You might say that I finally learned to fly! :)
Now I will not pretend that there are not still "off days"... and I don't "unschool"... we still get in pencil to paper on 5 subjects a day, 5 days a week. But theres just so much more spark, color, creativity, noise, action, glue and glitter. And I am loving it!
I want a shirt that says "I Heart Unit Studies"... and maybe I will just have to pull out the puffy paint I just bought last week (on clearance!) and make one!.... As a part of a "fabrics and how they are made" unit study, of course!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
A Short Cut
A short cut. What comes to mind when you read those words?
Almost always, its the idea that there's a quicker way to get to a destination; be it a craft project or a car ride.
For me, the phrase has a new element of meaning.
Last week, my darling BE decided that 6 a.m. was the perfect hour for a short cut. the kind that comes with scissors, and his little sister's beautiful, almost lower-back length hair.
and what a SHORT cut it was.
Pink Elephant is now sporting a stack cut... the longest piece of hair on her head reaches her chin.
I cried.
and cried.
(Partly because of the rediculous steroids... see previous post.)
But mostly because she just looks SO much OLDER, now.
Little "baby girl" will be 4 in just a couple months, but she is still my "baby"! the problem is now she doesnt look the part.
Ah yes, short cuts.
PE's hair is a short cut.
BE's decision to use the scissors to play Paul Mitchell?
a short cut to the end of my patience!
(I wish I were kidding!)
I suppose I am the ONLY parent on the face of the planet who will actually admit that there are occasions where I wake up and dread the fact that i have another day full of "misadventures" awaiting me.
Like waking up to "craft time" in which half the bedroom and all of both kids are covered in glue.
Like realizing that the sink has been dribbling water for the last 2 hours since someone last washed their hands.
Like 6 a.m. short cuts.
Since I am the only one who will admit to burnout, then let me stand in my solitary camp and say loudly and with much gusto, "I wish there was a short cut to getting these kids raised!!"
I do mean that. And I don't. But mostly, I do.
I wish there WAS a short cut to the monotenous routine of "please do not do that" "that is not how we are supposed to act" "no really, I meant stop the first time"....
but there's not.
you know it, and I know it.
there is no short cut to this parenting thing.
its a long, long road, and theres alot of scraped elbows, snotty noses, and scuffed knees. (and thats just ME, on the floor groveling before God for some help and peace of mind... nevermind the kids! lol)
there are no short cuts.
not if you want to "do this right" anyway.
I supposed I could spend all my time distracted, ship 'em off to school, sports, relatives to visit, hobbies, summer camps, youth activities, retreats, etc. keep 'em spinning, keep the calendar full and the minivan gassed up.
and take the whirlwind short cut through parenting.
where the sagest advice i have to hand out is "mind the babysitter, and please stop picking your nose." ...and off to a mani/pedi and a latte.
But you see, there's just this thing inside me that just stubbornly WON'T let me... i don't know if its pride, i dont know if its the tenacity of a mother's heart, but theres just this force sticking in my chest that makes.me.stay.put.
that makes me CARE. that makes me TRY. AGAIN. and AGAIN.
and makes me keep coming back for MORE. there are no short cuts to brilliantly, well-done parenting.
and no, my parenting is NOT brilliant. some days its not even anywhere close to "well-done"!!
But it's not one of short cuts.
Someday, I have to stand before the Lord and give an account for who I was and what i did. and part of that is my mothering. I don't want to have to pipe up and say "well you see, Lord, I took a short cut...."
and thats why, even when my days are full of hair-vacuuming and short cuts,
I can take a deep breath and grit my teeth.
I'm in it for the long haul.
No short cuts here.
Almost always, its the idea that there's a quicker way to get to a destination; be it a craft project or a car ride.
For me, the phrase has a new element of meaning.
Last week, my darling BE decided that 6 a.m. was the perfect hour for a short cut. the kind that comes with scissors, and his little sister's beautiful, almost lower-back length hair.
and what a SHORT cut it was.
Pink Elephant is now sporting a stack cut... the longest piece of hair on her head reaches her chin.
I cried.
and cried.
(Partly because of the rediculous steroids... see previous post.)
But mostly because she just looks SO much OLDER, now.
Little "baby girl" will be 4 in just a couple months, but she is still my "baby"! the problem is now she doesnt look the part.
Ah yes, short cuts.
PE's hair is a short cut.
BE's decision to use the scissors to play Paul Mitchell?
a short cut to the end of my patience!
(I wish I were kidding!)
I suppose I am the ONLY parent on the face of the planet who will actually admit that there are occasions where I wake up and dread the fact that i have another day full of "misadventures" awaiting me.
Like waking up to "craft time" in which half the bedroom and all of both kids are covered in glue.
Like realizing that the sink has been dribbling water for the last 2 hours since someone last washed their hands.
Like 6 a.m. short cuts.
Since I am the only one who will admit to burnout, then let me stand in my solitary camp and say loudly and with much gusto, "I wish there was a short cut to getting these kids raised!!"
I do mean that. And I don't. But mostly, I do.
I wish there WAS a short cut to the monotenous routine of "please do not do that" "that is not how we are supposed to act" "no really, I meant stop the first time"....
but there's not.
you know it, and I know it.
there is no short cut to this parenting thing.
its a long, long road, and theres alot of scraped elbows, snotty noses, and scuffed knees. (and thats just ME, on the floor groveling before God for some help and peace of mind... nevermind the kids! lol)
there are no short cuts.
not if you want to "do this right" anyway.
I supposed I could spend all my time distracted, ship 'em off to school, sports, relatives to visit, hobbies, summer camps, youth activities, retreats, etc. keep 'em spinning, keep the calendar full and the minivan gassed up.
and take the whirlwind short cut through parenting.
where the sagest advice i have to hand out is "mind the babysitter, and please stop picking your nose." ...and off to a mani/pedi and a latte.
But you see, there's just this thing inside me that just stubbornly WON'T let me... i don't know if its pride, i dont know if its the tenacity of a mother's heart, but theres just this force sticking in my chest that makes.me.stay.put.
that makes me CARE. that makes me TRY. AGAIN. and AGAIN.
and makes me keep coming back for MORE. there are no short cuts to brilliantly, well-done parenting.
and no, my parenting is NOT brilliant. some days its not even anywhere close to "well-done"!!
But it's not one of short cuts.
Someday, I have to stand before the Lord and give an account for who I was and what i did. and part of that is my mothering. I don't want to have to pipe up and say "well you see, Lord, I took a short cut...."
and thats why, even when my days are full of hair-vacuuming and short cuts,
I can take a deep breath and grit my teeth.
I'm in it for the long haul.
No short cuts here.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Some Days
Some days you just know its not "your" day, you know?? today is one of those days!
last week i woke in the middle of the night from a not-so-great dream and my body felt like it had been taken over by aliens. the room was spinning, i was certain i would be sick all over the floor if i tried to move from the bed, i was hot and sweating. NOT a pretty picture, i assure you. i woke my husband, and he helped me out of bed. i tried for a long time to get back to sleep, and when i finally succeeded, i woke feeling exactly the same.
Plus, now my eyes were having tremors. I was officially. freaked. out. !!
Hubby scrambled to get childcare (thanks to his dad and wonderful grandmother for sitting with the elephants!) and we were off to the doctor.
The walk-in clinic recognized they were in over their head. we called and got an open slot at an ENT my hubby knows from years ago.
After a looooooong very doctor-officish wait, a hearing test, and a quick eye exam, the doctor diagnosed me with "Labryinthitis" also known as inflammation of the inner ear, causing extreme vertigo problems with side effects of eye tremors and nausea. yep, that was me.
my response?
"thanks, David Bowe".
blank stare from the doctor.
oops, guess he was in the throws of medical school during the 80's and missed the movie. (is that possible?)
anyway, the REASON today is not my day, is because i am simple NOT
myself.
the treatment for labryinthitis is a month's worth of steroids (for the inflammation) and a month of anti-vertigo meds.
side-effects?
ooooh, you betchya.
steroids cause extreme mood swings (think pregnancy and times it by 20) extreme hunger (ALL THE TIME!) the computer looks like it would be tasty with the right kind of spicy mustard....
and a sense of extreme energy, with difficulty sleeping.
(I was up til past midnight last night, pinteresting and lesson planning!)
the anti-vertigo meds cause extreme sleepiness, and slight nausea, but are actually helping ALOT with the horrible dizziness.
Not to say that it's gone, just lessened somewhat.
today is NOT my day, simply because i am NOT "myself" i am the steroided hyper/moody/ravenous/sleepy/exhausted/nauseous/ didisaymoody? version of who i normally am.
mix that with two little ones with post-easter sugar highs and a concentration level of zero for any of my (carefully thought out and excitedly planned) homeschool ideas for the day, and you get a recipe for a dizzy disaster.
today is NOT my day.
BE ended up doing a stack of worksheets, on his own, and i checked his work. (after i cried over pinterest home and fashion pages waiting for him to finish). GOOD NIGHT! i really, really do NOT like these feelings, nor the meds that contribute to them.
But, as i cross one more day off my calendar (where i have meticulously written out my doses to keep up with the meds) i know i am one day closer to "normal" and having this behind me. and i know each day, as the world still spins around me, and as the kids still have that special sorta cute but really makes me want to douse them in salsa and eat them attitude about them, i KNOW that there is one steady rock that i can cling to. a shelter in the time of storm.
jesus, thank you that you have risen, you are present, you are with me, and you are still holding me. even if bacon sounds awesome for my mouth but spells trouble for my thighs. even if my kids are driving me nuts and all i want to do is cry. (wow, that could be just about the worst mommy-sounding worship song ever!)
still He is Risen, still He is faithful, still He accepts me just as i am.
he will see me through this, till the Labryinthitis is gone from my body and the meds are finally flushed out...
and i am thankful for that.
I am clinging to that.
Even so, i doubt i will EVER want to watch the movie again in my life.
thanks, David Bowe.
last week i woke in the middle of the night from a not-so-great dream and my body felt like it had been taken over by aliens. the room was spinning, i was certain i would be sick all over the floor if i tried to move from the bed, i was hot and sweating. NOT a pretty picture, i assure you. i woke my husband, and he helped me out of bed. i tried for a long time to get back to sleep, and when i finally succeeded, i woke feeling exactly the same.
Plus, now my eyes were having tremors. I was officially. freaked. out. !!
Hubby scrambled to get childcare (thanks to his dad and wonderful grandmother for sitting with the elephants!) and we were off to the doctor.
The walk-in clinic recognized they were in over their head. we called and got an open slot at an ENT my hubby knows from years ago.
After a looooooong very doctor-officish wait, a hearing test, and a quick eye exam, the doctor diagnosed me with "Labryinthitis" also known as inflammation of the inner ear, causing extreme vertigo problems with side effects of eye tremors and nausea. yep, that was me.
my response?
"thanks, David Bowe".
blank stare from the doctor.
oops, guess he was in the throws of medical school during the 80's and missed the movie. (is that possible?)
anyway, the REASON today is not my day, is because i am simple NOT
myself.
the treatment for labryinthitis is a month's worth of steroids (for the inflammation) and a month of anti-vertigo meds.
side-effects?
ooooh, you betchya.
steroids cause extreme mood swings (think pregnancy and times it by 20) extreme hunger (ALL THE TIME!) the computer looks like it would be tasty with the right kind of spicy mustard....
and a sense of extreme energy, with difficulty sleeping.
(I was up til past midnight last night, pinteresting and lesson planning!)
the anti-vertigo meds cause extreme sleepiness, and slight nausea, but are actually helping ALOT with the horrible dizziness.
Not to say that it's gone, just lessened somewhat.
today is NOT my day, simply because i am NOT "myself" i am the steroided hyper/moody/ravenous/sleepy/exhausted/nauseous/ didisaymoody? version of who i normally am.
mix that with two little ones with post-easter sugar highs and a concentration level of zero for any of my (carefully thought out and excitedly planned) homeschool ideas for the day, and you get a recipe for a dizzy disaster.
today is NOT my day.
BE ended up doing a stack of worksheets, on his own, and i checked his work. (after i cried over pinterest home and fashion pages waiting for him to finish). GOOD NIGHT! i really, really do NOT like these feelings, nor the meds that contribute to them.
But, as i cross one more day off my calendar (where i have meticulously written out my doses to keep up with the meds) i know i am one day closer to "normal" and having this behind me. and i know each day, as the world still spins around me, and as the kids still have that special sorta cute but really makes me want to douse them in salsa and eat them attitude about them, i KNOW that there is one steady rock that i can cling to. a shelter in the time of storm.
jesus, thank you that you have risen, you are present, you are with me, and you are still holding me. even if bacon sounds awesome for my mouth but spells trouble for my thighs. even if my kids are driving me nuts and all i want to do is cry. (wow, that could be just about the worst mommy-sounding worship song ever!)
still He is Risen, still He is faithful, still He accepts me just as i am.
he will see me through this, till the Labryinthitis is gone from my body and the meds are finally flushed out...
and i am thankful for that.
I am clinging to that.
Even so, i doubt i will EVER want to watch the movie again in my life.
thanks, David Bowe.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
It's Come To My Attention
It's come to my attention that my kids need to come to my attention. Yes, go back and read that. It does make sense. In fact, it's invaluable advice to my life right now.
They NEED me.
Undivided, undistracted, unrestricted. Unhurried. Unworried. Not preoccupied.
They NEED me. They need me to focus.
They need eye contact.
They need me to slooooooow it down, and listen.
Really listen.
Last evening, I spent some truely focused time with my son.
And it was eye-opening.
He is quite the sweetheart, when I stop to realize it.
It might be important to get dinner on the table, to finish those phone conversations on a coherant thought, to get to the doctor's office on time.
But its also -vitally- important to listen to the ABC's song for the zillionth time, to let it go to voicemail and call back after bedtime, to build in an extra 10 minutes before we scramble for the door so no one is hurried and rushed and snapping.
Its vital to grab that kid by the messy hands and dance in a circle.
Its vital to attend to the REAL needs of today, this moment, RIGHT NOW.
In ten years, when they are 15 and 13 (oh, my...) will my kids KNOW, without a shadow of a doubt that THEY are the most important part of my day?
Will they feel as if their accomplishments and opinions are worth being noted?
Who determines how their self- worth plays out?
Who can most effectivly boulster it NOW?
Yes, I am busy. You are busy.
Busy busy busy.
Doing what?
Living? Providing? Buying? Consuming?
Theres a difference between providing for a child's basics and providing for a child's heart.
Stop, slow down, perk up, make eye contact, embrace. Listen.
Be HERE. Be present.
The world can wait.
Children and their hearts live in the present.
Meet them where they are.
Show them your love.
Give them your attention.
Being in the same room or at the same table is not necessarily quaility time.
Actively engage your kids.
Be intentional.
Start today.
They NEED me.
Undivided, undistracted, unrestricted. Unhurried. Unworried. Not preoccupied.
They NEED me. They need me to focus.
They need eye contact.
They need me to slooooooow it down, and listen.
Really listen.
Last evening, I spent some truely focused time with my son.
And it was eye-opening.
He is quite the sweetheart, when I stop to realize it.
It might be important to get dinner on the table, to finish those phone conversations on a coherant thought, to get to the doctor's office on time.
But its also -vitally- important to listen to the ABC's song for the zillionth time, to let it go to voicemail and call back after bedtime, to build in an extra 10 minutes before we scramble for the door so no one is hurried and rushed and snapping.
Its vital to grab that kid by the messy hands and dance in a circle.
Its vital to attend to the REAL needs of today, this moment, RIGHT NOW.
In ten years, when they are 15 and 13 (oh, my...) will my kids KNOW, without a shadow of a doubt that THEY are the most important part of my day?
Will they feel as if their accomplishments and opinions are worth being noted?
Who determines how their self- worth plays out?
Who can most effectivly boulster it NOW?
Yes, I am busy. You are busy.
Busy busy busy.
Doing what?
Living? Providing? Buying? Consuming?
Theres a difference between providing for a child's basics and providing for a child's heart.
Stop, slow down, perk up, make eye contact, embrace. Listen.
Be HERE. Be present.
The world can wait.
Children and their hearts live in the present.
Meet them where they are.
Show them your love.
Give them your attention.
Being in the same room or at the same table is not necessarily quaility time.
Actively engage your kids.
Be intentional.
Start today.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Fresh With No Mistakes
I always loved the saying "Tomorrow is a new day, fresh with no mistakes". (Who said that, anyway? It's from a movie, i think?)
Anyway, it always makes me hopeful for a new day.
I answered a question not too long ago; "whats your favorite day of the week?"
Well, believe it or not, mine is Monday.
No, seriously.
I love looking at a new week spread out before me, knowing the things here and there that must be accomplished, and i think about how there are seven days ahead of me that i can fill with memories, fill with great moments, fill with life.
And inevitably, life rushes in to meet me that week. a sick kid, fighting kids, a careless word between spouses, a mean look in traffic, a mis-placed library book, etc.
"Life".
But is that "just life"??
Jesus said " I AM the resurrection, and the LIFE."
These things I listed, that I called "life"... they are circumstances, they are not LIFE.
They may be the "events" of the week, they may be "happenings" but they all fall upon me through my LIFE.
Jesus Christ must be my "LIFE".
He is what keeps me here, keeps my heart beating, keeps my hope alive, keeps my responsibilites and priorities in line... HE must be my LIFE.
And while each day finds itself filled with 1,001 mistakes, and a handful (or a wheelbarrow) of inconvenient "happenings", each tomorrow spreads itself ahead of me, full of the promise of "being fresh, with no mistakes"..
Because the One who is LIFE is there waiting to meet me, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Anyway, it always makes me hopeful for a new day.
I answered a question not too long ago; "whats your favorite day of the week?"
Well, believe it or not, mine is Monday.
No, seriously.
I love looking at a new week spread out before me, knowing the things here and there that must be accomplished, and i think about how there are seven days ahead of me that i can fill with memories, fill with great moments, fill with life.
And inevitably, life rushes in to meet me that week. a sick kid, fighting kids, a careless word between spouses, a mean look in traffic, a mis-placed library book, etc.
"Life".
But is that "just life"??
Jesus said " I AM the resurrection, and the LIFE."
These things I listed, that I called "life"... they are circumstances, they are not LIFE.
They may be the "events" of the week, they may be "happenings" but they all fall upon me through my LIFE.
Jesus Christ must be my "LIFE".
He is what keeps me here, keeps my heart beating, keeps my hope alive, keeps my responsibilites and priorities in line... HE must be my LIFE.
And while each day finds itself filled with 1,001 mistakes, and a handful (or a wheelbarrow) of inconvenient "happenings", each tomorrow spreads itself ahead of me, full of the promise of "being fresh, with no mistakes"..
Because the One who is LIFE is there waiting to meet me, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Just BE and me
I got a chance to spend some one on one time with my little blue elephant this week.
we went to steak n' shake for lunch.
oh, how that BE makes me laugh!
The server came to the table.
BE: "Hi! I'm J and this is my mama! I'd like juice and TWO grilled cheese. One for me, and one for my MAMA!"
And he smiled his most winning smiled and waited for her to do his bidding.
I laughed, ordered juice and water, and told BE i didn't know what i wanted to eat, yet.
Yes, you guessed it. I'm a sucker. We both ordered grilled cheese.
(And it was GOOD!)
We colored.
A giraffe family, complete with a Mama, Daddy, and boy and girl. The boy was named Spots. The girl was named Giraffe. (original, buddy.)
We talked.
That is to say, I asked questions and he answered them.
He still loves homeschool. He likes the "games" we play the best. (mental note: more versions of games as we learn!)
He still wants to be a firefighter (and NOT get married) when he grows up.
He wants to drive the firetruck, and help make sure the water comes out correctly.
I told him he has to be good at math for that, and he stared at me like I had 3 heads.
Of course he would be good enough at math. Duh, Mama.
When we had eaten our grilled cheese, I ordered BE a strawberry sundae for dessert.
He loved it.. but he had to figure out how to get to the strawberry topping at the bottom of the cup.
Challenge? Not for my little BE!
He dug a "groundhog burrow" into the ice cream and reached the strawberries.
He also decided that since that day it was Thursday, the dessert should be a "strawberry Thursday"... and told the server as much when she came back with the bill.
He also looked her right in the eye and said with all the enthusiasm his little body could bear "HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!!"
Ah, my BE.
If anyone ever worries about the socialization aspect of homeschool, i invite you to have a conversation with my Blue Elephant. It's sure to be memorable!
I loved my time with BE.
I love my Elephants!
we went to steak n' shake for lunch.
oh, how that BE makes me laugh!
The server came to the table.
BE: "Hi! I'm J and this is my mama! I'd like juice and TWO grilled cheese. One for me, and one for my MAMA!"
And he smiled his most winning smiled and waited for her to do his bidding.
I laughed, ordered juice and water, and told BE i didn't know what i wanted to eat, yet.
Yes, you guessed it. I'm a sucker. We both ordered grilled cheese.
(And it was GOOD!)
We colored.
A giraffe family, complete with a Mama, Daddy, and boy and girl. The boy was named Spots. The girl was named Giraffe. (original, buddy.)
We talked.
That is to say, I asked questions and he answered them.
He still loves homeschool. He likes the "games" we play the best. (mental note: more versions of games as we learn!)
He still wants to be a firefighter (and NOT get married) when he grows up.
He wants to drive the firetruck, and help make sure the water comes out correctly.
I told him he has to be good at math for that, and he stared at me like I had 3 heads.
Of course he would be good enough at math. Duh, Mama.
When we had eaten our grilled cheese, I ordered BE a strawberry sundae for dessert.
He loved it.. but he had to figure out how to get to the strawberry topping at the bottom of the cup.
Challenge? Not for my little BE!
He dug a "groundhog burrow" into the ice cream and reached the strawberries.
He also decided that since that day it was Thursday, the dessert should be a "strawberry Thursday"... and told the server as much when she came back with the bill.
He also looked her right in the eye and said with all the enthusiasm his little body could bear "HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!!"
Ah, my BE.
If anyone ever worries about the socialization aspect of homeschool, i invite you to have a conversation with my Blue Elephant. It's sure to be memorable!
I loved my time with BE.
I love my Elephants!
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