Floundering Along

 

Everyone has returned to school.
Here they are in the order in which their schools began.

 

Second year of college.

High school senior

No explanation needed!

Second year of college.

 

Now we are in an intense period of adjustment.

Not only is it hard to leave summer behind and jump back into the academic world,

it is hard to have four different school schedules that vary from day to day.

One college student has a different schedule each day of the week;

I am never sure when he is coming and going.

 

These adjustments don't only affect the students but affect me as a mom

and teacher just as much.

Their schedules affect when I can get things done at home and how much

time per week I spend away from home.

Even things like who does laundry on which day has to be renegotiated each semester

with me adjusting my days around theirs.

Then there are all those other duties that I am expected to fulfill both

at home and away from home.

 

So, I drive in my snazzy red car to writing class, to PE class,

to pick up Bethany, to do my shopping, to take people to appointments,

while trying to remember that I also HOME school.

I try to hang on to a shred of sanity when said home school

student has melt-down multiple times per morning.

 

But...I know from experience that things will smooth out as time progresses.

We will adjust and it will all become part of the flow of our days.

As the seasons flow from one to another,

our household will also flow through the changes of life

and we will find beauty and grace in each of those times.

 

***********************

One day I was explaining to Tiana that she could not use a certain product

on her skin because it would give her a rash.

She started listing off the different things she can not use on her skin

or scalp because of negative reactions.

Then she exclaimed,

"Why am I so fragile and delicate?"

 

That is not exactly how anyone views her,

least of all her family!

It also showcases the great grip she has on vocabulary.

 



 

Junior-Senior Banquet

 

 

Bethany's charter school hosts a banquet every May

where the Junior class develops a theme

and then invites the Seniors and their parents for a night

of food and games.

This year Bethany is a Junior and her class picked "Peter Pan."

 

Months were spent deciding on costumes, decorations, food,

job assignments, games, parental assistance

 and all the other details that go into hosting a party.

 

This is one of the decorations she made for the party.

She particularly enjoyed using Rudy's nail gun to attach the signs to the poles.

 

The big night finally came and she donned her pirate best.

 

Here she is with her favorite Indian. 

 

Many many hours were spent decorating the basement venue.

 

There were games set up for the Seniors to participate in as they came down the

stairs:  Walk the Plank (while having "cannon balls" thrown at them that they had to deflect with a wooden sword), Peter Pan Pictionary, Photo booths, Find the Shadow.

 

Dinner was served up by myself and another mom and consisted of:

marinated chicken breast, green beans, macaroni and cheese, and Parisian Salad.

Dessert was brownies and fresh strawberries.

Somewhere within the night a marshmallow food fight occurred and

I was informed that the parents were even more into it than the kids.

 

After dinner a slide show was shared that included pictures of each of the Seniors

through the years.  That was followed by each of them standing up and verbally

expressing appreciation to their parents.

 

The night was hailed as a success and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

One more event marked off the calendar of the Junior year

as another school year has continued to fly by.

 



 

 And they are off...
(to school).

He was the first to go and was off to college the second week of August.
His school is a 20 minute bike ride away across a field, along a bike path
 and then through a neighborhood. 

A week later, the big girl returned two days a week to the charter high school as a junior.

This is the first year she has not had the overseeing eyes of her brothers

watching her every move.  Who knows what she might do with all of that freedom.



 

Probably the most excited of all was the happy 3rd grader who declared that she

felt so grown up.  That happy feeling lasted until the first difficult math page and then

completely evaporated.

 

The last to return was our other college student who drives 30 minutes to school.

It is also his first year of college and he is finding it shocking and exhausting to go somewhere five days a week (pampered homeschooler by any chance?).

  

 

I have resumed my part-time job as teacher.

When you home school, depending on the number of students and the type of curriculum,

it is equivalent to a part-time to full-time job on top of the duties of being a home maker

and a mom.  That in itself is an adjustment for the mother of the family.

 

To make life even more exciting this year, I also helped the boys buy

their college books and I had almost as much to learn about the process as they did.

When I was in college we had one option and that was to go to

 the college bookstore and buy the required books. 

 Now there are so many options and ways to find books

but it takes time and energy to find the best deals.

Then it is further complicated by books that have internet codes and need to be bought new.

Many $$$ later and with lots of packages delivered to our house,

everyone was finally outfitted with their books for the semester.

Then I had to inform them that they are going to have to repeat this whole

process for the next semester in just a few months.

 

A few weeks in and we are starting to get a handle on who is coming

and going at what times and who will or will not be home at any given time.

We will probably get it all figured out in time for a new semester to roll around!

 

Happy Back-to-School

 for all of you going through the process.

 

********************

Nathan informed me that the first lesson he learned in college was that

you can wear whatever you want and use whatever kind

 of language you want in college. 

(Let's just say that sagging pants, immodest women, and foul language

have come as a bit of a surprise).

 

 

 

 



They Have Graduated...

 

I woke up that morning feeling very pensive and sure I would cry through the

whole ceremony.  Much to the relief of my graduates, I was beaming

the entire time and enjoyed their special event.

 

Sadly, our camera distinguished itself by taking shoddy pictures all evening.

Even our video camera ran out of battery half way through the ceremony.

It was not a good photography night.

 

 

Wesley giving the salutatory speech...

 

Wesley receiving one of his three medals.

He distinguished himself as the salutatorian, in English, and in Science.

 

Nathan received a medal for Art.

He has more talent than for what he gives himself credit.

 

Nathan receiving his diploma.

 

Wesley receiving his diploma.

 

Naturally, there were the emotionally charged slide shows and speeches

that brought both smiles and tears to the graduates and their guests.

 

Bethany played the piano while the guest were being seated,

Pomp and Circumstance while the graduates walked in,

and during a slide show.

Of course there are no pictures of her because she was hidden by the

grand piano behind the graduates.

She did a fine job, though.

 

 

{Wesley had already discarded his "bling" because they clanged together when he walked.}

 

They have grown up to be fine young men and I am proud to be their mom.

It is not from what I have done but through the Grace of God.

Thank you Lord for these fine boys.

 

 

 

 

 



An Ode-less January

 

 

It occurred to me that I have not written my typical praise to 

the month of January.

Maybe that is because this January was rather a-typical.

The pulse of life did not slow down.

The weather was not damp with depressing fog.

No cocooning took place.

 

Instead:

the weather was unseasonably warm and dry,

we were as busy as ever,

I drove even more than in December,

outdoor projects were the norm,

no indoor projects were started or finished.

 

                                                                                    Photo: B.R.M.

 

 

We tackled senior pictures in January.

That is a story in itself...

 

A couple of years ago, Rudy won a photography package at a silent auction at work.

We decided to save it and use it for the boys' senior pictures.

The time had come to get their pictures taken so I contacted the photographer, left a

voice mail and he called me back.  Right away he grated on my nerves with his

harsh attitude and name dropping but I decided to be pleasant since we had already

paid for the photo package.  After a flurry of shopping for the right outfits

 and convincing the boys that they needed more than one or two photo shots,

we arrived at the appointed time at the agreed upon spot.

The photographer arrived: reeking of cigarette smoke,

in a bad mood, with a foul mouth, and with camera equipment that malfunctioned. 

I could easily forgive the equipment malfunction and the bad mood

(especially after his very kind wife explained that he had some skin cancer removed)

but the foul mouth and asthma inducing smoke were really out of my element.

He went home to get another piece of flash equipment and we waited for them

at a new location closer to our house.

They finally showed up with the news that none of their flash equipment were

working properly and they would refund us our money.

At this point, that was a relief.

We were released from him!

Happy Day!!!! 

 

So, we hurried home and grabbed Miss B, our camera, and a few props

and headed back to the park by the creek.

I was very pleased with her work and their photos.

This photographer was cute, smelled good, and had a great attitude.
 

 

A few examples of the many shots taken that day...

 

 

 

Speaking of Miss B, if you would like to see some of her projects, read her lighthearted ramblings, and see more of her pictures, here is the link to her blog.
 

Because adoption is close to our family:

I  found this to be a very interesting commentary on adoption

along with this information on how to ask adoptive parents touchy questions
using more appropriate phrases.

And to weigh in on a major spiritual, legal, and moral battle:
Check out this blog and this one too.
(Thanks Deann for the links)

***************************
To close on a more lighthearted note:
I was talking to Miss T about a report she had written on bees.
I realized her knowledge was a bit sketchy when she declared,
"Bees give us honey...and peanut butter too!"
She was so proud of her declaration until she could tell from my face
that something had gone wrong.
Very wrong!

  

 

 

 

School Time is Here Again

 

 

Without undo excitement, the older three headed off to classes this morning.

It's hard to believe that the boys are seniors and Bethany a sophomore.

Little Miss has been slowly gathering steam with a new subject per week

since the beginning of August.  It's less of a shock to both her and I that way.