Dodge!

Do you ever feel like you’re in a game of dodgeball, except that the other team has WAY more people, and WAY more balls? That’s how I’m beginning to feel this summer. The balls are coming at me so fast, I can hardly dodge them at all! The only thing is, when I get hit, I’m not out, I just keep getting pummeled! The balls are not necessarily bad things, though, just THINGS – events, appointments, chores, errands, trips, expenses, etc. Some of them are bad, though – friends moving, DISappointments, setbacks, misunderstandings, sickness, gas prices, unexplained noises in your vehicle’s engine, kids who won’t listen, fleas, and on it goes. I mean, we all have things from both categories, good and bad, in our lives every day, but sometimes they just start to pile up. Like now. Summer is so full of reunions, birthday parties, trips to the lake, showers, and the like, that it’s hard to catch your breath! Not that you don’t want those things to take place, just not all at the same time!

So, anyway, I’m trying to take it all in stride. The strength of your spirit is only proved when it’s tested, and I’d really like to pass.

This weekend, the kids and I will be in Abilene for a family reunion. Craig can’t take off work after a week of vacation, so we are making the trip alone, which is not much of a disappointment to him. He’d much rather be with us, or rather we be at home, but he’s not much on family reunions when it involves my third, fourth, and probably eleventh cousins. I mean, it is the reunion of the descendants of his wife’s great, great, great grandparents on her mother’s mother’s mother’s father’s side. Who doesn’t get excited about that? He doesn’t mind so much when it’s just my aunts and uncles, but this one pushes it a little bit. And as much as I’d rather he go with us, I can’t help but look forward to some late nights in the hotel room, kids asleep, so I can type some of those 400 recipes I plan to put into ‘the cookbook.’ That’s not such a selfish plan, is it? I can’t seem to get any time here, so I have to get in a hotel room with some worn-out kids to get it done. I’m just killing two birds with one stone – reunion and busy-work. I also need to work on lesson plans, but I’ll have to work those in at home.

Our new school year will not officially start until September, and maybe even October, when I get new schedules and curriculums lined up, so I’ve got plenty of time for that. We still have some things to finish up for this year, but most of it will just be a continuance of what we’re already doing. Jake is already in his fourth grade math book, but Levi is a little behind in phonics. We’ll make it, though. Homeschooling advantage #348 – you can work at your own pace, and the pace the CHILD needs. Levi didn’t catch on to phonics as quickly as I had hoped, but he’s making good progress. Thankfully, we’ve been able to work at HIS pace, and let him develop his skills as he’s able, without the stress of staying at a certain pace or ‘on grade level.’ If he were in public school, he would already be labeled as a ‘slow’ reader and probably carry that on to later grades. But, at home, we’ll work a little slower and make sure he masters each step, until he catches right up. Beautiful!