This week the mornings have refreshed me more than usual because of the wet, bright, mistiness that has met me as I walked out of my door. A couple days the sun shone brightly on all the new spring greenery, and a couple days the smell of rain and dew hung in the air as the sun fought to shine its brightest. All of these mornings remind me of hope and new beginnings…
My current season of life exudes hope; therefore, this weather met me where with how I was feeling inside: Excited, expectant (about finally being married!), a little sad (my Dad is doing better, but he is not like he used to be), mixed with great hope for the journey ahead.
The weather does help us process life. For example, last weekend my Mom held a huge garage sale to clear out her basement and garage. The first day was overcast, but dry, and dozens of people came to find the treasures. The next day, however, it rained; the rain started with a little sprinkle and progressing to large, steady drops for hours. Because my Mom and brother advertised so well, people STILL showed up and bought more of the things before a junk man took the leftovers away. My Mom repeatedly said, “It helped that is was raining because I’m sort of sad getting rid of all these things. The rain helped…” My Dad is already in Rockford, and my Mom is moving up there soon after she gets the house on the market, so lots of things have been changing. Continue reading →
The word to describe yesterday would be bittersweet: In the morning, the reality of my Dad possibly passing away soon hit home. I’m thankful for tears and the release they bring. Then I switched gears to party preparations for a party for my fiancé passing a huge test that advances his career. I went over to his house, turned on a funny movie and got chopping: white chili, finished the red chili, fruit salsa… Continue reading →
When I vacuumed near their cages last night, two patients’ cuteness made me snap their photos. Four animals stayed overnight at the Animal Hospital which I clean a few days a week. These dog’s friendliness made me smile and remember how I enjoy that job!
The joy dogs exude at times is contagious. Have a joyful day today!
I knew I was dependent on having a smart phone, but I knew it would be life-giving to set down the phone for a bit. A few weeks ago a friend invited me to a Great Banquet retreat where I had to leave my phone AND my wristwatch behind for three days.
I felt a bit wistful when I powered down my phone before I put it and my watch in the glove compartment before I met my friend and walked into the retreat.
Surviving three days without a cell phone went easier than I thought because the retreat staff were our “time keepers” and guided us where we needed to be.
The people I call or text the most knew where I was so that eased my mind and I wasn’t expecting any important phone calls, so I could just let down.
I actually enjoyed the ability to just be fully present with the people I was with and not be checking in with people elsewhere through calls, texts, and status posts. Three days of no phone enabled me to fully unplug from technology, so it has been a bit strange to plug back in.
The retreat made me pause, and it feels like I’ve been reset. I am choosing peace and trust more, and I’m enjoying the people I have around me more.
After the retreat ended, I turned my phone back on and didn’t have much on there…I didn’t miss anything big!
I stopped to buy gas for my car and the world just seemed noisy–there were advertisements blasting, music playing, so it was almost overwhelming. In spite of the noise, I chose to stay in the peace I had received from withdrawing for a time to be reset.
Try it! You never know what you might hear in the silence…
Homeschooling’s Black, White, & Gray Series 1 Ep. 7
What does it mean about me if a dysfunctional institution led by some “mean girls” throws me out? Here’s what happened, but first of all, my definition of “mean girl” is a sometimes fun, but really selfish, usually gorgeous, controlling woman who uses manipulation to get what she wants and to keep admiring people around her (similar to the mean girls in the movie with that same title)…
I met her on the day I interviewed for the job, and she seemed interested in me and glad to have me come on board. This beautiful, married woman seemed like she could be a friend; since I was used to being friends with my bosses, I thought I could do it here too. I jumped into the job, helping with even more than I probably should have, but keeping my eyes open because I knew the institution had a reputation for dysfunction. I invited her to go see Shakespeare in the Park (which she couldn’t make), we had other interesting conversations, and I thought she liked me.
Because my “dysfunction radar” was on high alert, I didn’t let things slide when my schedule got changed around the day before school started. I spoke up, respectfully. I let her and the boss over her know that it shook me up to have more students thrust upon me and rooms changed around the day before school starts, and I felt disrespected. I thought they understood…
Home Schooling’s Black, White, and Gray Series 1, Episode 3
My Mom tells me that at age two I filled pages with squiggly lines because I already loved “writing.” My Mom modeled writing for me, and since her Mom was also a writer, the writing gift flowed down to me.
In our home school, Mom gave each of my siblings and I thick notebooks, which we decorated and turned into journals. This week I’ve been re-reading that journal, and it’s taken me back into the quiet home school life of when I was aged eight, nine, and ten.
I have journals that I started writing at age 8 and go to the present time. From about age 10 until age 25, I journaled about almost every day of those fifteen years, and I treasure those entries. Re-reading these journals gives me a stronger remembrance of my thoughts about being home-schooled, some of which I will share with you here and in future posts.
My Mom chose the type of parenting where she showed us how to do something (as much as she knew) and then, like releasing a boomerang, she let us go, and we would go out as far as we could, come back, touch base a bit more, and then go out farther the next time, eventually passing her skill level. With me she did this in the areas of sewing (she taught me how to use her sewing machine, and then let me sew!), cooking (I started helping her when I was two, and by age 12 I cooked a lot of our family’s meals), and writing. She still helps me with my writing at times, so we are still working together in that area. She catches mistakes and is an effective proofreader! The biggest thing my Mom has done as my writing teacher is being my encourager; she started when I was two and has never stopped.
This is a drawing of my Dad chopping firewood from my first journal.
Home Schooling’s Black, White, and Gray: A Series on Home Schooling and Life-Long Learners Series I Episode II
Home school parents are a unique breed; they are similar to people who choose to be missionaries. It’s a strength of will, a vision for their children and the people they desire to influence; it’s a pioneer spirit.
The pioneer mindset means that these people are willing to start something new and blaze a trail across the plains where no one has gone before. It takes guts to start something new, to start a whole school system that educates children for life! From growing up in a home schooled family, and from other observations, many home school parents don’t have a huge strategy for education with benchmarks, objectives, and goals. (Having all this structure is an advantage of public and other established schools.) What home schools do have are parents who desire to deeply influence their children’s beliefs, passions, and hopes, and by teaching the kids at home, the parents have that chance.
People may say to these parents, “Doesn’t it seem a bit presumptuous to assume you know what your child needs to know to succeed in life?” Well, a parent WOULD (or at least should) know the most about that child and what is best for them, right? Yes, having other adults positively influencing their children is important, but if the parents are healthy, wise adults, they can teach their children much of what is needed to live a successful life.
Sceptics may think: Aren’t these parents arrogant in going against the established school systems and starting their own educational institution? Well, WHO started all those established schools? Schools are started by people with vision, strength, and a desire to mold children into who they are created to be. Home school parents have that same vision as the famous educational leaders, such as John Dewey, of imprinting beliefs and molding the hearts and lives of children. Home school parents are reformers who start the reforming in their own families; they desire change and influence and invest in the humans they are supposed to invest in the most: their children.
I had the advantage of being home schooled from Kindergarten through high school, and then I’ve been trained as a certified secondary English teacher and have worked in public and private schools for the last six years. I see the advantages and disadvantages of home schooling and traditional schooling; throughout this series I will be talking about both.
I received an adequate home school education from two pioneers: Anne and Rick Campbell. Recently I interviewed my parents to hear again why they chose to home school their four children. When asked, “Why did you home school your children?” my Mom answered: “We learned about the idea from Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family. And then God told us to do it, so we did.”
My Dad’s answer to “Why did you home school your children?” was: “Because educators were withdrawing prayer and the Bible from public schools. It was important in my life, and I wanted it to be important in your life.” I had thought it was because they wanted to teach us the Bible as part of our education, and that was part of their reason (and out in the country there were no private schools nearby). I love the Bible, so my parents accomplished their main goal of Campbell Christian Academy.
Home school families are pioneers, especially back in the 1980s when home schooling was less common. I am glad my parents chose to home school me; my up-bringing had more of a pioneer-flavor than most with living on a farm with sheep to care for and vegetables to raise, but that’s another story for another time.
If you are on the fence about if you should home school your children, ask yourself, “What vision do I have for my children? Will teaching them at home help bring about that vision?” Only you know the answer, but if you have the guts to grab your straw hat and shot gun and head off toward the west, you are probably one of those gutsy pioneers that will greatly influence the world.
You’ve seen it: A cigarette dangling from a lady’s slender fingers, as the smoke spirals up above her head; these images have a seductive pull to them, but they are deadly. I love a lot of people who smoke, but I hate what that nicotine-filled smoke does to them. Smoking killed my brother-in-law.
My brother-in-law, Don, created intricate, graceful pieces of furniture for people who desired custom-built furniture. His creativity came out through creating his fine furniture, drawing, and what he talked about.
Trees of Transition 