Gathering my Thoughts
/I find myself:
::noticing God's glory
Karoline made an amazing daytime discovery last week. While she was playing with her treehouse-dollhouse in front of the sunroom windows, she looked out onto the vegetable garden and discovered a rather fat groundhog munching away on the okra. Mystery solved. Now what to do about him?
::listening to
Goalkeeper training. One hour every Monday night. Just long enough to put a post together while I sit in the parking lot, I think..
::clothing myself in
Running shoes, capris, t-shirt. I really planned start Couch to 5K tonight. Then I got here and decided to blog instead.
::talking with my children about these books
The Chronicles of Narnia and in which order to read them.
And I've pulled out our 9/11 books.
::thinking and thinking
About Syria and the complexities of this world. Heck, the complexities of my nieghborhood, where Martin Luther King would cringe to discover that all that the children played together in our big backyard until the day of the epic argument when one of them said there was one God and another countered that there were really 7 and then someone chimed in that Mohammed was better than Jesus and then... none of them came back. True story.
::pondering
Our work for peace must begin within the private world of each one of us. To build for man a world without fear, we must be without fear. To build a world of justice, we must be just. And how can we fight for liberty if we are not free in our own minds? How can we ask others to sacrifice if we are not ready to do so?... Only in true surrender to the interest of all can we reach that strength and independence, that unity of purpose, that equity of judgment which are necessary if we are to measure up to our duty to the future, as men of a generation to whom the chance was given to build in time a world of peace. ~Dag Hammarskjold
::carefully cultivating rhythm
Wellll… Last week was a mixed bag. I really don’t know how well my intended rhythm will work, yet. We had a death in the family on Sunday and so, an unexpected trip to New York at the end of the week. I left Mary Beth in charge at home. She kept them all alive and well, but my rhythm? Not so much.
I've also come to recognize that my gym routine from last winter isn't going to work this fall. So, it's back to the exercise bike in my closet for me. I could still hit the gym in the early morning if I wanted to but I don't really see the point of driving there for cardio. It's the classes I really love and those don't fit into our school days since they've eliminated some early times. So, for this season, it's the close bike thing and "mat classes" online at home with my girls. And maybe even Couch to 5K around soccer fields.
::creating by hand
I hung the draperies for the dance studio today. I’d like to do some fall shirts for the girls this week. I saw new Oliver + S patterns and I’m very, very tempted.
On the trip to New York, I knit some love into a sweet little cardigan. Very sweet. Very little.
::learning lessons in
flexibility. I work really hard before a new term to think through every possible detail. I make lesson plans, driving plans, meal plans. Then, I go after those lists with all kinds of diligence to try to make them come to life in a composed, orderly fashion. Then life happens. The first week of school found me asking near strangers to take my children to soccer, packing a suitcase, and leaving Mary Beth in charge as Mike and I left the state. Mary Beth promised to try to stick to the plan and make it all remain calma nd orderly and predictable. She explained to her boss, our state delegate, that she would not be in to work.
He called anyway. He explained that there were some letters he needed her help writing. Then, there were about 4,000 other letters that need to find their way into envelopes. So, she called an audible and "Shakespeare Friday" became this:
::encouraging learning
This week is for tweaking the longterm plan. I’ve definitely planned too much for some of my children and not enough for at least one of them. Tweaking is a good thing, I know, even if right now it feels like a nuisance.
::begging prayers
for the lonely and depressed.
for all the intentions of our prayer community.
And yes, for that intention I was keeping quiet; it’s still very close to my heart.
::keeping house
Let’s see. I left town for a couple of days, oh and the dryer is broken. So, yeah, this afternoon was all about a major cleaning blitz. The dryer thing should be solved by Wednesday. If it’s not, there will be a mandatory laundromat trip on Thursday.
::crafting in the kitchen
The cooler weather has inspired a craving for Pasta Fagiole or Minestrone or Mulligatawny Stew. Or all three.
::loving the moments
when my extended family is gathered. Even though the occasion was sad, it was happy. My great aunt lived to be 96. She had a way of making sure that everyone thought he or she was the favorite. She lived life full-on and she loved the same way. It was really a blessing to celebrate a life so well lived.
::giving thanks
for life and breath and hope.
living the liturgy
Making plans to celebrate all those favorite feasts of fall (lots of links there).
::planning for the week ahead
This is our first full week of homeschooling, full soccer schedule, and full dance schedule. It’s also the week of our 26th wedding anniversary.
