Line in the Sand

October 16, 2013

After two week of free falling into a pile of emotional mush I have drawn my own proverbial line in the  sand.  I have had tears and tantrums, anger and frustration, moments of panic as I realized I had forgotten something crucial….well, you get the idea. What’s worse is that I didn’t free fall alone. I did it along with my husband and two kids. A duel income family, return to school, sick elderly parent, kids activities and volunteer work (not to mention a blog), makes for a very crazy family bound to fall – and fall hard.

After a lovely weekend and an extra day off on Monday, I stand here today to say that I am drawing my line in the sand. We are taking back our lives from the crazy modern day world. We will find peaceful moments and instances of harmony each and every day.

Do you have a line in the sand? Do you know what it is? At what point do you stand (or sit) and say, “my family is worth too much, our relationships too valuable, to go on like this.” My point was another weekend with too many commitments and not enough time. Draw your line in the sand today. Go on. I dare you.

Because

Love this photo. I painted the Moon’s face and then we headed out for Pop’s b’day at our favorite Irish pub!

An Act of Love

June 14, 2014

I love to garden.  Ornatmentals, flowering, vegetable.  It really doesn’t matter.  We had a beautiful yard in our last home  Granted, it was less than a quarter of an acre, so it wasn’t that hard to have a beautiful yard.  But, try as I might, I never could get it quite, well, perfect.  It was never that Southern Living yard I so desperately wanted to have.  Then we moved.  Working, an adoption, the death of a mother, volunteer responsibitlities…yada, yada….we never could put the time into this yard that we put into the other.

Until now.

I’m on the countdown to the end of my work commitment, getting ready to homeschool and doing one of the things I love – gardening.  We quadrupled the size of the yard in this home which means, for me, striving for perfection is akin to insanity. I’ve known this for a long time but it wasn’t really until I was working in my new vegetable garden last week I had the time and the quiet moments to reflect upon this.

If you had wandered into that backyard during that meditative hour, you would have found me squatting among the rows, thinking of my grandfather who was a sharecropper and wondering how much of him lives in me.  I was thinking not only of him but primal nature we all have to dig in the dirt and this movement among all industrialized nations – but especially the U.S. – to create urban homesteads and to reconnect with our food source.  Victory gardens (remember your history) are popping up on postage size backyards, on rooftops in large cities, on unclaimed and abandoned lots and here in my own beautiful and less than perfect backyard.

This summer, we will be transforming this space.  It may never be perfect, unless it is perfectly wild like nature and like my own nature, but it is a source of great joy for our entire family.  Gotta go!  Nature is calling.

Full Moon Rising

I was driving along today in the glory of spring and saw the moon beginning to rise early on the horizon.  It reminded me of the energy I have had the last few days.  There is nothing like a waxing moon to give me a little extra get up and go.  You see, “I was born under the sign of Cancer….” (Love Will Come to You, Indigo Girls).

It is the moon that gives me such energy and I lay in bed last night I told Nathan that I must get all of the seeds into the ground by Thursday as the moon is waxing full.  Unfortunately, those seeds may never grow into the beautiful plants that I was hoping for.  This morning, the Moon looked out the kitchen and began to scream “CROWS, CROWS DADDY!”  They ran outside to chase them away but Nathan fears they have eaten all of my carefully planted green onion, okra, bush bean and sunflower seeds that filled the upper corner of the garden.  He asked me tonight, “How do you think they knew where those seeds were?”  I don’t know.

But what I do know is that we will have a garden.  I may be forced to plant vegetables that have been started in someone else’s garden, but we will have our fill of vegetables on our table each night.  After all, “I’m [a]….old Southern woman and we’re supposed to wear funny looking hats and ugly clothes and grow vegetables in the dirt. Don’t ask me those questions. I don’t know why, I don’t make the rules!”

I will leave you tonight with one of my favorite Indigo Girls songs from the album Rites of Passage. BTW. The Indigo Girls will be playing on Thursday night, May 15 at the Thistle Stop Café in Nashville to support the women of Magdalene House.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

May 10, 2014

I’m going full-force on the urban homestead. It’s on! After several weeks of trying to match schedules with someone who could till our garden, we finally connected with someone and we are turning the sunniest portion of our yard into a space approximately 18×12 feet. It may be larger than that, but that is my best guestimate.

As you can see in this before photo, this is not the first time we have planted in that spot. Last year my mighty men (Nathan and the Sun), hand dug four 3-foot beds which looked alarmingly like graves. We had little time and energy and more lettuce than we could shake a stick out. It’s a little late in the year for us to get started on the new garden, but we are up to the challenge.

Right now I would like to be out there digging and planting, but alas, I am sitting with a child who is suffering from a severe case of gastroenteritis. Luckily for me, Nathan is gung-hoe (get it?) on gardening and is out there right now working in the soil to get it nice and ready for the growing season. Next on the list? Consulting Jerry Baker’s (America’s Master Gardener) tips for our little homestead.

I Am Woodshop

April 17, 2014

I was going to post today about my tribe…or rather lack of one.  But, that post would be all about me and then I saw this and realized we have greater issues in this country than who I connect with.
The story goes something like this….

After picking up the Moon from school and running a few errands, we headed toward gymnastics.  Two things happened along the way.  The first was she fell asleep in the back.  This is great as she still needs a good 12 hours of sleep per 24, so we are happy about a nap.  The second is I looked over at a stop light and saw a sign that read “Mechanic Wanted – Starting at $30 per hour.”  What?  After quickly doing the math I realized this is well over $60,000 per year.  I have many colleagues with multiple degrees, bachelor’s, MBA’s, advanced certifications, etc. who make well under this advertised rate of $30 per hour.

Fast forward.  We arrived at gymnastics a little early and with my little gymnast asleep that gave me time to…..get on Facebook.  Yeah.  I said it.  Stuck in a car, no book (BTW, I’m reading The Book Thief), I had little to do besides check everyone’s status.  It seemed appropriate, maybe even prophetic, that I would see this Mike Rowe (for President, please) post about an Ottawa, IL situation that involved increasing the salary of the school Administrators while eliminating wood shop.

I am quite certain I am simplifying the story (you’ll have to read it yourself).  But, my friends, this is what is wrong with education today.  We have eliminated the creative, real-world, problem solving skills that propelled our country to where we are today (or maybe were 15 years ago) for a “virtual” world that is something out of a futuristic nightmare or Disney movie (think Wall-e).

You might say that those good times are gone and that Mayberry (or Huck Finn), no longer exist.  I say you are wrong and that is room for both the virtual and the real.  This may be a constant theme here on my blog in the future – or at least a persistent one.  But the truth is, I believe in our country.  I believe we can be socially accepting of differences (GLBT) and honor 2^nd Ammendment rights.  I believe that kids should be taught wood-working and cooking (both requiring skills) in one class and how to make a Power Point in another (which I can tell you does not take an MBA).

We thought having our kids in a Waldorf school would help us find that balance.  And, for many families it does.  But we have decided to take it one step further and step off the crazy wheel that most of us live on.  Seeing articles such as Mike Rowe’s have allowed us to continue to feel like we made the right decision, but it was The Sun who really put it into perspective.  He said, “Mom, the perfect day would be spending about four hours in the morning working with you on school stuff.  Then, we’ll have lunch.  After that I’ll get my bow and arrow and a good book and head into the woods.”

Christmas Miracles

December 13, 2013

Miracles happen.  I believe they do.  Sarah Ban Breathnach, one of the sages of our time, suggests in her book Simple Abundance, that you ask for a miracle each day.  I do.  How we judge those miracles, if we even recognize them, makes all the difference in the world.  I believe it was divine intervention, or a miracle, when I ran into a an old college pal who is part of an amazing Boy Scout troop here in our area.  That troop turned out to be the right mix of boys and leaders who were a perfect fit for the Sun and my husband as he is one of the leaders now as well.

(This is the part when it becomes all about me.)  When I found out that the leaders paid for a large portion of the trip fees and supported camp fees for families who could not otherwise afford it, my fundraising instincts kicked in and I searched for the perfect means of bringing in much-needed dollars to the troop.  We (meaning me) decided upon the  Sherwood Farms Wreath  Fundraiser.  When deciding on a fundraiser, I have some personal criteria it must meet.  It must be:  consumable, environmentally friendly, food-free and a value for the patron.  This met it all.  We set the goal for the troop – $2,000 (or, enough money to purchase 10 new REI two-person tents.)  Despite my do-it-myself nature, I stepped out of the picture at this point and allowed the troop take over.  Guess what?  They met their goal and purchased the tents with the profit from the first fundraiser they have undertaken in over 20 years.  (Did I mention this troop is 75 years old?)

You are wondering where the miracle come in, right?   Of course, I think there are many miracles in this story.  The first is connecting my family to this group.  The second is the community support of the wreaths to purchase the tents needed for this troop (a very active group of boys and men!)  Now, here is the third.

During the wreath sales the troop was asked to work with a profoundly disabled youth, to bring him into the troop and treat him like any other boy.  They did.  I won’t go into details about this child, but I will say that being physically present is his only participation at this point.  No one batted an eye at the presence of this child.  He was welcomed as every child is by each of the boys and leaders.   And, finally, due to the presence of the troop and its wreath sales (which by the way, attracted several new Boy Scouts to the troop) another group took notice of this troop and awarded them a large donation which will serve as the seed money to pay the way for trips and camps for the boys whose families cannot afford to pay.

There is good in the world.  Miracles happen each and every day.  The media would have us believe in hatred, war and violence – and yes, those things exist.   But what also exists is generosity and love and…..miracles.  How have you made a difference in the lives of others this year and are you able to make a difference, even in some small way, each and every day?

https://www.facebook.com/PositivityToolbox

The Start of Something Good - Getting Organized

July 27, 2014

I’m fairly organized in a weird, loose kind of way by nature. My desk is not always the cleanest at any given moment, but my closets and shelves are organized. My car is usually neat and clean. I have a filing system…you get the idea. So, it has always been natural for me to use a planner. Actually, my friend Brian turned me only planners in college. He used a Franklin-Covey and it truly carried the contents of his life. (This turned out to not be a great idea as he was naturally forgetful and lost his planner on more than one occasion. Regardless….) I loved the idea of this and quickly found a planner that suited my own tastes. I’ve never like the big bulk of a leather monster that holds a forest full of paper. I have used smaller, preferably spiral bound, systems that are easy to use, easy to carry, and that reflect my own unique style.

I have used many different things and my favorite has been Erin Condren’s Life Planner. This year, after much obsessing, I decided to switch to her Teacher Planner to the tune of $72.50 with shipping. Obsess. Obsess. Obsess some more. Surely, I can find a system that suits my needs that I can print from home. Ideally, I would create my own (more on that later) but for now, I am going with a ready-made system. Okay, three ready-made systems. There are three that I found that I really like but not one that I truly love. They all have their merits and each have things that I dislike, making non of them perfect for moi. Obsess. Obsess. Obsess some more.

After church today I cleared my head, sat down, and printed the pages I liked and that I can use from each system. The systems I like are from Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool, DIY Home Sweet Home and World Avery.




Now you have it.  My current systems for organization.  Perhaps, one of them will work for you.

“Don’t agonize, organize.”  – Florence Kennedy