Letter to my children: Don't Give Away Your Power
/“Dragon made me do it!”
“I did not!”
“Did to!”
“Wow, this is really fun to listen to. Nobody made anyone do anything. Can we please all take some deep breaths?”
Read MoreLetter to Dragon: "My father broke my arm"
/“Look at you. That is some cast. How did that happen?”
Dragon, loud and clear, “My father broke my arm.”
Wait what!? Dragon!
The parking attendant’s face froze. I interjected quickly. “Dragon, your father did not break your arm.”
Indignation retorted loudly, “yes, he did! He hit it with a ball!”
Arrgggghhh
Read MoreLetter to Bean: Your First Steps
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Your wide hopeful eyes were big and round. “Momma, can I please have a spend the night with C! Please!”
It might be time for this.
“Hmmmm, let me talk to your father. We will discuss.”
“Okay.”
Read MoreEncomium to the Public Library
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“Momma, I love the smell of the library.”
“Me too, my love, me too.”
Michelle told us as we checked out, “Corinna, I think this might be the most books you have ever checked out at once.”
Dragon pipes up, “both of our bags are bursting!”
56 books does seem like a lot of books for a woman who avoided public libraries for years.
Read MoreHomeschool Learnings: And Then There was One
/Dearest Beloveds,
We are in full back to school mode. Once again I am juggling what activities to do on what days, laying out my teaching schedule, and sharpening pencils.
Half of the pencils are staying at home and half are going on a bus to our local public school.
Read MoreEmbracing Mercury Retrograde
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“What is going on with me? I am super cranky and snarky. Every single one of my buttons is being pushed ALL DAY LONG.”
“It is Mercury retrograde.”
“Oh Thank GOD. I was thinking I was losing my mind.”
Read MoreHomesteading Middles: The Marvel of Growth
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This seems apparent to note - but plants, like children, change.
Like well cared for children, well cared for plants grow with vigor and joy.
Like curious courageous children, plants do not like staying within lines, following other’s ideas of decorum and placement.
In other words, my new favorite toy is an electric hedge trimmer.
Read MoreLetter to my children: Yes, Your Mother is a Hypocrite. We all are.
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“Why did that man leave his truck running?” The Bean looked affronted.
“I asked him if he could not idle his engine while he talks to your father - he told me that otherwise he cooks like a sardine in there and he needs the air conditioning.”
“Why doesn’t he open a window? His engine hurts the earth.” Outrage and disbelief sharpened her tone and her eyes.
Oh no, Corinna, own this.
“Beloved, I hear that, but you know what else hurts the earth? Cheese that we have in our refrigerator. It is from France. It came over on a big boat and used lots of food miles to get here.”
Read MoreLetter to my children: Don't Be the Best, Be the Only
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“Don’t be the best, be the only.”
Thank you Kevin Kelly for that fabulous nugget. Children, he is bang on. When I was in school, these were the cultural markers delineating success.
Straight As.
Being on a varsity team (bonus if you are the captain).
Read MoreHomesteading Middles: The Tyranny of Lawns
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I did not grow up mowing grass. Our front yard (“garden”) according to my mother was flagstones and North Tisbury azaleas.*
Our back garden was much the same.
No grass. In Michigan we had scant grass. 10 minutes to mow grass with small mower.
Not anymore.
Read MoreHomeschool Learnings: The Summer Shift
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Recently, we celebrated our last official day of Oak Meadow Kindergarten and Third Grade. Dragon admired his uppercase alphabet marching across the walls. Bean thumbed through her Main Lesson Books and then dominated a game of Jeopardy based on her third grade learnings. It was a true red letter day.
“I have 1000 points!”
“What is next?”
“I am going to do the B column in 100.”
“B100, 50 divided by ten.”
Read MoreLetter to my children: When Deep Breathing is not Recommended
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Dearest Beloveds, there are times when being the sandwich generation feels more like being a squashed generation. Global warming seems to be that issue right now.
“Corinna, on the counter container, I want one.”
Where are we? New York? DC?
“You would like me to get you something that lives on a counter.”
“Yes, for drinking.”
For drinking? What the hell lived on the counter for drinking?
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