Where are those Ark Directions?

It's raining again.

I don't think I can take much more.

Nose to the Grindstone

The kids are at school. The house is quiet. It is time for me to get down to the business of writing. Nothing like a few uninterrupted hours to get some revision work done. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm revising something right now, I'd post here how many words I'd written a day - that would be motivating! I will say this - in my revisions I'm on chapter 3. Maybe each day I can post what I'm working on. That could be motivating too!

The First Day Should be Good Anyway

My son is looking forward to the first day of first grade. He says it will be exciting. But, he's a forward thinker, and told me that while the first day would be good - the second week of school would probably be boring.

Last Day of Summer Vacation

It's Labor Day, and around here that means that tomorrow school starts again. It's a big year for us, my son starts first grade, and so will be in school all day now.

The rain finally stopped sometime late Saturday night, and despite the fact that Tropical Depression Ernesto destroyed the gazebo (see Teddy Bear Picnic photo for undamaged gazebo - the picnic by the way was last Thursday, before the storm) it's nice to be outside again.

So there was some outside playing, some bike riding, some computer games, some Harry Potter DVD (it's the last day of summer, they can do what they like) and we made cookies.

I thought about making cookies as a way to welcome them home from school tomorrow - but I thought they'd like it a whole lot more to be involved in the process.

We got out the cookie cutters: school bus, flag, question mark, music note and others. Some of the cookies broke - that's okay, it means they can be eaten sooner. Now they are decorating them. (While my son sings "And I Shall Raise You Up" - not sure why). Then they will get to chose which ones they want in their lunch boxes for tomorrow.

Pretty soon we'll put some meat on the grill and get dinner going. And then, it's going to be back to old routines. After all, tonight is a school night!

Teddy Bear Picnic

"If you go out in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise"... so begins one of my favorite kids songs, "The Teddy Bear's Picnic" and in homage to that song, for the past six years we have held our own annual Teddy Bear Picnic.

This year, the girls were busy being "Nuts" - let's see, we had cashew, and pistachio, and walnut and peanut. And there was my daughter who said "I'm not a nut, I'm a corn" (acorn... get it).

The boys were skateboarding in the driveway.

This picnic has evolved into a tradition that my kids expect to happen every year. The idea is simple: I let them invite whomever they want (while I hope that at least some people will be on vacation - last year, no vacations, 23 kids in relatively small backyard!). The kids bring their own sandwiches, but I supply drink and snacks. We have games (with candy for prizes) and a craft - and this year for the first time a drama center (as you can see it was a big hit.)

The craft this year was making God's eyes using popsicle sticks and yarn, last year we did sand art - one year they decorated plastic visors with foam stickers.

Games include the perrenial favorites - throw the bean in the jar (dry Great Northern Beans, mason jar - this is actually pretty hard) and sticker tag (give everyone a handful of stickers. The goal is to stick your stickers on other people without getting any one yourself). We also had games my kids invented like the Teddy Toss (pairs toss their bears from one to the other - if Teddy hits the ground the team is out) and Teddy Bear Freeze tag - a complicated variation of freeze tag that was nonetheless a lot of fun.

This year it was too cold for our traditional water balloons and sprinkler play - but everyone had fun just the same.

I started the Teddy Bear Picnic because both of my kids birthdays are in the winter - and indoor parties mean the guest lists have to be kept relatively small. Also, I found that birthday parties are imbued with a certain anxiety. As the birthday boy or girl you want to make sure that your very best friend is there. You want to make sure that everything is perfect - and when things go awry it is so much more than just a minor snafu - it's a ruined birthday (or so it can seem.)

The Teddy Bear Picnic comes with no emotional baggage. Whoever can come comes. People have fun. No one has to bring a gift. No one has to be the center of attention.

It's become a great tradition in our home and we will continue until the kids no longer want it. Though - they tell me that I have to keep having this picnic every year until they're in college. We'll see about that.

Now Where'd I Put That Gopher Wood?

If it doesn't stop raining pretty soon - I'm going to seriously think about building an ark!

My First Babysitting Job

In thinking about and remembering Michael (1970-2006) I realized that he was the first child I ever babysat for.

I was about seven. So he would have been two. He was napping. His mother had to go out (possibly to pick up his older brother from somewhere, I'm not sure.) She didn't want to wake the sleeping child. So she asked the seven-year-old neighbor girl to come over and stay in the house with the baby.

I felt so very grown up and proud of myself. I went to their house. Michael, of course, was sleeping the whole time. I sat at their dining room table facing the picture window. Their picture window faced the picture window in my dining room - at which my parents stood and watched me during the whole ten minutes that I was there.

For doing my job so well, I earned a quarter. I was able to use that quarter as my wampum money for Indian Princesses that night, where I proudly told the story of my first babysitting job as I deposited my dues.

Words to Live By

Today I went to the funeral of a childhood friend. It is hard seeing the family struggling and suffering with the loss of one so young. He was a good man and will be missed by all who knew him.

At the funeral service the minister told how this young man's father had given him and his brother copies of Desiderata. They have strived to live by its precepts and from all evidence have largely succeeded.

Desiderata was found in old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore, dated 1692.

In honor of Michael, I copy it here.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

In rememberance of Michael Wheeler 1970-2006.

Poetry Friday

Okay, so it's been a couple of months since I did this. And, I almost forgot today was Friday. There has been a certain feel of fall in the air around here lately (or maybe it's just all that darn rain) so in keeping with the feeling, I present:

Autumn Fires
by Robert Louis Stevenson
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

Of course in suburban New Jersey they frown on burning your leaves, but I like the imagery anyway.

Climbing the Walls

We've had a spate of rainy weather here in New Jersey. This has resulted in some kids without enough outlet for their energy.

Especially my son.

He's been climbing the walls.

Umm - I mean that literally.

He puts one foot and one hand on each side of the doorway between dining room and kitchen, and he climbs up to the ceiling. It's only a little disconcerting.

So, climbing the walls isn't simply a metaphor. Neither is bouncing off the walls. I found that one out with my son also. In the winter, when bad weather keeps him too confined, he runs at the living room wall, and then jumps so that he can kick off the wall with his feet.

Right now, both my children are upstairs practicing some sort of an act that involves a lot of jumping and the singing of the word "read" over and over.

I'm looking forward to the performance.

Hiatus Over

It's the first of September. School starts Tuesday, and it's time to get back in the swing of regularly posting here.

So - the unscheduled summer break is over and I'm back.

An Awesome Evening

We took the kids to "Plays in the Park" last night. This is an outdoor theater program near us. They put on three shows a summer. It costs five dollars for adults, children are free. You must bring a lawn chair.

Last night the weather was perfect and the park was crowded. And the show was fantastic. We saw Seussical: The Musical. How fun. What a great show for kids. So much music and energy - and of course, it's based on all the Dr. Seuss books, so it's easy to follow the story.

After the show was over, my daughter announced. "I didn't like it, I loved it!"

My son one-upped her. He said. "I awesomed it!"

Me too!

Summer Blogging

I thought that once summer got under way, I'd fall into a routine that would allow me to do even more blogging than during the school year.

Ha!

There is a certain routine to our days. But blogging doesn't seem to get high priority.

Let's see - how do the days go?

After breakfast the children go across the street to the playground. During the summer there are counselors there, so the kids go and play. They come home for lunch. While they are gone, I try to get some things done around the house.

Lunchtime - they come home for an hour to eat. The counselors have a lunch break too and aren't there from 12 to 1.

Of course at 1, the kids go back to the park. They are there until 3. Then, if it's a nice day, after they come home we go to the town pool for an hour.

Twice a week, in the morning, my nine-year-old has tennis lessons.

And of course there are the trips to the library - at least once a week.

Somewhere in there I have to fit the grocery shopping and any other little errands that need to be run.

It's a good summer routine.

Minuses

I finally got the pictures from my sons disposable camera developed. He was particularly interested in the negatives. "They gave us extra film," he said. So I explained about negatives and how you could use them to make more pictures - provided you didn't get fingerprints all over them.

A couple of days later, while he was putting away some of his things, he says to me. "I want to keep the minuses, okay?"

me: "what?"

Him - holding up negative strip: "the minuses."

Well, sure, he knows from his sisters math homework last year that negative numbers have minuses in front of them.

It all makes perfect sense now.

An Ah-ha Moment

In Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, there is a point when Meg Murray, in her attempt to understand the tesseract gets it. "I got it! For just a moment I got it! I can't possibly explain it now, but there for a second I saw it!" she says.

I had that kind of experience in Mass today. So often, when I go to Mass, I'm just passing time. I try to concentrate, to really be there, to experience, but there are other things on my mind, the children act up or something else distracts me.

But today, I had an experience like Meg Murray. I got it. I understood God's love for us. I understood why Jesus had to die. I understood what it all meant.

I understood it with the heart, not with the head.

Just for a moment.

And like Meg Murray, I couldn't possibly explain it now.

But for a second there - I got it! And how wonderful it was!

Summer Reading

This isn't going to be a post about all the great books there are to read this summer. There are plenty of places to go for that. It's not going to be a post of reviews of books I've read. Or even a treatise on whether or not there should be summer reading assignments for schools.

This is just going to be to say that my children love to read - and since summer vacation started a week and a half ago they've logged many hours of reading time. How do I know this? Because for our library reading program, they get to check off one box for every fifteen minutes they read. Prizes are awarded for every two hours read.

The only problem I have with this is trying to keep track of how much they've read. They don't always tell me when they start and stop (my daughter is getting pretty good at keeping track of her own time). So, it's a constant question of when did you start reading? when did you stop? did you check off the boxes (you can make new boxes as needed, they are often needed.)

We're also taking advantage of the wonderful Barnes and Nobel summer reading program - read eight books, get a book for free (selected titles). The kids each got a free book today.

So, when we're not at the pool, or doing some other fun summer thing, we're reading - me too. But, I don't have to keep track of my time (thank goodness.) More reading I guess means less blogging - but hopefully as we get into some sort of a summer routine here I'll have some time to post a few things.

Happy reading.

Poetry Friday - Proud Parent Edition

Both of my children have been represented in their school district's writer's magazine this year. So in honor of Poetry Friday, which I know I missed last week (oops), I present the following:

Cowgirl
by Katie (3rd grade)

I just saw
a cow-poking,
yodeling,
wailing girl
in stylish cowboots
running to lasso
a whild horse and miss.
She lassoed a cactus instead.

And, although it is not a poem:

My Magic Pencil
by Stephen (Kindergarten)

I write with my pencil. It is a magic pencil. I do not have to write the story because the pencil writes it for me.

Here are some other Poetry Friday contributors: A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy, A Fuse #8 Production, Big A little a, Blog from the Windowsill, Book Buds, Bookshelves of Doom, Here in the Bonny Glen, Jen Robinson's Book Page, Once Upon a Time there was a Girl Who wanted to Write, Scholar's Blog, Chicken Spaghetti and Little Willow.

All the Colors in the Sky

My grandfather was an amateur artist. This doesn't mean he wasn't good at being an artist - he was - it just means it's not how he made his living.

He once taught me how to paint. Now, just to set the record straight: I am not an artist, I can not draw (okay, I can do daisies and funny looking rabbits). But what he taught me was more important than how to draw.

He taught me how to see all the colors in the sky.

I had my oil paints, and I was going to paint the sky. Blue. That's what color a sky is. With fluffy white clouds. But he stayed my hand. He said "Look again, the sky is not just blue. The clouds are not just white."

And I looked again. And he was right.

And now, whenever I look at the sky, and notice the various colorings that make up the sky and the clouds I think of my grandfather.

He taught me something much more valuable than how to draw. He taught me how to notice things.

Thanks grandpa.

Send Us Your Spirit

On this eve of Pentecost, I had a small revelation. At Mass tonight, the priest mentioned that wind and fire were symbols associated with the Holy Spirit.

And I thought of the pillar of fire that guided the Israelis out of Egypt. God was in the fire then. He was leading them.

But on Pentecost, a flame was visible over the apostle's heads. God was no longer simply in front of them, leading them. He was there, within them, in the guise of the Holy Spirit.

What a wonderful gift God gave us when he allowed the Spirit to dwell among us!

Poetry Friday - Birthday Edition

How Old Are You?
by H.S. Fritsch

Age is a quality of mind.
If you have left your dreams behind,
If hope is cold,
If you no longer look ahead,
If your ambitions' fires are dead --
Then you are old.

But if from life you take the best,
And if in life you keep the jest,
If love you hold;
No matter how the years go by,
No matter how the birthdays fly--
You are not old.

So, I may be 40 today, but I'm not old!

Other Poetry Friday contributions: Kelly at Big A little a offers us a crooked little nursery rhyme, The Scholar's Blog offers a sea-faring theme, we get a little Shel Silverstein from A Fuse #8 Production, Blog from the Windowsill reviews two poetry books, Bookshelves of Doom brings on the Jabberwocky, Melissa at Here in the Bonny Glen offers up some Seamus Heaney and Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page treats us to a poem by Emily of New Moon.

Edited to add: Once upon a time there was a girl who wanted to write, Chicken Spaghetti, Book Buds, and Farm School.