Living Prayer

The Bible tells us we should pray without ceasing. Pray at all times.

Uh huh. Right.

Sounds a bit time consuming. A bit impossible to really pull off.

Nice idea though.

But I was thinking about this. I've long since come to my own private conclusion that this doesn't have to be formal prayer 24/7 - but rather a keeping Christ in mind throughout the day. (I'm not a theologian, and my interpretation may not be the right one, but it works for me.) (A bit of research found this sermon on the subject from 1872 - so it's not that my thoughts are unique here)

Last night, I realized something else though (it's funny how thoughts can hit you when you wake up in the middle of the night): We don't even have to be keeping God in mind. We should of course - but let's see if I can make my middle of the night revelation make any sense in the cold light of day.

When I say a formal prayer - for example an Our Father or Hail Mary - I assume that God is listening to me. If I silently pray to God to help someone or to give me strength - I assume that God is listening to me. Well, here's the thing. Doesn't He have to be listening all the time in order to notice when we are addressing him specifically? We don't only hear our children when they say "Mom" first - we are always tuned into them. And God is always tuned into each and every one of us.

So - following this to it's conclusion: God sees and hears everything we do. I know, we've been told this since we were children - but have you stopped to think about it lately? He doesn't just see us when we are on our knees at church. He sees us doing the laundry. He doesn't just hear us when we pray a formal prayer - or address Him directly - He hears us even when we are engaging in small talk with a friend.

And if prayer is our term for 'speaking to God' - then aren't we always 'speaking to Him' - or more specifically - isn't He always listening.

We pray without ceasing - because our lives are our prayer.

God sees how we live our lives - whether we are thinking about Him or not.

Everything we do and think is part of our prayer to God. Let's make it a good one.

Tuesday's Proverb

Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the open squares she raises her voice; Down the crowded ways she calls out, at the city gates she utters her words: "How long, you simple ones, will you love inanity, how long will you turn away at my reproof? Lo! I will pour out to you my spirit, I will acquaint you with my words. Because I called and you refused, I extended my hand and no one took notice; Because you disdained all my counsel, and my reproof you ignored -- I, in my turn, will laugh at your doom; I will mock when terror overtakes you; When terror comes upon you like a storm, and your doom approaches like a whirlwind; when distress and anguish befall you. Then they call me, but I answer not; they seek me, but find me not; Because they hated knowledge, and chose not the fear of the LORD. They ignored my counsel, they spurned all my reproof; And in their arrogance they preferred arrogance, and like fools they hated knowledge: Now they must eat the fruit of their own way, and with their own devices be glutted. For the self-will of the simple kills them, the smugness of fools destroys them. But he who obeys me dwells in security, in peace, without fear of harm." (Proverbs 1:20-33)

Overall, not the most comforting of bible verses - until you get to the end. "He who obeys me dwells in security, in peace, without fear of harm." Now, that sounds good to me.

It's Done

And the new bathroom is unveiled. To see the before pictures - go here. It took awhile - and honestly it was done a week and a half ago, I just didn't get around to posting a picture before then - but it was totally worth it.

But How did They Know Who They Were?

I've always liked the Gospel story of the Transfiguration. I like that the apostles fall asleep while waiting for Jesus to finish praying - it makes them seem very human. I like that Jesus was conversing with Moses and Elijah - the way that the Old and the New Testaments fit together and form a whole. I like that Peter's first inclination upon awaking and seeing the sight is to build three monuments (somehow I definitely think that if it happened in this day and age a monument would be built.) I like that God speaks to them from a cloud.

But.

I've always had a question.

See, there was no photography back in the first century - or beyond, when Moses and Elijah would have been alive. And the Jews did not allow graven images - so it is unlikely there would have been any paintings or statues of the two men. So - what I've always wondered - is how did Peter, James and John immediately know that they were Moses and Elijah. Why didn't they think - "who are those old guys up there with Jesus? They didn't come up the mountain with us. "

I suppose the logical answer is that God granted them the knowledge.

May God grant us the knowledge we need in our own lives.

Giving Something Up for Lent

I suppose I should have posted this last week - but - oh, well.

Every year I make the kids give up candy for Lent. First of all - it's an easy thing for them to see and notice that they're doing. There have always been exceptions - if they go to a birthday party and get candy - they can have some (but the rest gets saved for the following Sunday.) And we don't keep candy in the house during Lent - that makes it easier too.

But this year, Harry decided that he wasn't going to give up candy for Lent (he still won't get much, because I won't have it in the house - but he feels free to scarf the candy from his birthday goodie bags whenever he feels like it - it will be gone soon). He decided to give up TV for Lent.

Now, I've mentioned before that my kids don't watch much TV. Pretty much just DVDs. And pretty much a DVD only gets watched if Harry puts it in. Pippi very seldom decides to watch anything without being prompted by her brother.

So, I made sure he realized that this meant no Harry Potter DVDs. He did. He was cool with that.

I figured this was fine - but I wouldn't give him a hard time if he lapsed. After all, he's just seven.

Pippi said she would give up TV too. I asked her if she would even think to watch TV if Harry didn't turn it on. She said no. I asked her if that was much of a sacrifice then. She said no. So she's giving up candy (which is a sacrifice for her) and striving to say more prayers at bedtime.

So, Ash Wednesday - we had someplace to be with Pippi and Harry couldn't come. We arranged for him to stay at a friend's house. I figured this would be it for no TV. Certainly the other little boy would watch and so would Harry.

But, No. We get to the house and Harry is busy reading - the family he's staying with is watching American Idol. But he told them that he was giving up TV and wasn't going to watch it. Hmm! I was impressed.

Then at school, his teacher wants to show a video about Abe Lincoln. Harry announces he gave up TV for Lent. His teacher lets him work on something else while the kids watch the video (oh, and his little friend announced that she gave up TV for Lent too, and did the other project with Harry - her mother, when asked, said that he daughter was NOT giving up TV for Lent). Okay. Now, this was impressive. But - um - watching video for school shouldn't really count as TV as far as I'm concerned. But you know what - I'm letting it go. He's making the sacrifice and I'm proud of him.

And as far as giving up things for Lent goes - our priest - at the Ash Wednesday service said that someone asked him if she should give up chocolate for Lent. He said, not if it's going to make you cranky. Give up being cranky instead. Wise words indeed.

Poetry Friday - Cat in the Hat Edition

In honor of the anniversary of The Cat in the Hat - and Dr. Seuss's birthday - I present, for poetry Friday, the lines that I used to repeat to my son all the time - when he would say "Look at me!"

From The Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss

Look at me!
Look at me!
Look at me now.
It's fun to have fun,
But you have to know how!

Poetry Friday round up is at Big A, little a this week.

Tuesday's Proverb

It is in vain that a net is spread before the eyes of any bird -- These men lie in wait for their own blood, they set a trap for their own lives.This is the fate of everyone greedy of loot: unlawful gain takes away the life of him who acquires it. (Proverbs 1:17-19)

Bathroom Update

Progress is being made. We have a toilet now - but no door on the bathroom yet. This requires a bit of improvising - so a sheet has been hung in the doorway. The shower fixtures are in - but there is no shower door yet - so the kids had baths in the new tub today. And the sink has been delayed. But we're getting there. Sure enough, we're getting there.

Poetry Friday

Here's a little original poem, a collaboration between myself and Pippi and Harry as we drove to Basketball practice the other night. It all started because Harry wanted to know what direction we were going. Are we going South? Southeast? West? Northwest? NorthSouth? Hmm - Well, with North South you'd pretty much be vibrating in place. That got Pippi's creative juices flowing and the resulting poem is

Directions

I'm going North South
which means I'm not going any direction at all.

So I'm very confused and I don't know what to do.
I think I'll go Mooo.

Mooo-ve over
said the guy behind me.

I think I'll go East.
Or should I go West?

Decisions, decisions.
They're what I do best.

The Poetry Friday Round-up is over at Blue Rose Girls today.

All the Books in the World

Today would have been my grandfather's 98th birthday, and there are probably enough wonderful stories I could share about him that I could fill up an entire blog, but I'm just going to share one quote.

In November 1983 we taped my grandfather reminiscing about his childhood. My mother (his daughter) asked him the following question: Did you like to read a lot when you were young?

He answered:

Well, I, yes. In this one room school they had a library there. The whole library was in one bookcase. And as far as I knew that was all the books there were. And so I resolved that I was going to read all the books that there were. There was just the one bookcase full there. I thought if I did one a year I could get through it. (laughter from assembled family) I was amazed to find that there were a lot more books than that so I had to give up that idea. I was fairly good in arithmetic and I was fascinated by numbers and fascinated by how numbers kept on building. And I didn't yet get the concept that there was an unlimited number of numbers. And so these numbers, I knew that they kept on going, so I didn't quite know how far they went, so I thought 'well now, I'm going to write them all down and find out how many there are,' (laughter) I know. This was when I was in grade school. I never got that question resolved.

Leo Tanghe (1909-1998)

Tuesday's Proverb

My son, should sinners entice you, and say, "Come along with us! Let us lie in wait for the honest man, let us, unprovoked, set a trap for the innocent;Let us swallow them up, as the nether world does, alive, in the prime of life, like those who go down to the pit! All kinds of precious wealth shall we gain, we shall fill our houses with booty; Cast in your lot with us, we shall all have one purse!"-- My son, walk not in the way with them, hold back your foot from their path! (For their feet run to evil, they hasten to shed blood.) (Proverbs 1:10-16)

A Little Plymouth History

I just finished reading The Times of Their Lives, by James Deetz and Patricia Scott Deetz. The subtitle of this book is Life, Love, and Death in Plymouth Colony. The details that the authors provide are both fascinating and insightful.

Taking information from court cases, probate lists and archaeological digs, they piece together what daily life may have been like in Plymouth Colony.

James Deetz was an archaeologist and his love for his subject shows when he writes about what various digs have uncovered in the Plymouth area. I find archaeology fascinating and very mysterious, this book helped me to understand the subject a bit more.

For eleven years James Deetz was the Assistant Director of the museum at Plimouth Plantation, and he includes a chapter on that living history museum.

I've long been interested in seeing Plimouth Plantation (for historical as well as personal reasons - while I didn't have any ancestors on the Mayflower, I did have one on the Fortune - the second ship to come to Plymouth Colony) and now it's getting pushed to the top of the list of vacation possibilities for this year.

Following Him

Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:10-11)

They just left everything and followed.

Pretty big leap of faith.

Could I do it?

I'd like to think I could. But then, I think if Jesus asks were to come and ask this of me - I would know he was someone who could be trusted. I would know he was God.

They didn't know Jesus was the Son of God. They didn't know he would rise from the dead. He was a preacher; a teacher. He worked miracles and told stories. He lived an itinerant life, with no visible means of support - he didn't appear to be pursuing a career as a carpenter at this time.

And yet they left everything and followed him.

They left families.

They left jobs.

They left houses.

And for what? A period of time on the road - living on what people donated; a period of time on the run from the authorities after their leader was executed, and ultimately horrific deaths.

This couldn't have been an easy decision to make. There weren't a lot of items in the plus column. But they did it anyway.

Could we?

In thinking about this once, I thought about Simon Peter's wife. What would she have had to say about all this. And I wrote a story about her called "The Fisherman's Wife."

Note: I had always figured he must have a wife, because he had a mother-in-law - but just the other day I was reading something about Plymouth Colony and learned that "father-in-law" was sometimes said when what we would refer to as "step-father" was meant. Perhaps that was true in Simon Peter's case as well - since no wife is ever mentioned.

We Have Walls

Bathroom Update - End of Week Two
We're at the end of week two and have finally had all of our initial inspections. So, the walls can start to go up. It's starting to look like a room again.

Poetry Friday

In honor of winter, and the winter weather we are sometimes getting this year:

London Snow
by Robert Bridges

When men were all asleep the snow came flying,
In large white flakes falling on the city brown,
Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying,
Hushing the latest traffic of the drowsy town;
Deadening, muffling, stifling its murmurs failing;
Lazily and incessantly floating down and down:
Silently sifting and veiling road, roof and railing;
Hiding difference, making unevenness even,
Into angles and crevices softly drifting and sailing.

Read the rest of the poem here.

Heart of A Mother

There is a delightful new addition to the blogosphere. A Catholic Mom has decided to share reflections on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel from the perspective of a busy Mom. She's calling her blog Heart of A Mother, and I know I'm going to make it one of my regular reads.

The Literary DTs

I've never seen any one go through severe withdrawal from a controlled substance. But after telling Harry he had to stop reading the 3rd Harry Potter book before he finished it last night (because it was 10:30 and he is 6) I think I have a vague inkling of what it might be like.

He had convinced himself that he had to finish reading the book in January. So the simple suggestion of finish it in the morning was not good enough.

At first he just tried to be sneaky. We took the book away. He got it and sat back down to read. He even came in my room where I was trying to read and hid under MY covers with his book (hiding from his father, you understand, who obviously was going to find him there!).

Then we put the book out of reach.

The boy developed super human strength. He was hysterical and I couldn't contain him.

He announced his whole body was insisting that he read the book.

He was going to be sick if he didn't read the rest of the book.

We were firm in our "No" - after all - it was approaching 11 PM - and the boy is SIX!

Then he started bargaining.

He would go to sleep, if we just let him read to the next chapter.

Just four pages.

And then he would go to sleep.

No. (because of course: 11 PM and six years old)

I sat with him, I sang to him, I prayed with him. He calmed down.

I promised him, I'd return the book to him after he was asleep, so he could read it when he woke up in the morning.

He finally fell asleep.

I put the book near his bed.

First thing this morning - he started using the typewriter and working on the story he's writing.

Ummm - what about the hysteria, the book that needed to be finished?

I guess the pangs of detox were over, and he could finish it at his leisure now.

Sigh.

Domesday

Not Doomsday, but Domesday - it had to do with Domicile (I learned that recently.)

In doing a little family history research today, I made a very cool discovery. The Domesday book is available on line.

The Domesday book is something I had heard of at various times, but never figured I'd get a chance to see what it was really like.

In case you've never heard of it, the Domesday book is one of the oldest surviving public records in England. No one knows exactly what the purpose of it was for - most likely taxes - but

"at Christmas 1085 William the Conqueror commissioned a great survey to discover the resources and taxable values of all the boroughs and manors in England. He wanted to discover who owned what, how much it was worth, and how much was owed to him as King." (National Archives)

The British National Archives has not only made this document available online, but it is searchable - and they translated it, so those of us not conversant in Latin can still understand it.

I think I'm going to have fun exploring this.

Bathroom Update - Waiting for Inspectors

Things are moving along nicely in the bathroom. But now, we're waiting for the inspectors. And nothing much more can be done until the plumbing and electrical inspectors are here.

And as I was typing this, the doorbell rang, and it was the electrical inspector. One down.

Tuesday's Proverb

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; wisdom and instruction fools despise. Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and reject not your mother's teaching; A graceful diadem will they be for your head; a torque for your neck. (Proverbs 1:7-9)

Don't Put Away Childish Things

Ever since Pippi turned ten, Harry has been concerned.

Those double digits that his big sister now sports are a bit much for him.

"Pippi's getting too grown up," he tells me.

"Why?" I ask.

"She's not childish anymore," he says.

Hmmm - this about a girl who will give a big burp and laugh about it, who would much rather have some one get her a drink than pour it herself, who loves to play with her toys (almost as much as she likes reading); the girl who doesn't care what she wears, has no interest in make-up, nail polish, talking on the phone or pop music. This is the girl who is not childish anymore?

But then Pippi protests and says that Harry has always been too grown up. (She's been saying this since he was a toddler.) "But you're like a teenager," she complains.

He is very independent minded - but since he can't yet consistently tie his shoes or remember to flush the toilet - I hope there will be some improvement on that score before his teen years.

They are both who they are. Neither too old or too young.

They're not growing up too fast and I like that.

I wouldn't change them for the world.

Innovative Snowboarding

So, what do you do when there are three inches of snow, two free hours because of a delayed opening, a snow board and no hill? You improvise and snowboard down the slide - until your mother tells you this is a particularly bad idea.

What is Love?

We get the answer to that from today's second reading (1 Cor 13:4-8)

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

So, do I love the way I should? I can simply insert "I am" for "Love is" and see if the statements are true.

I am not always patient, I am not always kind.
I am often quick-tempered, and sometimes I brood over injury.

I am not a perfect example of love.

But, God doesn't expect me to be.

God gave us Jesus as the perfect example of love. Insert "Jesus is" for "Love is" and you will see that every statement remains true.

What God wants from us is not perfection (who truly expects their child to be perfect?), but to strive for perfection.

So, I will try to be more patient, more kind, less quick-tempered.

I will try to love more.

The End of the First Week

Well, we've survived the first week of bathroom renovations. And things are moving along quite nicely. The electrician came today (he was unable to make it Wednesday) and now I could say "there was light" - but there really isn't - just wires and places to put lights and switches.


One step at a time, right?


But at least we now have insulation. Which is good, because it's mighty cold today.

The Tub is Dead - Long Live the Tub

It's day four of renovations. And things are happening fast and furious. The old tub is gone.
And the new tub has taken its place.

A wee Kick in the Pants

I need to start writing again - fiction that is. And I decided one way to provide a little incentive for myself would be to keep public track of how much I'd written. I'm putting a meter at the bottom of the site. I'll keep it updated. I'm going to cheat a little today because, I already have a bit written on a new story - I'll put those numbers in - and then go from there.

And, if anyone knows of a good on-line writer's group, please let me know.

One of My Favorite People

Over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast there is an interview with one of my favorite people. That would be Liz of A Chair, a Fireplace & a Tea Cozy.

And if she's not already one of your favorite people, pop on over and read the interview - and she will be.

The Tub Rules - Day Three

The tub is now the only original thing left in the bathroom (other than the radiator, and that's not going anyplace.)

The electrician is scheduled to come today.

Journey to Pern

I've recently found myself re-immersed in the land of Pern. It all started innocently enough when, looking for a new book to read, I discovered that there was a new Pern book that I hadn't read yet.

So, of course I read it. And then I discovered that while Anne McCaffrey had collaborated with her son on two novels about Pern, he'd also written one himself. And of course I had to read that.

And then Pippi was looking for a fantasy to read - so I handed her my copy of Dragonsong.

And while I was downstairs looking at our books, and had Pern on my mind, I started pulling my old copies off the shelf. So far, Dragonflight, Dragonquest, Dragonsong (snitched from my daughter and read when she was doing other things), Dragonsinger and now the White Dragon. I think I'm going to stop after this one - and move on to other things.

But there's something very satisfying about simply losing yourself in another world.

And of course, just as when I first read these books many years ago (won't say how many), I do kind of wish I had a fire lizard, or could see a dragon soaring over head.

Renovations - Day Two

Yesterday our bathroom was stripped of it's walls and most everything else. Except for the tub and floor.









Now the floor is gone too. The only thing left is the tub. I think that's coming out Thursday - but I could be wrong about that.

What Time is it Now?

"I have two things to tell you," my son informed me last night around 9:30 (when he really should have been sleeping, but that's another story).

"The earth moves to the east," he let me know.

Okay, I wasn't sure why this was an important observation, but that's fine.

"Yes, it does."

"And when it is 8 am here it is 8 pm in Beijing."

Hmm.

Actually, I checked today, and he was off by a bit - we are thirteen hours different from Beijing, not twelve. But he was pretty close.

And how did he figure this out?

The globe the kids got for Christmas.

It doesn't talk to them or have any computer chips embedded in it. It doesn't download information from cyberspace or light up to show the constellations. It's just a plain old fashioned globe. One that has a little dial on the top that gives you an idea of what time it is in other places if you adjust it properly.

Harry is studying China in school - and true to himself, once he's introduced to something he throws himself into it full force. He wants to know all about China now.

Maybe we'll have Chinese food for dinner sometime soon. (even though it will be breakfast time in China).

Time for a Little Remodeling

We have decided to re-do our bathroom. As can be seen in the picture below, this was really a truly necessary job.

When you need to hold the wall together with duct tape - and even that doesn't work, it's time to take the bull by the horns and do something about it.

So we're doing something. As I write, the contractor is upstairs ripping apart the bathroom.

Hopefully the job can be done fairly quickly, because, while we do have a second half-bath in the basement - it is just that. No shower - no bathtub - nothing like that. And it's in the basement - not the most convenient for late night wakings. But - it will all be worth it. (I know it will).

It's looking better already!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Pippi turned ten on Friday. This is a big deal. Double digits. And to celebrate, she and I took the train into the city and we attended her very first Broadway show.

Mary Poppins.

What a wonderful first exposure to Broadway.

True our seats were in the balcony - (and mine was behind a pipe!) - but none of that took away from the how wonderful the show was. There was so much energy - so much fun.

And when Mary Poppins flies off at the end - over the audience - she ended up right in front of us - and gave my Pippi a very big smile.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate a special birthday.

Neither of us will ever forget it.

What's Been Keeping Me Busy

New Year's promises to blog got pushed to the side when I decided to start a 1500 piece puzzle that my cousin gave me this summer.

I love doing puzzles, but tend to become rather obsessed with them - can't do anything else until it's done. I generally only do one a year, and they usually take about a day. They are usually not this many pieces. This one, however, took a week, so I did have to take breaks to feed the family and things like that.

But the puzzle is done now. And I'll have to take it apart soon so I can use the dining room table.

I'll put it again another time.

Maybe next year.

And now, maybe I'll have time to use the computer again.

Christmas Poetry

One of my favorite short verses regarding Christmas comes from Madeleine L'Engle.

This is the irrational season
Where love blooms bright and wild.
Had Mary been filled with reason
There'd have been no room for the child.

Happy Holidays to everyone.

On Not Posting

It's been more than a month.

I have no excuse.

Well, actually I do, but it's lame.

I've been busy. - Right - just like everyone else on the planet.

I've found that blogging is like anything else - if you fall out of the routine it's hard to get back into it - and when there are Christmas plays to go to and concerts to attend and cookies to bake and Christmas card pictures to take - other things tend to fall by the way side.

Perhaps my New Years Resolution will be to get back in the habit of writing (here and my fiction as well.)

But anyway, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth - in case anyone was wondering.

Merry Christmas from our House to Yours

Okay - so this isn't the picture we used for our card - but it does seem to capture the essence of getting ready for the holiday around here - everyone is excited and a little out of focus!

Poetry Friday - Friend Edition

Today I want to share one of my favorite poems - one whose imagery has stuck with me from the time I first read it in high school. And not only is it one of my favorite poems - but bonus - it was written by one of my favorite people.

I Saw God Today
by Liz B

I saw God today.
He reached down
With a hand of ribboned sunlight
Through dark forbidding clouds
To touch the earth.

The light rays pushed back the clouds
To reveal the sun
And its brightness filled me
Then my room
Making me smile inside.

I saw God today.
Gold filtered down
Encompassing the sky and earth
Like loving arms; and with that
He returned my smile.

Now - I'm not going to say when this was written (if Liz wants to share those details it's up to her) - but I do have the author's permission to use it for Poetry Friday. Thanks, Liz.

Simple is Best

The kids and I have been straightening the attic (I know based on the picture from the other day, maybe we ought to concentrate on other rooms - but so be it) and once we cleared a bit of space, they decided it made a neat club house.

Fine - go play in the attic - just don't fall through the ceiling is all I ask (there is not flooring over about half of the attic).

They found a shoe box up there that had remnants of toys from my youth in the seventies. I had looked in it yesterday - it was the flotsam of a generation - some Action Jackson clothes, a vest for a Flatsy doll, a wooden "Dish" from a "Cow Jumped over the Moon" mobile - and a plastic top that once came out of a box of Trix cereal. I had put the box aside to deal with later.

They came downstairs a few minutes ago and announced that they found the coolest toy.

"It's a Trix Top and it does tricks." They said, full of excitement. "When you spin it - it wobbles some and then flips over so it's spinning on it's other side. It's Soooo Cool."

They demonstrated the toy for me.

"You had the best toys," they said with a sigh and headed back upstairs.

They have computer games and stuffed animals that respond when you pet them. Trust me - they have lots of cool toys.

I guess it just goes to show you - sometimes simple is best.

The Day After

So, yesterday I walked into the living room and this is what I saw.

It was like a candy store and a comic book store had collided with each other.

In case you can't tell - there's a second pile of candy under the piano against the back wall.

Oh well, I guess it's a kids paradise.

But - it did get cleaned up.

Trick or Treat

Holiday Creep

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. (cue music)

What? Don't tell me you haven't noticed all the Christmas decorations in the stores. And it's still not Halloween yet.

The retailers say they do this so that it will get people in the mood to spend for Christmas. And while I love Christmas and do buy presents, and it's fun to see the first decorations of the season - I don't want to see them in September.

And the same goes for other holidays (and big sales events too.)

For example putting Back To School supplies in the stores the week after the kids get out of school is just plain cruel. At least let them get a chance to sleep in a few days first.

And Halloween candy - it's been on display in our grocery stores since August. I'm not buying my Halloween candy in August - thank you very much.

The problem is that it becomes invisible to me. I have to ignore it because it is just so ridiculous. And then, it's October 20 something and I realize I still need Halloween candy. It becomes such a habit to ignore it that the fact that I do eventually have to buy it slips my mind.

Now, I'm not likely to forget that I need to get Christmas presents - but I would appreciate the first decorations of the season so much more if they were - you know - actually seasonal. Jack Frost nipping at the nose - the leaves off the trees - and ooh look there are Christmas decorations in the store. Instead I find myself sighing and saying "already?" And then by the time Thanksgiving rolls around the decorations are looking faded and old. We're tired of them already - and we still have a month to go.

Oh well. That's just my little rant for the day.

And Merry Christmas - oops, I mean Happy Halloween (so hard to keep track anymore.)

Still Here

I haven't posted in awhile, because, basically I've had nothing too interesting to say. Hopefully that will change soon.

That Grey Area

This evening, my husband was discussing something with me, and handed me an article to read on the topic. "It's a bit of a grey area," he said.

Our son piped up then, "of course it's a grey area, that paper is all in black and white."

So there.

Poetry Friday

In honor of the winds that blew in the cold temperatures last night, here's a little Robert Louis Stevenson:

Windy Nights
Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by.
Late in the night when the fires are out,
Why does he gallop and gallop about?

Whenever the trees are crying aloud,
And ships are tossed at sea,
By, on the highway, low and loud,
By at the gallop goes he.
By at the gallop he goes, and then
By he comes back at the gallop again.

Apple Picking

A couple of weeks ago we took advantage of a relatively free weekend and took the kids apple picking. This has become an annual tradition. One that we've perfected over time. We discovered an orchard that uses dwarf trees and trains them on wires, like grape vines. It makes it so that all of the apples are easy to reach - by everyone. It doesn't take long at all to acquire forty pounds of apples - that's a lot of apple pies, apple cakes, apple pancakes, and just plain snacking apples.



The other part of our annual outing is to take a walk to Pennsylvania.

That's not as hard as it sounds.

We go to Washington Crossing State Park and explore a little history. The park is actually on both sides of the Delaware River, and there is a bridge there with a sidewalk on it. We wander the New Jersey side, discuss Washington crossing the Delaware, sometimes check out the Ferry House if it's open, and then take our walk to Pennsylvania, where there is a little shop selling Revolutionary era goodies - and cheap candy. The kids get candy and we explore some on the PA side before returning home.


The kids on the walk back to NJ.


This year we got a late start, the Ferry House was closed when we got there, and it started to drizzle when we got to the PA side, so the trip was shorter than most. But it was still lots of fun.

And my kids love history - one year we learned that George Washington's favorite candy was rock candy. Made eating it that much more fun.

Why do they save the hard questions till late

when you are too tired to think straight and just want them to go to bed? That was the scenario yesterday, when my son said, "I didn't know the church was a woman."

Okay, I thought of "Holy Mother Church," and I made some comment on how we tend to think of it that way.

And he continued, "because the priest is married to the church."

Right - well, that's pretty true, I suppose, and as the Church as the Bride of Christ was mentioned yesteray at Mass, I think. I said "Yes, it is like he is married to the church, but it is also like he is married to God in a way."

"But a man can't marry another man," he answered.

Ummm - yes, I wimped out on the answer. "Right, I said, now go to bed," I said.

Thanks for the Suggestions

We're off to the library to look up some of the books recommended for S both here and at Liz's place. Thanks to everyone. I'll let you know what ones he likes.

Poetry Friday - Harvest Moon edition

Last night I was washing dishes and looked outside and saw a beautiful full moon. Then I remembered it was the Harvest Moon. I called the kids outside to look at it. It was beautiful. My daughter, who is learning about weather in her Enrichment class said the moon was so bright because of the angle between the moon and the sun.

I decided to honor the beautiful sight with the following poem.

Under the Harvest Moon
By Carl Sandburg

Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers.

The rest of the poem can be read here.

Revision Progress Update

I finished my revision - now I just need to see if it needs any more sprucing up before the novel is out in circulation again and looking for a publisher.

Two things I learned during the process:

1) lots of good ideas for other projects present themselves when you can't work on them - and dissipate when you can.

2) don't read anything by Meg Cabot while in final revision - everything she does is so spot on, it makes me simply want to throw in the towel.

Looking for Suggestions

My son is currently interested in the middle ages. I was wondering if anyone knows of any good boy adventure stories set in the middle ages that are at a middle grade reading level - but have a content appropriate for a first grader. He's read The Arthur chapter book "King Arthur" and the Magic Tree House book set in the middle ages. He's read the first two Harry Potter books, so is up for a challenge. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks

Poetry Friday

My daughter does not consider herself much of a poet. She is more of a prose writer - but in language arts this year she's going to have to write a lot of poems. I think her first effort for the year is a lot of fun, so I'm sharing it on Poetry Friday.

My Pencil
by KRM (age 9)

My pencil is tall and new
And unfortunately his brains are few.
I sharpen his dull head to a point.
Now my pencil is smaller,
Not taller.
He likes to write a lot.
Now my pencil needs to get smart.
He sharpens himself again.
If this continues,
Where will my pencil be?
As short as a short fat bee!

I'll try to add links later.

Banned Book Week

It's Banned Book Week - a week during which the ALA tries to raise awareness of books that have been challenged, mainly in libraries and schools.

Now banning books conjures up images of book burning and oppresive regimes.

And book banning is bad.

Okay - that said - this is really about books that parents or community members (usually a small group) don't want their children - or any children to have access to. Focus on the Family protests that calling this banning books is going too far.

But not allowing access to anyone because of a personal problem with something, is not right. No one is forcing you to read a certain book.

Ah - but what about when they are? Some books that are challenged are on required reading lists. If a parent thinks that a book is too mature for their ninth grader, do they get to have a say? Saying "I don't want my child to have to read this" and saying "I don't want my child or any child to have access to this" are two different things.

Unfortunately those two things tend to get lumped together - making it so that some people can point to extreme examples of children being required to read books that have extremely mature content - and others to say that people are trying to ban Clifford the Big Red Dog.

It's really two different arguments. Parents of elementary school children and young teens should have some say in what their children are reading. It's part of being a responsible parent. And notice I say "their children" and "some say". Notice I also said "young teens", I think older teens should be allowed to make their own decisions without interference.

However people don't have a right to say "I don't like this - no one should be allowed to read it."

There are a lot of different views of the world, and a lot of different experiences people have had. Reading about them is one way for our children, and ourselves to learn about the world. If you start restricting what can be read, you restrict what can be learned.

So celebrate banned book week - by reading a book. Any book - and be glad you have the right to.

Fun at the Bookstore

Well, we had our adventure yesterday. The kids and I got to meet Jennifer L. Holm at a book signing. She was promoting her new book, Penny from Heaven, a wonderful account of one girl's growing up in the 50s in New Jersey. That girl, by the way, was based on her mother - who was there last night. Very cool.

We were late for the reading because a make-up Hockey game ended up being scheduled for last night - but we did get to hear the end of the question and answer session.

Jennifer has also written the Babymouse books, which my kids practically have memorized, they've read them so many times.

And Jennifer was so very nice and charming. She signed four books for us and posed for a picture with my son and daughter.

An added bonus was we got to see Liz. It's always a good day when that happens. And, since I was the one holding the camera - that's Liz getting her book signed last night.

So, thanks to Liz for telling us about this event and thanks to Jennifer for being so great and gracious. And thanks too to my Mom who went with us and informed me that the Barnes and Noble in Holmdel had moved to the other side of the street since the last time I was there.

Career Choices

It's always fun when kids tell you what they're going to be when they grow up. I remember when my daughter was about 3 or 4 and she announced she was going to be an artist (this was a kid who didn't like to draw) and a mountain climber. She was also going to be the President's helper. Why not the President? We already have one. Okay.

Later she realized that she could be an actor and also President - a la Ronald Reagan - so that was her goal.

Then she decided that she would be an actress and an author - like Julia Andrews.

I think that's where she still is - goal wise. She wants to be on Broadway though - not in movies. I say - go for it.

My son has also gone through his share of career goals. He watched the Tour de France and decided he'd be a professional bicycle rider - as well as a baseball player - of course. And he thought we should contact the airlines about getting his bicycle to France - I told him we had time for that.

More recently he told me he was going to be President (I'm glad my children aim high).

Yesterday the topic came up again. My daughter announced that she didn't want to work in an office when she grew up. "Good luck with that," I told her.

And then my son said he was going to be three things when we grew up. A publisher, an author and an engineer (an engineer like Dad).

He figures if he's both a publisher and an author it will be easier to get his books published. Sounds like good reasoning to me.

His sister immediately said that if he was a publisher he had to publish her books as well.

He agreed.

It's nice to have that settled.

Revision Progress

As of last night I've revised through chapter 11 and I have a total of almsot 33,000 revised words. Unfortunately I'm at a point where the revised story differs dramatically from existing story - so no grabbing stuff already written and using that. Hopefully more will get done today. We'll see.

Go to the Carnival

The Seventh Carnival of Children's Literature is hosted this month by Wands and Worlds. Go over and enjoy some good reading. I have something there too - my first carnival submission!

Poetry Friday

Sometimes there are lines from poems that just stick in your head. This is one of the ones that sticks with me.

From The Walrus and The Carpenter
by Lewis Carroll

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
And cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings."

For the rest of the poem, go here.

Some other Poetry Friday contributions: Jen Robinson brings us a little Shel Silverstein, Book Buds gives us some poems for peace and Blog from the Windowsill has a review of a monster poetry book for young readers.

Edited to add: A poem on moving at Here in the Bonny Glen, Michele at Scholar's Blog has a combined Poetry Friday/book review, Journey Woman shares a little Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Chicken Spaghetti brings us some poetry news. Little Willow give us a Nest Full of Stars, and Susan Taylor Brown brings us Christina Rosetti on Caterpillars.

More Revision Progress

I stopped noting my progress - because I started over at chapter 1 again. But, I am making progress. Today I finished chapter 10 and wrote slightly more than 3000 words. So - progress is being made. But, no more tonight.

Making Him Happy

It was the first day of CCD today. For my daughter it was old hat. It was brand new for my son. He didn't seem too intimidated by it. He answered a question correctly at assembly (the answer was Jesus, I don't know what the question was) and got a googly-eye bookmark.

And for homework he said he has to practice saying the Rosary. We've done a family rosary once or twice - it's a habit I'd like to get into, but haven't yet. I said that sounded like a good idea. We could all say the rosary.

Then my son told me, he thinks he should say the Rosary even if it's not homework, "because it would pleasure God."

Yes, it would.

By Our Actions Shall we be Known

The second reading this Sunday was from the Letter of James, and in it we have James 2:18 - "Indeed someone might say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works." In other words, you can tell I have faith, because of the way I act.

We all like to have an image of ourselves - but it is the way we act that puts the truth to our image. Do we view ourselves as outgoing, but are uncomfortable speaking to someone we've just met? Do we say we believe in a healthy lifestyle, but yet go to McDonalds for lunch everyday?

We can say and think whatever we want about ourselves, but it is in what we actually do that the truth manifests itself.

So, the bigger question is, if people who call themselves followers of Islam, proclaim that they are a religion of peace, but yet, seem to be involved in a lot of violence in the name of that religion - what are we to believe? What we hear, or what we see?

I'm Just Saying

It seems to me that if you say "If you call me violent I'll kill you," that you are pretty much winning the other person's argument for him.

Poetry Friday - Weather Edition

Rain

by Robert Louis Stevenson

The rain is raining all around,
It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.

Guess what the weather is up to again. Sigh.

Other Poetry Friday entries so far:
Blog from the Windowsill offers an ode to her new goddaughter.
Jen Robinson offers an ode to Roald Dahl (one of my son's favorite authors by the way)
And Nancy at Journey Woman offers us a little Robert Frost.

Edited to add: Michele at Scholar's Blog provides a poem by and biography of Gerard Manly Hopkins.
Little Willow gives us some of Tennyson's Lady of Shallot.
And Kelly at Big A little a has an excerpt from Poe's The Raven

Edited again: Liz at A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy, shares some Robert Browning.
And Melissa in the Bonny Glen shares the poem she named her site after. Now - is the site eponymous, or the poem? I'm never sure which direction to use that word.

I'm sure there are more, or will be soon - I'll check back later.

A Perfect Childhood?

This past week both Book World and Big A little a posted on some articles in the British Press that were critical of the culture in which children were growing up.

Is childhood being destroyed by too much junk food, electronic gizmos and pushy parents?

I guess that depends on what you decide it means to be a child.

Visions of idyllic childhoods come to us from any number of places, primarily books and movies (though now that I think about it – in a lot of books, children have a substantially less than idyllic life.) I think it’s easy to picture the ideal childhood: children romping through meadows (as an aside, I was reading a book to my children the other day and in it the mother dog says to her pups “Go romp.” My daughter promptly said she didn’t think she’d ever been told to ‘romp.’ I figure they do enough ‘romping’ without being told.), girls with daisy chains in their hair, boys building forts and tree houses; kids going fishing or bike riding for hours on end. Pick-up games of ball in the vacant lot. Days at the beach or the lake with no one to answer to.

Did these days ever exist?

When was the perfect time to be a child? Was there such a time?

I think that everyone (providing they had a pleasant life) thinks that the time of their own childhood was just fine – ‘the good old days’ – but every age has problems.

The sixties and seventies were a nice time to grow up – provided you stayed out of contact with the drug culture and race riots.

The post-war fifties give us lots of images of “Dick and Jane” perfect childhoods – but what about the polio scares that kept people isolated and indoors for whole summers?

The first half of the forties was a time of war – a war that impacted very much on the home front.

The thirties had the depression – I’m sure there are children who have wonderful childhood memories – but some of those memories include having to get up before dawn to sell newspapers or apples, or work in fields.

They enacted child labor laws at the turn of the century for a reason – and it wasn’t because kids were being told to clean their rooms.

That said – what about now – are our children over-scheduled and over-burdened? Maybe some are. Sometimes the kids are in eight weeks of various summer camps because both parents work, and you can’t just leave a kid home alone all summer – and most jobs don’t give eight weeks of vacation.

Are there a lot more organized sports – and a lot less pick-up games in the vacant lots. Well, there are also a lot less vacant lots – and less kids home and available to play at any time (remember the kids in eight weeks of camp because the parents work?)

So, is childhood being destroyed? That depends? How do you define childhood and where can you find it?

Childhoods are as individual as children.

Should children eat less junk food, play less video games, spend more time exercising. Um – yeah – and so should adults.

Most parents want what is best for their children. What that is changes with the ages. Maybe in the fifties a child could leave home at breakfast and not show up until dinner. Now if a mother has no idea where her child is for the entire day, she is likely to be reported to child services for neglect.

Kids need to interact with other kids – if that means Thursday afternoon French class, then so be it. But they also need time to be alone. Time to be bored (Sandra at Book World goes into this) because it is when a child is bored that he gets creative (depending on the child this can be either a good or a bad thing.)

I don’t think we are destroying childhood. There are a lot of places in the world where ‘childhood’ as we know it doesn’t even exist. Childhood changes – with each new generation it changes – and there is always another generation of people looking back going – “things were better when I was young?”

But were they?

It's Good to Have Goals

During the school open house we also visited our daughter's fourth-grade classroom. Here we found on her desk a letter she had written to us, her parents.

It was long, rambling and full of excitement about the school year.

It also listed some goals she had :

"In fourth grade, I vow I will try to like math, live through health, stumble through social studies and pay attention in science. Language Arts will not be a problem."

What more can you ask for, anyway? (And I'm really glad she's going to 'live through health'! And as is evident from these two short sentences, language arts really will not be a problem.)

Sharing Love

Yesterday was Open House at my children's elementary school. We got to meet the teachers, see where the children sit, and see what's in their writing journals so far (after a week of school.)

Our first grader, on his first day of school, has a journal entry that starts off "My favorite thing is" (that was probably a writing prompt from the teacher.)

Here's our son's full sentence: My favorite thing is sharing love.

It's my favorite thing too - come to think of it.

Score!

Excitement at the street hockey game tonight. In the 5 and 6 year old division it was the Rangers vs. The Blackhawks. The score was tied 1 to 1. We'd had a time-out so the Ranger's goalie could go to the bathroom.

And then number 2 on the Blackhawks (aka my son), playing defense, hit the ball all the way from the Blackhawks goal line into the opposing goal. That crazy little orange ball just went past everyone.

Score! Amazed shouts! And one very happy little boy.

But we don't have to worry about him getting a big head about it or anything - no not him (ha). When we got home he said that at the next game everyone would probably want his autograph since he had made such an amazing shot - after all (according to him) pros probably couldn't even do a shot like that!

And although I wouldn't go so far as to say he outdoes the pros - it was a pretty cool shot!

A Day to Remember

September 11.

It's a date that evokes responses that are neither simple nor ordinary.

Like everyone else I remember that day very clearly. I don't need to share my feelings of that day - they are feelings shared by everyone who saw images of the towers collapsing and of seeing the clouds of smoke where the familiar outline of the towers used to stand on the skyline.

It is a day to remember, to reflect. To pray.

Comfort Reading

Some people have their comfort foods: chocolate, lasagna. I have comfort books. With a week that included two funerals I felt a bit in the need of comfort.

When that happens I turn to my collection of Norma Johnston books. In this case The Keeping Days series. It’s a series of six books (all out of print) which, over the years, I’ve managed to collect.

I’ve read them countless times (and I am not saying that metaphorically, I really have no idea how many times I’ve read them) and so know the stories very well. That’s part of what makes them comfort reading. No surprises.

There are no surprises anymore, but they are always enjoyable. The story of 14-year-old Tish and her family living in 1901 New York, with all the trials and tribulations that any family at any time may have, is always fresh to me.

Re-reading these books is like visiting old friends. Wonderfully reassuring and well, basically comforting.

Bloggers Block

Why is it that throughout the day I can have all these great ideas for things to post - but when I finally get around to turning on the computer - they've all fled?

Maybe some of those thoughts will return tomorrow and consent to being written down.

I can hope at least.

Poetry Friday

In honor of my husband's Aunt Scotty, whose funeral we will attend today, I am posting a poem by Emily Dickinson.

Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Because I could not stop for Death --
He kindly stopped for me--
The Carriage held but just Ourselves--
And Immortality.

We slowly drove--He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility--

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess--In the Ring--
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain--
We passed the Setting Sun--

Or rather--He passed Us--
The Dews drew quivering and chill--
For only Gossamer, my Gown--
My Tippet--only Tulle--

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground--
The Roof was scarcely visible--
The Cornice--in the Ground--

Since then--'tis Centuries--and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised theHorses Heads
Were toward Eternity--

Later today I'll post links.

Why I Don't Need an Ark

It finally stopped raining (again) and I'm giving up on my plans to build an ark (besides the fact that the only thing I ever built out of wood was a box for my dollhouse that works best as a podium) because I won't be needing it.

But the real reason I don't need an ark is best illustrated by this picture from our vacation to Niagara Falls. The rainbow was a covenant from God to us that he would never flood the whole world again.

Rainbows were much in evidence at Niagara Falls, and each time we saw one it was an opportunity to remember God's promise (and to say - "Look! Another rainbow!")

Revision Progress

Well, I'm on chapter four. I wish I could say I finished it. But I didn't. However, since chapter four turned out to be completely new material, I do have a word count. Slightly over 2000. So, I'd say today was fairly successful. It would have been more successful if I'd finished chapter 4. I suppose I could struggle on - but I'm tired and thinking tomorrow is another day.

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.