Wednesday, October 26, 2005

The Popsicle…

There is a popsicle thawing in the hall shower. It walked into the house in jeans, t-shirt, tennis shoes and had a purple jacket hanging off its shoulders. The popsicle came in bearing leaves of many beautiful colors to show off and decided that I needed to wear one in my hair. That was the popsicle’s mistake… I leaned over so that the leaf could be placed in my coiffure (read that banana clipped twist) only to recoil and gasp in shock as the popsicle touched my cheek with her ICY fingers to hold my head steady. It has been ten minutes and I still have chill bumps on my neck and shoulders. Of course, new game just started in the cul-de-sac notwithstanding; I announced the official end to outdoor play for the day and ordered the popsicle to the shower.

The popsicle’s sister wasn’t happy at the news. She was only HALF frozen, as opposed to the dry ice like status of her sister, and when her attempts to persuade me to retract my edict failed, tried to tell me that she wasn’t GOING to take her shower right now. HELLO? Not GOING to take your shower?!?!?!? The child’s self-preservation instinct was obviously the first thing to stop working in the cold. I am not one of those parents who, when a gauntlet is thrown to the floor, steps over it and kisses the child to whom it belongs. This is a common problem. She mistakes me for someone who CARES about what she WANTS to do… as opposed to being the authority in her life who tells her what she WILL do… She is now clean and smiling…

So here I sit, looking like an overweight Anglo Indian in a nightie with a leaf feather sticking up out of my twisted banana clipped hair. Stew simmers in the crockpot and I sit down to work on yet more papers that need grading while watching tv with the family… only to find that I’ve managed to enter the WHOLE SLEW of grades I just did in a program that had not been restored and I must go through and reenter them. Thank heaven I don’t have to GRADE them again! God is good.

At least I managed to remember to take Micah to Catechism class at the church today… plumb forgot last week! I take work and wait for her as it’s only about an hour. What a lovely time, the murmur of children’s voices in the background, the warmth of the heater now that cooler temperatures have arrived, and the companionable silence of a friend with whom no words are necessary. We work and share things as the mood moves us… Such times are a great blessing in what can be a very isolating vocation.

Posted by Anne at 22:25:18 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Home Alone…

Yesterday was NOT a good day… We got up and headed to the church for morning prayers, and as we are all pouring out of the car, Seraiah says “I have to put my book back in the car.” So I turn around and looked, and said, “Where’s Becca? Let her out of the car too!” thinking that the girls had shut the door on her. So Rai goes to look and informs me that Becca is NOT in the car! *Insert horrified screech* We load up and start back for the house, only to have Seraiah say, “Aren’t we going kinda fast?” OF COURSE WE ARE GOING KINDA FAST! I LEFT A CHILD AT HOME!!!!! We ended up meeting my husband on his way to work with her in the car… HE opens his window, grins, and says “Did you forget something?” Ha. Ha. Ha.

Becca didn’t seem upset… and she did say at some point in my effusive apologies “Mom, I forgave you four times already!” She only said once that she felt a ‘little left out’ because we had left her behind. Joe had tried to tell her we left her but she wouldn’t believe him until she went and saw the empty garage herself. *sob* I’m such a terrible mother! Joe told her, “Mommy won’t do like most mom’s, she won’t assume I’ll bring you to her, or that I’ll take you to work with me… she’ll come tearing back over here to get you…” and he was RIGHT! She got a lot of snuggles and hugs yesterday… and this morning when we went to prayers, I stood at the door and did a headcount BEFORE I walked out to the car… and made sure Becca was the FIRST child to get in the car!!!

Posted by Anne at 22:23:02 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Monday, October 24, 2005

The Sound of Music…

Last night my 8 yr old, wanted to sing me a song out of last years songbook from church. I said sure, and after a moment here she comes into the living room lugging the music stand. She sets herself up in front of the tv where we can all see her, puts the hymnal on the stand, raps on the stand and looks at us across it – calling for attention! I had NO idea she was paying so much attention to the leader of music in our church. She can’t really read music so she ‘sang’ the songs, all three, to her own melody. She also informed us (during a break while looking for another song to sing) in a very outraged manner that her eldest sister had told her that she couldn’t preach because she was a girl and God didn’t let girls preach. We had to discuss the options for women in the Catholic Church. She sure seems to aspire to service, which is fantastic. While she was giving her performance, we could hear our 10 yr old daughter, singing the songs from Mass in the shower. I can’t help but wonder as I see the devotion of those two, what plan God might have for them. I hope regardless of the vocation they are called to that they continue to show such devotion throughout their lives.

Posted by Anne at 22:21:09 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Golden Light and Purple Shadows…

The house is quiet, and an unusual calm has descended as I sit in front of the tv with my husband. The children are outside playing… cleaning and chores have made them welcome the freedom. The temperatures have turned cooler here… more like the winter temperatures we are used to in Texas, yet it is only fall here and the cold doesn’t bite the same way. It is still cold enough to make the children grateful for the lighter part of their new winter coats. Eyes twinkle above noses and cheeks and chin that grow rosy in the cold, and lips that are chapped from repeated lickings. While most are still green, the leaves outside are turning to vibrant colors; reds and maroons, yellows and gold, chocolates and beiges. Some evenings you can already catch the scent of burning wood on the air.

It is a welcome respite before the storm of another week. Lessons, chores, laundry will occupy our days; grading, cooking, showering and reading time our evenings. Once again we start behind as we struggle to get back our equilibrium after the last two months of illness and chaos. The girls have welcomed the return of our routine and work hard for me, so we will be back in the groove sooner rather than later. Despite the unexpected trials God has allowed to come our way, it has been a productive year so far and I have great hopes for it to continue as such. In the meantime I plan to that end in the quiet as Viggo plays Frank T. Hobson in the background… and pray God leads and blesses our studies, giving wisdom to me as I teach and to my children as they learn. May we both seek to sit at His feet and learn together always.

Soon, this oasis of peace will end. As golden light fades to purple shadows, the thunder of not-so-little feet will approach the door and the evening will erupt in exuberant descriptions of battles fought and wars won. Dishes will clatter, and showers will run. Books will be read, prayers said, tucks given… and night will descend bathing everything in its stillness. I am grateful for each and every moment. Mercy drops of life with the family I love.

  
Posted by Anne at 22:18:47 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

The Children’s Hour

The Children’s Hour
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day’s occupations,
That is known as the Children’s Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret
O’er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down in the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And molder in dust away!

Posted by Anne at 22:16:45 | Permalink | Comments (1) »