Home – Page 20 – Letters from Home

Outdoor movie night

Sometimes people have to correct me because I confuse the date. I live my life thinking it’s the following day because I’m always anticipating something. I noticed this phenomenon when I began making lesson plans as a student teacher. I still have that problem because I’m always reading the “next book” on our list. Conversely, I spend a lot of time grading, which is like living the previous day over again.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to live in the moment, though, which is what I have been doing this week for Spring Break. It’s involved a lot of napping. Planning for an upcoming Pioneer Trek (Richard and I are going), doing Young Women President things, and teaching 4 grade levels have made my to-do lists grow very long.

Last night was the culmination of a lot of preparation. Since it was Spring Break, we decided to host an outdoor movie night for the church youth in our back yard. We didn’t think many people would come, but wow, did they come! We made popcorn in a movie-style popcorn maker, we set up a screen and a projector and a big speaker. We had the youth play get-to-know you games between the short films to earn points to “buy” popcorn and hot chocolate.

It was fun. I wonder what my neighbors thought of the prayers offered through a microphone. My next door neighbor sent her daughter over to enjoy the party. It was a good crowd.

Remains of the day

There are 13 pairs of shoes in our entry hall. Just imagine what the rest of the house looks like after just 2 days of baseball season. I don’t know if we are going to make it. Not because it messes up the hallway, but because baseball murders our family dinners and evening routines for 3 1/2 months of the year.

I’m a vigorous supporter of the family meal, eaten together with all the benefits it delivers:

nutrition
routine
conversation
better bedtimes

My ideal evening is to have everyone home, reading or working on projects, playing piano or listening to music. It’s basically a Little House on the Prairie evening.

What’s a girl like me to do?

I’ll start by getting the kids to clean up their shoes.

Jobs, not Chores

Around our house we do JOBS, not CHORES. I find that names carry a lot of significance. It’s better be employed in a job than a chore. One implies importance and meaning; the other implies drudgery.

But doggy pick-up truly is a chore. Notice the improvised gas mask.

Running the electric blower is the favorite outdoor job. It’s loud for little ears, so Mark chooses his red ear protection and he’s ready to go.

Here’s the list of the jobs the kids do on Saturdays:

bedrooms: change sheets, clean, dust, and vacuum

help clean bathrooms

vacuum and dust family and living rooms

help with dishes

dust mop the hallways

clean, dust, and vacuum school room

clean up patio and lawn areas

help in the garden or other outdoor tasks

doggy clean up (we usually pay 10 cents per… you know)

wash windows

put away laundry

fold towels or help with socks

One of Richard’s coworkers gave him a Wii because she felt sorry for us, the only family on the planet without computer games. It is not something we planned on purchasing, but we decided that since we have one, we will let the kids play it one day per week (Saturdays) after the jobs are finished.

I hope the Wii doesn’t take over our lives.

I worry that it will.

I really don’t like the Wii.

Oil, lights, and the power of homemakers

For days I have been trying to find a passage in a book about Jewish women’s roles as keepers of the oil, & lighters of the flame in the home. My search was inspired by this photo from our trip and it conveys the message almost as well as the text I was looking for but never found. I’ve been thinking about the significant power a homemaker possesses as she feeds and nurtures her family.

Women can be a light to the home as we gather our families for meals and see to our families’ needs. Our metaphorical oil supply must be high and of good quality if we want to succeed.

Over time, the requirements for maintaining my personal oil supply have changed. Over the past week I have tried to listen to my body’s need for more rest; I’ve tried to face my obligations without holding my breath and letting my heart race. Sometimes writing in a journal is all I need to sort things out. Lately, I have needed to read the ideas of others more than stir up my own. It’s a time for refueling, I guess.

Here are some things I have been reading or that have caught my interest this week.

Seeking Refinement

Motherhood simplified

Poppies!

I’m loving this

The winter rye has arrived! It is beautiful. It will be green all winter. I love to look out the window and see the color.

Isn’t this beautiful?

I love autumn but I need to watch movies with New York City in the fall to experience it fully.

Do you have movies that you watch every year to inaugurate the seasons? I do.

Do you have a target date when you allow yourself to listen to Christmas songs? I usually begin in October, but I’ve been listening to folk tunes for the Thanksgiving feeling.

I try not to admit that there is a holiday called Halloween. Mark and Timothy have decorated their bedroom with spiders, bats, black rats, and pumpkins since I won’t decorate the house with such stuff.

Well, enough of this nonsense. Or is it? Holidays are so fun to anticipate and plan.

Baking with the kids

Daniel decided to take a photo of our cookie baking adventures last week. The kids cut out maple leaves, pumpkins, acorns, and ghost shapes.

The kids really enjoy decorating with royal icing. They came up with some beautiful designs.

The end.

The Lego Library

It’s fascinating to listen to people’s reactions to our home. We have a tile (I won’t tell you where) which must have some magic. Whenever someone steps on this tile, they compliment the house. Is it perfect feng shui from this tile’s perspective? Is there a conduit of light that touches a person’s aesthetic sensitivities just the right way? It’s not the furniture… it’s not the decorating. It could be the shiny black piano, but that would give away the relative position of the tile, so never mind.

Besides this one spot from our hallway, I receive compliments about our plastic Lego drawers. They are 12×12 inch drawers with lids which fit in a tower of seven. They were made for scrapbook supplies, but they can contain even large Lego sets. I stack them recklessly and precariously. I call them our Lego Library. In this library, each child checks out one box at a time, so to speak. I bought them at Target, but I’m afraid they are no longer sold at my store. Drat.

Most of the Legos in this collection came from a yard sale and we paid $4 a set. Smokin’ deal. I wish we had bought more. I scanned the original nicotine-riddled boxes and printed them for the front and top of each plastic box.

When you want to play, you just pull out your box…

and play with the set. Remember: you must clean up your set before you get another one. Only one set allowed per child. When friends come over, I say no more than 3 sets out at a time.

I also bought drawers without lids for Mark’s Legos.

When I give a big Lego set to the kids, we give them a new drawer for storing it.

Most of our Legos are not this organized. I see these lidded drawers as a place to keep special sets intact, and the Legos in the bedrooms are for more creative play. In the bedrooms we store Legos in long under-bed boxes. The Lego Library is kept separate from the other Legos in the house.

As a mother of 3 boys, a lot of energy is spent dealing with Legos… and dirty socks.

Thanks for listening.

Ready for pink blossoms

These crape myrtle buds are just about ready to burst open in the backyard. Our choice of a crape myrtle tree is based in our love of Austin lore, as we had three of these lovelies when we lived there.

Today we celebrated the last P.E. class and the end of a golf session. We ate a celebratory lunch at the park and played water games and sipped Capri Suns.

: Daniel’s golf instructor

Slowly, the traces of activities are being swept away… a ballet recital and two baseball games remain. Summer awaits with all its possibilities.

One corner of our yard

The irises arrived with great showmanship this year.

Do you spy a little friend on our fence?

Our neighbors planted this beautiful hedge which flowers in the spring.

Here we will stay

Sometimes I just have to pinch myself because those saguaros are so beautiful. We bought our house 5 years ago today. It’s St Patrick’s Day, the day we said in writing, “Here we will stay.”

We have a full life here and I am grateful to be here. This week I have been privileged to see the generosity of many people in my community working together on a humanitarian aid project. So many times this week I have had a full heart as I have responded to calls and emails offering to help. One person heard about the project but is currently traveling overseas. She contacted me to find out how she can contribute. Such generosity! Tomorrow we will complete our project of making hygiene kits for disaster victims and send them off.

Dear Japan,

Someone in this desert is thinking of you and hopes you will be okay.

Love,

Sahuarita, Arizona