Category: Life according to Angela

Wide Brimmed Hat

This is my new big hat. This is also what I look like when I am watching Cub Scouts scaling slippery rocks on the mountain.

This is Daniel and his friend. They’ve been friends for 6 years but it’s rare to get them together.

This is one of 600 photos Paige posed for because she’s so beautiful and well worth photographing.

This is Timothy on a hike with the Cub Scouts.

This is my Markie. He likes to snuggle anywhere.

This was our picnic and Richard who carried everything up and down the hill.

Next we’ll have some grits

I’ve been reading late into the night. I decided to give a contemporary literature another try. I read The Help (Am I the last one on earth to do this?) and it drew me in with its female friendships and I will admit, the gossip. However, I realized by page 100 that I was reading nothing new: married women are portrayed as fools; men of both races are incompetent; mother-daughter relationships are mainly confrontational; single women are ultimately more free and happy. (I’m not defending spouse abuse.) To me, this book felt very raw and emotionally manipulative.  This was supposedly a civil rights book, but it was nearly lost in its feminist propaganda. I’m more a fan of Phyllis Schlafly than Gloria Steinem. Please, I’m not accepting dissenting opinions on this. I know better than to open the Pandora’s box labeled, “Define and Defend your views on Feminism.”

I had a hard time finding “truth” in this book because the author demonized one race and idealized the other. I kept waiting for a functional white family. People aren’t so easily categorized and nowhere in this UNIVERSE do 24-year olds hold this much power in society. But her black characters were delightful. As a white chick, the lingo didn’t feel fake to me.

This book was highly influential in our menu planning this week. We had fried chicken… twice. I made potato salad and biscuits, too. Thank you.

Siblings

 

Angie and Joe

The sibling wars are going strong here.  I think we’re in need of outdoor play. We live the equivalent of a snowed-in winter during the heat of summer. We’re not active enough. Some of us are grumpy because of illness and some of us are experiencing growing pains.

Despite the sibling wars, I am very grateful for the sibling factor in our lives. Mark has a brother to keep him company after I kiss him good night. The boys have someone with whom they can throw dirt clods in the backyard (desert entertainment), and built-in participants for dead man on the trampoline. Mark has a peaceful retreat in Paige’s room and Lego Hero Factory wars are more fun with a lot of robots.

I am grateful for my own siblings and the good memories of them inviting my Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake dolls to join their GI Joe games. I am grateful for echoes of little boy voices acting out David and Goliath, memories of a little brother in a coon skin cap singing Davey Crockett,  and images of little sisters strapped to the baby seat on the back of my bike so I could take them places.

Having siblings helped me to develop loyalty and a very deep love, despite the fighting that happens when little people live together.

Young Women

I’m going to regret posting this silly photo, but all well. Thirteen was a time to try purple eye shadow and have a best friend. I’ve been thinking about those years and the people who helped me move beyond the purple eye shadow stage. Among the heroes were Tina Day, Robin Baker, and Paige Crawley. My mom was the biggest influence in my life, but these women came next. They modeled righteous womanhood; they taught me by their example.  They opened their homes, shared their talents, and loved us. They were my Young Women leaders from church.

I’ll just write it here because I can’t hardly speak it without feeling my throat close and my eyes flood with tears. I’m the new Young Women President. I’ve waited 16 years to work with the Young Women (ages 12-18) and I mean to enjoy it.

Happy Labor Day Weekend

I hope your Labor Day weekend is happy. Are you going to have a barbecue with family? Will you take a drive to the mountains? This picture is of my mom and me. Sarah, do you see your reflection in this picture?

Of all the seasons, I love autumn best. Labor Day signals my brain to start thinking in jewel tones. Cozy thoughts such as pie making and plans for homemade Christmas gifts (So what if I never actually make them!) give me hope for happy times during the next few months.

My week has been stressful. I was summoned for jury duty and I was excused. I prepared and taught a science lab to 35 kids on Friday. I made calls for church and prepared a monthly newsletter. I fixed our broken washer this morning… I think. I used up almost a ream of paper making copies. I worked on a website for a homeschool group. We dissected a frog. We raced homemade boats. We swam, we danced, we drove. We read, we built, we solved.

I prepared comfort food all week. I just felt like I needed it. Have you had a busy week leading up to Labor Day? Maybe the contrast of such a busy week will make Labor Day seem more restful. I hope so…for both of us.

My Life as a Schoolmarm

I’m a teacher of many grades. It’s been done before and it has been done more efficiently by countless schoolmarms in sparse schoolhouses without math manipulatives, microscopes, or the internet. I don’t count myself as being remarkable or unique, but it IS a very exciting life.

My subject matter ranges from early phonics lessons to Dante’s Inferno. In the same day I will answer questions such as, “What is a mushroom?” and ask, “How do roots help trees?” Later I will teach teach field markings for birds. Then I’ll correct errors in scientific method questions and give directions for a dissection at my kitchen table. I juggle time periods in history, algebraic algorithms, and geometric proofs. I drill basic addition and multiplication facts and direct Mark to color the longest snake orange and the shortest snake blue. I snicker at inventive stories and correct grammar in book reports; I dictate sentence after sentence for my young elementary student to write. I search out and make up thought-provoking essay questions for the study of classic literature.

Why do I do it?

I have insatiable curiosity, I perceive a necessity, and I love teaching.

 

 

 

A few facts about Introverts

This is a picture of me interacting with an ipod for the first time. It is also a picture of a classic introvert tuning out and recharging.

My friend introduced me to an article about how to care for your introvert . Although I didn’t agree with every word and attitude in the article, I thought I would share a few points with you.

  • Introverts are not necessarily shy, but they need to physically and mentally recharge after social situations.
  • Thought processes just might be a little more complicated for introverts, so quiet time is essential.
  • Trying to coax an introvert into talking about something before she’s ready is not going to make your introvert happy.
  • Introverts are more common among the gifted population. (Jus’ sayin’…)

I work to overcome my aversion to crowds, noise, and chit-chat. I realize that it’s a selfish attitude to think that embracing introversion is being “true” to myself. I try to foster an unselfish attitude and overcome my innate barriers to relationships and meaningful service to others.

But I will always love a long journal writing session…