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some tiny epiphanies via my quarantine education
Even if we didn’t try in the least, we’ve all learned something during this last month of stay at home, quarantine, shutdown and forced stillness. We’ve seen what was true about ourselves and what we love and what we miss. Even if we kept our eyes shut to this sort of self awareness, it was bound to leak in through some crevice or slit. I certainly learned a few things and here’s what some of them are in no regular order: My life is full without ANY outside influences. Literally, even when my calendar is an actual blank slate, it is not an actual blank slate. Parenting is a full…
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connections. relationships. education.
Education is about relationships. Charlotte Mason said this and I believe it. I believed it theoretically when I first read it, decades ago. I believed it experientially when I thought back over my own education, both formal and self-chosen. When what I learned well and best, thoroughly and ingrained as part of my psyche, was when I had a relationship with the material. That’s why Spanish for three years has vanished into the mist but words have stayed. Stories have stuck. And I believed it theoretically for my children when I said yes to homeschooling. And I believe it experientially as I watch my kids make their own connections, mourn…
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five finds friday (shimmery skirts & strawberries)
And another week down. funny First, look at this adorable tiny Lego washing machine Otto created. You know what I’m actually missing? An audience. Yeah, sure – I’ve got nearly half a dozen people here who could serve as my audience, but truth be told – they’re tired of my jokes. If they ever thought they were funny to begin with, honestly. Anyway. I need an audience. A new one, I guess. One who thinks I’m funny. Because, apparently, as my prodigy have informed me, if I have to keep reminding them that I am funny, then perhaps I am not funny after all. Also. My neighbor told me she…
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pressure.
I’ve felt this inordinate amount of pressure for the past month or however long stay at home orders have been in place and this strange new world has dawned. I love productivity. I love staying home. So this ought to be like my dream right? And in some ways, it kind of is. The world is shut down. My family has to be home. There is literally nowhere to go. Forced Family Fun non stop and all that. Right? Except, of course, it doesn’t feel that way. Some new message is constantly popping up – Don’t waste your quarantine. Learn something new. If you don’t make use of the this…
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sunday matters.
Today the kids and I watched a livestream Easter service in our living room. We had communion and all I had on hand were crackers and sweet tea. I’m 46 years old and for the past 45 years I have spent every Easter Sunday inside of a church or at an early morning sunrise service (because Baptist upbringing). (Except last Easter – remember that?) So yes, this Sunday was different. There have been portions of my life where I attended church because my parents buckled me into the car and drove me there. Seasons where the cute guy in the youth group was my main incentive. College years where I…
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five finds friday (if, in fact, it actually IS friday)
This week was our spring break. Talk about a staycation. I think I’m a pretty fun person. But I haven’t been all that fun this week. It’s sort of like I’m on mute or something. My volume is turned down. And I don’t really care. It’s going to be a real challenge to crank out five items here. Because, pretty much, there’s nothing going on over at our house. funny For break week the kids asked if we could have our own Treat Yo’self day. Since we had literally no other plans and I didn’t care at all, I said yes. I thought they’d make cool snacks, maybe ask for…
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five finds friday: at home edition
I just wanted to bandwagon every celebrity and make this an at-home edition of my regular Five Finds Friday post. Except, of course, it’s always the at-home edition since I live and write from home. I mean, usually I do all of that. From home. But sometimes from coffee shops or outside somewhere. But this week everything is exclusively from home ALL THE TIME. This week has felt, like all of yours I’m sure, very long. A giant glass bottle of lotion broke on the tile floor yesterday. It smelled amazing and the shards of glass didn’t hurt so badly when swimming in lotion. At the beginning of the week…
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Stitch Fix: We Tried It!
I need to write and think about something else. So. Stitch Fix it is. Likely most of you have heard of this service. But if you haven’t – Stitch Fix is a service where a stylist picks out clothes for you based on information you have submitted about your style and your personal clothing preferences. The clothes arrive in a perfectly square box at your doorstep. You open the box. You try on the the clothes. You keep any that you like and you return the rest. They provide an oversized mailing bag with postage and address on it. You put it in your mailbox and off it goes. It’s…
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pendulum swinger
That’s me. I’m all – “Huh, ANOTHER day of quarantine? Another day that bleeds into the one before and the one that comes after? Another day with kids bickering and nowhere to go?” And then, I’m also, “We get to stay home tomorrow? COOL! I don’t have to put on pants or fix my hair? I don’t have to interact with any other humans and I can just stay in one place all day long?” It’s like the longer I stay home, the less social I become. I’m suddenly exhausted if I have to talk on the phone TWO times in one day. What??? I already made one phone call…
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five finds friday (bits & pieces)
I mean, what am I even going to write about? It’s a mystery. I guess I’ll know as I type it. funny Apparently Bergen thought his cactus needed shades. fashionable Stitch Fix has been a super fun treat. Mosely received her first box and had a lot of fun trying on the outfits. I’ll write a full post about it soon, but if you are interested in trying it for free – here’s a code. Try it here. (This code gives you $25 to use on your first box.) flavorful We’ve eaten pretty well during this quarantine. But I kind of feel like ALL we have done is eat. The…
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Quarantine Made Me Do It
You know – I really like being home. Many Friday nights it is EXACTLY what I choose do even when there are a potential myriad of other options. But just like seeing a sign that says “don’t walk on the grass” somehow makes that patch of grass uniquely appealing, something about being required to stay home makes it a bit harder. So here we all are. Feeling the feels. Missing our friends. Realizing how important face to face friendships are, how important physical touch is, how much it matters to show up, break bread together, share a bag of popcorn at the movies, babysit one another’s kids, have a cup…
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notes from the burrow. not in any particular order.
Today I took a walk with Mosely. We walked the streets near our home. I looked down at my attire. I laughed. It wasn’t terrible, I guess, but it was definitely more wear-this-at-home-only. (Although there WERE pants, so that’s progress – right?) I guess I’ve reached a new low. In attire and in personal grooming. And I haven’t put on earrings in over a week. That sounds small, but it’s not to me. It’s indicative of my sense of being ready for the day. What’s making me lazy? Avoiding the shower? Sleeping in too late? Is it Coronavirus? Is it forty-six? Is it a funk that’s pretty easy to fall…
