It was my 4 yo’s birthday about a week ago.  Both of my sons were born in October and it makes for a busy time.  We took him to the zoo which was fun for the whole family.  We saw a Russian Grizzly Coast exhibit and even saw a grizzly bear up close swimming in the water.  We saw very playful sea otters doing somersaults and various back floats up close.  I could have sat there for a long time watching them play in the frigid water. 

My 4 yo son kept saying it was “the lucky day of his life” and he was walking with an extra spring in his step the whole time.  He seems very proud to be four and seems eager to get bigger and older.  My, how quickly this time passes.  Just the other day he was 3 yo and it seemed like that time would always be there for us.

When I snuggle with him at night now, it is with the knowledge that these days are numbered.  That as much as I want him to be small enough to carry and sweet enough to kiss and hug freely without any embarrassment or hesitation, I realize that it will not always be this way.

So this thinking brings me back to the idea of mindful living.  And this blog.  You would think seeing the name, The Mindful Homeschool, every time I log in would make me want to live more mindfully or at least check myself to see if the day has been mindful, or if my thoughts have been mindful.  Or most importantly, perhaps, if my parenting has been mindful.   Or mindless.

When I do sit and think about it, I worry that so much of my life is so mindless!  So much of my time is spent like there will always be a tomorrow, another day, another opportunity to do it right, mend the bad habit, start anew, become the best mom I can be! 

But sadly, it isn’t so.  My mindless habits are getting worse.  I spend way too much time on the computer these days.  Way too much time in front of a screen when I could be reading a book to my kids, or playing with my dc, or tending to the household chores, or sitting in meditation or practicing yoga, or reading a good book and mindfully doing what I want to be doing with my life.  

Even if I live to be 120 (!), life will be too short.  My children will be small children for only so long.  And I will be at the epicenter of their lives for such a limited time. 

It goes back to one of my previous posts where I wondered why is it that we don’t do what we know we should do?  

My yoga teacher has been saying lately that yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.   I think life is the same.  I can spend all the ”free time” I have reading blogs and reading emails in search of the perfect parenting techniques, the perfect way to manage my homeschool and personal life and balance out all my needs.  But at some point, I have to say, “Enough.”  And start living and being the person I want to be.    The ”goshdarn” reality is that I have to be there, practicing - living my life.  I have to be parenting, not just reading and writing about parenting.  I have to be homeschooling, not just reading and writing about homeschooling. 

For a person like me who loves to read and write, the internet has been a great way for me to gather information and connect with others.  But I cannot mindlessly allow it to dominate my life.  So somehow, I must start living my life.   And I have to start right now.  Because as the quote above so beautifully articulates, 

“Time is a gift that is only given to us moment by moment;  The gifts of grace, faith, talent, life, nature and breath are free;  All gifts are given to be given away.”

Happy Birthday! 

W, my precious 8 yo, expressed how much he was enjoying his day and what I have done for him.  What a grateful kid!  It’s funny because he didn’t receive any lavish presents or lots of birthday wishes from relatives.  As a matter of fact, he received one birthday card in the mail - from his dear aunt.  But he didn’t seem to notice what he might be lacking.  I, on the other hand, worried.  My parents are deceased and he never got to meet them and my dh’s parents live an hour and a half away so he doesn’t have a lot of people doting on him on his special day.  And his best buddy is no longer friends with him (due to some inappropriate behavior we found out about this past summer).  So, of course, I worry.  I worry that he doesn’t have “enough” of whatever it is that makes a child/person happy.  But he was okay.  He knows that we will be celebrating more this weekend with him.  (Usually dh is able to take a vacation day on W’s birthday but not this year.)  And he knows that we will be throwing a big birthday party for him with the cousins and other relatives next week. 

But my little guy, the boy who used to wear colorful, floral dresses just like his beloved sister when he was a toddler, has grown up into a very nice, young boy.  He is smart.  He is sweet.  He is grateful.  And he is loved.

Happy Birthday, W!  When you get a little bit older, we plan to show your friends all those adorable photos of you in the pretty red dress.  You have always looked up to your big sister but pretty soon, based on your growth charts, she is going to be looking up to you!

Luv ya!  XXOOXXOOXXOOXX! 

Here’s the thing.  I don’t know who my audience is.  I want to communicate with other parents and love to talk about yoga and homeschooling and books and poetry and motherhood but …  who is listening?  I have tons to say and I want to use this forum to say it but … is anyone there?

Sigh.  Please let me know if you are. 

Lucy 

… that doing just 10 minutes of yoga stretches and mindful breathing can make me feel so much better.

… how much my 7 yo son loves animals.  (On Friday we saw chickens at a farm we were visiting.  W just adored them.  I guess I am going to have to work on getting him a pet of his own.)

… how much I love to walk on clean floors and how it can truly brighten my day, sometimes my week.

… how a good book can change your life, or at least your perspective on your life.

… how passionately I feel about politics, the issues, and the politicians themselves.

… that I don’t always do all the things I am supposed to do to stay healthy, like eating broccoli (!) and exercising regularly and meditating, etc.,  when I know how good they are for one’s health and well-being.

… how much time I can spend on the computer these days.

… how strong the bond is between a parent and a child and how much I love my children.

I had done research on places to go and finally decided on a small cafe that specialized in serving locally grown and locally made food.  The place was simply decorated and homey.  We ordered our food at the counter while we listened to a lovely woman singing and playing a guitar.  It was “locals’ night” on Saturday so they had live musicians playing while you ate.  How quaint, you say?

Yes, it was nice.  We sat down in a section where we could see the musician.  Dh ordered curry and I ordered a pasta plate.  Then I had this tea called “Moon over Madagascar” that was really good.  It was from a local tea shop called TeaSource.  Their blackboard listed all the fruit and veggies that were in season and being prepared in their kitchen. They also had homemade granola for sale, also very good, made with Minnesota honey, and all kinds of other goodies. Their food was made from scratch, without preservatives or artificial ingredients.

I want to see more places like this thriving in our communities.  Places where the food is “home made”, locally grown, the entertainment is live (not just some TV blaring a football game), and the emphasis is on doing things the right way, not just to make a quick buck.

Thank goodness there are people out there who are willing to make these kind of places happen and customers who keep the place thriving. 

She also surprised me the other night when she recommended that we read this book that is actually part of her brother’s CM/AO curriculum.  It is called American Tall Tales and she read it and then listened to it on audio CD when we were travelling last week.  She has been mentioning tales that would be appropriate to read for different events.  The other night as we were sitting around our backyard campfire/ring she told me which tale would be good to read at that moment.  She mentioned that we should read a different story for another scenario but I cannot remember the details.  I just love that she is taking these stories to heart!  Tall tales about Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, etc.

Lastly, my son who has been struggling with reading is now showing more signs of improvement.  It is thrilling to see your child read text fluently for the first time!  I am hoping his confidence will continue to grow.

Oh, and something my 3 yo told me tonight as I was lying next to him, trying to get him to sleep: 

“Mom, you know what ‘devour’ means?”  “To gobble down greedily”, he says, answering his own question.  When I asked him where he had learned this, he said, “Word Girl”.  !!!

Lucy

You

taste

delicious

and

of

beans.                                                                                                                                      

______

Summer

juice

mist

go.

(P.S.   I could only use refrigerator magnet words.)

We spent our third night relaxing at an inn on Lake Superior.  Dd and I were able to do some sketching while relaxing on the big rocks on the shoreline and the boys walked all the way to the lighthouses.  We went over the aerial lift bridge a few times, which is always a treat, and spent some glorious moments hanging out on the beach at Park Point before we headed back home. 

The kids and I are still recovering from all the big adventures.  Everyone is a bit exhausted from the early mornings and numerous adventures.  Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip: 

Hurt No Living Thing by Christina Rossetti. 

Hurt no living thing:
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing,
Nor cricket chirping cheerily,
Nor grasshopper so light of leap,
Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,
Nor harmless worms that creep.

This is a great poem and dovetails nicely with the yogic philosophy of non-violence, something I am concentrating on this week.  Later today, we plan to make rice krispie bars, have teatime, and read some more.  I also hope to get some cleaning done.  And maybe we will even watch the Nancy Drew DVD we picked up from the library. 

Songs of Innocence-The Schoolboy

by William Blake

I love to rise in a summer morn
When the birds sing on every tree;
The distant huntsman winds his horn,
And the skylark sings with me.
Oh, what sweet company!But to go to school in a summer morn,
Oh! it drives all joy away;
Under a cruel eye outworn
The little ones spend the day
In sighing and dismay.

Ah! then at times I drooping sit,
And spend many an anxious hour;
Nor in my book can I take delight,
Nor sit in learning’s bower,
Worn through with the dreary shower.

How can the bird that is born for joy
Sit in a cage and sing?
How can a child, when fears annoy,
But droop his tender wing,
And forget his youthful spring?

O, father and mother, if buds are nipped
And blossoms blown away,
And if the tender plants are stripped
Of their joy in the springing day,
By sorrow and care’s dismay,

How shall the summer arise in joy,
Or the summer fruits appear?
Or how shall we gather what griefs destroy,
Or bless the mellowing year,
When the blasts of winter appear?