Per usual, not a lot of time to be had when I sit down to write this post, but 5 of my favorite things from the past week, in completely random order:
- Eating outside. We don't do it often, not nearly often enough, though maybe we'll get better about that. Yesterday we had a rough afternoon. Jacob spent two hours doing homework and honestly by the end my patience was long, long gone. So exasperating! It drives me crazy when he doesn't understand his homework, but doesn't take steps to try and figure it out. Trust me, my days of remembering how to find the area of a circle, a triangle, all kinds of evil shapes is long gone, but if I can search the book and figure it out, so can he! Mark and Julianna worked outside trying to make a dent in the endless list of things that need done, and it was hot. I was
trying not to kill Jacob,stripping away all of his self-esteem, trying to help Jacob with homework, working, and finishing up dinner, all the while dripping in sweat (you're welcome), something sure to make me even grumpier. All this to say that when the time finally came to sit down and eat we were collectively not in the best place. Such a bad place that the act of clearing off the table for dinner seemed too overwhelming. Hey! It's beautiful outside, probably cooler in the shade that in our house, why not eat outside? So we did. Just like magic the grumpiness (and the sweat) melted away and we chit-chatted about our day, the school talent show tonight, the weekend ahead. It was wonderful, renewing, and desperately needed. Just like that a night that was sure to be less than pleasant got turned around. We went on to watch a show together, then went outside to play a rousing, if completely against the rules, game of 4-square. Later, instead of having Jacob and Julianna go to bed at their normal times and read, I let them stay up late and play then read outside until it was too dark to see. It was truly a fabulous night. - Sunrise Point, the new Virgin River novel by Robyn Carr. I love this series. This is number 17 in the series and I am seriously in awe of the author's ability to keep it fresh and interesting. Mark was tied up with a really important project this week and I was on my own in the evenings. It felt so good to download the book to my Nook Color on a whim and inhale it. So much fun! Even better, it was very inexpensive, half the price of the paperback. Win-win.
- My dishwasher. All right, I'm hoping you're not rolling your eyes, but our dishwasher truly makes my life so much easier. Most days I do two loads, it's not unusual to do three loads and there have been four load days. Can you imagine washing all that by hand? I'm sure I wouldn't bake and cook nearly like I do.
- Resilience. My children are many things that make me very proud as a Mama. All four of them. They're collectively loving, kind (most of the time), responsible, good people. Being resilient may possibly be one of my favorite character traits to instill in them though. There are times I feel as though I've done a better job of it than others. Occasionally I feel as though I've failed completely. Recently my girl got her heart broken. I've been so proud of the way she's picked herself up and moved on. Not something she wanted to do, not something I thought she'd have to do, but she's done it. She's doing great and I am, as always, so very proud of her.
- Open windows, fresh breezes, waking up freezing and pulling the covers up to snuggle into. Typical Ohio fashion, if you don't like the weather, stick around, it will change. This week has been hot! Okay, not hot for July, but very hot for May. It's been mid-80's with decent humidity. I have loved having the windows open and the fans running. I love the gentle breeze in the air. I love listening to the birds singing, it's really been beautiful. Even last night which was super-hot still when we went to bed, ended up with me waking up in the middle of the night chilly. I love when the weather's like this. Eventually I'll get tired of the heat, eventually I will join the legions and close the house up, turn on the air and make our house a refrigerator (and be grateful for it), but right now I'm loving having all the windows open enjoying our first blast of summer-like weather.
7 comments:
Sounds like a good and fun and busy week. I imagine most weeks are busy at your house! Kudos to your girl for "picking herself up." She's learned. That's great.
Have a good week ahead!
What a full week you've had!! time for a wonderfully refreshing weekend!! and yay for moms who let their kids stay up to read and have fun outdoors! :)
I'm glad you had such a great week and that the simple act of eating dinner outside changed the whole mood. My kids love to eat outside too and this reminded me that we haven't in a while...and we need to because it's going to be too humid to enjoy it!
I have a daughter who doesn't like to do the digging to figure things out on her own also and have felt your frustration. So good that you all found a good, positive way to deal with all the stress and ended your day on such a positive note!
I love my dishwasher too! Both of us having dayhomes, I totally get it being on your faves list! :v)
Okay, thank you for talking about doing homework with Jacob. I feel your pain. Exactly. I get SO FRUSTRATED helping my boys with their homework sometimes and I feel like I am doing more harm than good when I can't keep my patience. Thank you for making me feel like I am not alone in that.
:)
Amazing how just a change of scenery (eating outside) can lift you up, huh? Love that. :)
Hope you have a GREAT weekend!
I am so there with you on the dishwasher. I am so grateful for one that works after living with the crummy one for so long, I practically sing like Snow White when I open it to put the dishes away.
And the homework. The mental block (WHY am I doing SCHOOL WORK at HOME?!) is just the most exhausting hurdle here.
Oh--and the eating outside! Thanks for the inspiration. We (finally) had the First Communion this weekend so our porch is in great shape--I think eating outside is on the agenda tonight. Thanks for the inspiration & have a good week!
What a thought provoking post. Often the ordinary things of daily life can bring us the most joy enjoyment and joy. Like a dishwasher for instance. One of the best things about summer is eating out on the patio. Dinners are so leisurely and relaxed and we tend to linger around the table. Love your blog.
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