Ordinary Moments

 Glimpses from the last couple of weeks...

Homeschooling Weeks 5 & 6

 We have been incredibly busy here in our household, and as much as I want to keep up in this space with our current events I am thinking that perhaps this is not the season for that, so I will write when I can. 

Weeks 5 & 6 of our homeschooling year went well. They were each solid weeks with a lot of ground covered. Every subject that the girls are taking (with the exception of Math and Government) has required them to take at least 1 test with several of them requiring multiple tests as they work through their curriculum. (Math and Government tests will be had soon.) 

The only thing I have slacked on is their art class. I bought a really cool curriculum for that with lessons to be done once a week, but we haven't done anything with that subject for the last few weeks, so I'll need to pick up the slack there. 

The girls are both doing well in their studies. We are tweaking things here and there to maximize their learning potential. 

So far this school year has been one of our best. I hope it stays that way. 

September/October 2021 Reading List

 September was a Gold Rush in terms of reading. I was able to read 9 books, but by October I was in a Gold Bust and only read 3. I find that some books are just harder to me to get through. Not because the subject matter doesn't interest me, but rather because there is just so much information for me to process in certain books. This is definitely what happened in October. It took me about two and a half - three weeks to get through a book called Vision or Mirage by David Rundell. The book was filled with historical information about Saudi Arabia and had a lot of different people highlighted. I had to really focus to keep the groups of people and individuals in the book straight. 

My focus these past two months was books on the Middle East, but I also read a book pertaining to  the United States. The book haunted me. It was titled Sundown Towns by James Loewen. I would recommend this book to every white person living in this country. Sundown Towns is about systemic racism and its existence today. The book focuses primarily on the Midwest, but every part of the nation is mentioned and discussed. The town that my husband grew up in (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) was discussed multiple times in this book both for its nickname (Caucasian Falls) and for its still prevalent practice of keeping Black Americans out of its city limits. Other states heavily focused on were Illinois and Indiana. Reading this book confirmed what I could feel below the surface while living in Indiana. I would often comment to my family that it felt like Indiana was in the deep south because of the blatant and subtle racism that exists in that state - there was a reason I had that feeling - because it was (and is) true. 

The rest of the books I read were all fascinating to me. With rare exception, I would read all of my book selections over again. They were all that good. 

Here were the books I read in September and October:

September Books Read:

Voices of Rebellion by Roberta Staley

I Should Have Honor by Khalida Brohi

The Lovers by Rod Norland

How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell 
(I did not like this book at all. I would not recommend it to anyone and I would not read it again.)

Harley Loco by Rayya Elias

Funny In Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas

Threading My Prayer Rug by Sabeeha Rehman

Sundown Towns by James Loewen

The Rose Hotel by Rahimeh Andalibian

October Books Read:

Driving the Saudis by Jayne Larson

Vision or Mirage by David Rundell

Then They Came For Me by Maziar Bahari

Numbers of Books Read in 2021:

January: 5

Feb/March: 8

April/May: 6

June: 5

July: 9

August: 7

September: 9

October: 3

Total: 52

The Green Eyed Monster

 Every so often an uninvited guest knocks on the door to my heart and welcomes himself in before I can even answer the call of his presence. Unable to be content with just one portion of me he spreads himself out into all portions of my inner being including my mind. I can usually ignore him at first. I know he is there, and although his residing in my heart and mind bothers me, I am still able to ignore him because he only whispers his poison into my ear. My life is too busy to hear the whispers of my heart and mind - for better or worse. 

But this guest does not like to be ignored. His quiet monologue slowly becomes louder and louder until suddenly it feels like he is speaking to me through a megaphone. His voice becomes all I can hear. 

He likes to remind me of all that I am not and all that I do not have. He brings me down dark paths to places that are no good for me; these locations unnerve me because they devalue everything about my life. 

When he tires himself out from his diatribe, he will invite his friends Bitterness and Resentment to visit me too. Together this trio darkens my life closing off anything of value or goodness.I feel powerless to stop them from stomping out the light in my life. I beg these visitors to leave. I know they are no good for me.  They seem to grow stronger as I grow weaker trying to fight them off and kick them out. 

 As an added bonus to me, this green eyed monster will also invite Shame to come into my heart and mind. Shame likes to make me feel red in the face for even allowing the darkness of envy, bitterness, and resentment take hold inside of me. He likes to hiss that I am ungrateful for all that I do have in my life; how could I possibly envy what others have when I also have so much? 

I know deep down that I could have all that my heart desires: the exotic vacations, the enormous bank account, the perfectly sculpted days with perfect meals in a perfectly spotless interior decorated, big home, the flawless body, the homeschool days that go off without a hitch and in which everything is always wonderful. etc...and Envy would still find me. I know that he would take residence inside of me and invite his friends Bitterness, Resentment, and Shame to come along too. 

I know that the problem isn't an exterior one. It isn't about having all of those things out there. The problem is internal. I know this. I know it truly and deeply. 

I know that these feelings will pass. Everything in life does. But knowing this doesn't make walking through these dark times any easier for me. They are brutal none-the-less. 

Homecoming 2021

On Saturday night, my girls attended their first homeschool homecoming dance. (Sarah had been to a public school dance before.) 

The venue of the dance was located about 40 minutes north of us in a barn situated on a wooded lot with a lake. It was a beautiful setting. The interior decor reminded me of something Joanna Gaines would do if she were hosting a homecoming dance. 

My girls had a good time, but as is the case any time you throw dozens and dozens of teenage kiddos together who don't know each other there were some awkward moments as well. 

I think the girls made the most of their time. There was a DJ, photo booth, catered dinner, dessert bar, hot drinks bar - all done to perfection. (Although the girls didn't care too much for the DJ's style of regularly cutting off a song in the middle to begin another song.)

My girls both looked so beautiful. 

 

Elizabeth's Soccer - Week 6

 Elizabeth played in her last regular season game yesterday. It was a beautiful day. 

Her team won the game 4-1 which means that her team ended the season with a 5-0-1 record. They are heading into tournament play this upcoming weekend and will be playing for at least two weeks longer, if not more. 

I think that this was Elizabeth's best soccer season in years and years. Her teammates were great girls and her coach was amazing too. Bobby was the assistant coach this season which was a big step out of his comfort zone as he does not know too much about soccer despite being a spectator all of these years. I think Elizabeth liked having her dad help with the team and I hope he continues to do so as she continues her time with this team in seasons yet to come. 

Andy and Sarah have been incredibly good about supporting Elizabeth by coming to watch her games. Josh usually has his own games on the days Elizabeth has hers, so he hasn't been able to see her play yet. Thankfully, their games did not coincide this past weekend, so Josh was able to watch this game. 

Staying in the shade before the game began. 

Half time! 

Ordinary Moments

 Stopping to pause long enough to capture the ordinary moments of life in hopes that it will help remind me of just how extraordinary my life is. 

Shopping at Michael's craft store. Her laughter is one of my most treasured sounds. 

My budding artist who is teaching herself new things every day. 

Getting back to homemade. My pasta sauce. 

The backyard. 

Front door Halloween decor

My boy's 'why'. He wears a wrist band every game to inspire himself to be his best. 

Sunday morning food prep. 

Budding bush in the front yard. 

Football Sunday