There are many who say that one should blog ‘without obligation.’ No guilt should be felt when a day, or multiple days, pass without so much as a peep or squeak appearing upon one’s blog. Since I am very good at feeling disappointed in myself, however, this type of blogging doesn’t appeal to me at all. I prefer to blog ‘with obligation’, even if I don’t live up to my own expectations.
One reason I feel blogging obligation is that a few faithful friends have come to expect these daily ‘peeps and squeaks.’ I know I feel disappointed when I visit their corners of the world and they have been too busy to post (or have been ill, or have been fleeing wildfires, etc.). Life has been so wild and crazy around here that I am behind as well on reading others’ blogs, a truly regrettable situation.
My excuses, posthaste:
- Thursday my friend Grace and I, who both work at the local middle school, drove about two hours south of here to attend a Love & Logic seminar on bringing out the best in underachieving kids. One wise thought presented was that we should encourage students to focus on their strengths, rather than expecting them to be good at everything (the ubiquitous ‘well-rounded’ theory). How many great athletes, artists, writers, scientists, etc. are ‘well-rounded’? Excellence takes focus.
- Friday daughter Debra and I spent all day together. First she had some extensive job interest testing to complete. We then took in a sweet but predictable movie together, Paul Blart: Mall Cop. She wanted to see the creepy Coraline, but creepy is hard for me to take. We enjoyed a Taco Bell meal together (taco salads and Fruitista freezes). Of course there was Costco shopping to do since we were in town.
- Saturday I babysat SOLO for grandchildren Diederick and Carly, from 8:30 in the morning until about 12:30am Sunday. Laura, mother of said grandchildren, went to Seattle with her dad to help her oldest brother pack up his place to move. Later that evening, her brother took her to a Jewel concert. Both Deeder and Carly are very attached to their mommy (2 ½ years old and 8 months old), so I was nervous, but all went well. I learned that Carly is a tremendous eater who can move quickly without crawling. Diederick keeps track of what’s going on: ‘Where’d Mommy go?’ ‘Where’d Grampa go?’ “Where aunties?’ ‘Where’d Mitch go?’ and then all over again. There was definitely no time for blogging, however.
- This morning only my husband and I made it to church, due to the headachy, achy-bone, upset tummy, wracking cough flu that is ravaging our children. I so hope I will be spared this trial. These dear sick children have still been trying to help at home, to the extent that they are able, since I’ve been gone so much lately.
I also have some notable happenings for which to express thankfulness to the Lord:
- It seems the front struts are loose or wearing out in the Suzuki, which has caused unusual wear to the front tires. This lack of tread came to Grace and my attention Thursday, as we drove through a heavy rain storm, going a bit below speed limit and I began to lose control of the car. I eased up on the accelerator and continued to drive about ten miles per hour below the freeway speed limit, with no further problem. Did I mention that traffic was heavy and included lots of semis? I was really shaken up, and Grace did a good job of remaining calm under duress.
- Saturday, an intense hail storm, mixed with snow, fell between here and Seattle. My husband drove through this in our van while returning from helping our older sons move. He said that all the freeway traffic slowed to 15mph.
- Our oldest son drove through this same weather, mixed with another inch of snow, in order to return Laura to her little family here. I must express my great admiration for those of you who deal with this type of road condition routinely. Whew! I find it SO stressful.
That is all, Dear Reader. A few more duties call, then school resumes tomorrow. We have been on mid-winter break for the past four days. Now let’s see if I can put some of the Love & Logic teachings to good use.