Not that it matters, but I figure if you clicked to get my posts via e-mail or some other technological means, you might be a tad interested. Life has been exceptionally busy the last month or so and will continue to be busy through this next month. All good.
Writing and sharing are favorites of mine, so I’ll be back. (Uh, if you’ve been meaning to throw me in the spam box, better still go ahead and do it.)
Comments are still checked about daily and replied to fairly expediently.
Today, if there’s something you’ve been neglecting to do which you know makes you feel better inside, why don’t you go ahead and start back at it? Whether it’s a shower first thing in the morning, cutting out sugar, or daily exercise, get at it. Or maybe it’s making to-do lists, making your bed, or reading aloud with your kids. Could be 30 minutes of absolute dead silence or calling a friend to offer an apology. I don’t know what it is for you. But you do.
Recently a friend of mine told me that Botox-ing her wrinkles made her feel better.
Ha! I’m not sure about that one. I told her to start eating real food and exercising again. She said she’d think about it. She said she seemed to remember she felt pretty good when she did that last year…
Please do think about it.
You die with what’s inside of you. What’s in there? Are you happy with it?
Take care,
Terri
The HSD 
“You die with what’s inside of you…” good words to ponder especially this week!! Glad to hear your busy is a good busy – I always look forward to your posts and thankful to hear they will continue in the future.
Happy Easter!!
Susan
I didn’t even think about the week it is when that came to mind, but yes, you’re right! Especially this week. I think you’re referring to Easter, yes? But maybe not.
Thank you for your super kind, encouraging words! I look forward to writing!
Have a wonderful week and weekend!
Terri
Hey Terri, glad to hear from you and to know that you are well. I had to put running on ice for a bit until I get the annoying shin pains sorted out, but I replaced it with swimming! No botox in the near future for me hehe. Have a great day! Take care.
No Botox for me either! I’d probably end up with a flat affect, with people asking “What’s wrong, Terri?” all the time! Ha! I’ll keep my laugh lines and sun wrinkles. Heehee! That is disappointing about the shins. Swimming feels great too, just not as convenient as a pair of shoes and out the door. (Although with snow and ice and weather, running isn’t so easy in winter, right?) Do you like the swimming? Will you ride any bike when it warms up?
Very much less convenient, but I love swimming so it’s not so bad. I actually go to the gym 5 minutes away during winter. I’ve got a membership for their indoor track so that’s nice. And yes, I will definitely be riding a bike this summer!
Five minutes away is great!
Just thinking about you this morning. Thanks for the post!
Thanks for thinking of me!
Take care. Right now we are unpacking the last bits in our new apartment and so far so good. Better busy than not..right??😊
Yes! Better to be busy than bored! And SO good to have a home! I’m going to have to find time to come see what you found. I have been wondering very much!
I watch Fouch-a-matic offgrid. They live in Idaho and their oldest child, a son, decided he wanted to go to school and not be homeschooled. He knows very well how to advocate for himself and his reasons were valid. So he’s off to school every morning.
If one of your children would express a desire or need to go to school like this, what would you do?
BTW, I started working at my allotment garden last week-end. Despite all the furniture moving, window washing, closet cleaning, you name it: micromanaging the home environment, it would appear the ‘gardening muscles’ are COMPLETELY out of shape. That was on Saturday and on Sunday I was so sore in places I’d never contemplated, I felt feverish. Didn’t stop me. I was back out on Sunday afternoon. Weather conditions and work have precluded anymore work but Friday looks like it’ll be nice. My resident earthworm population has exploded so that must be good. 😉
Apparently the secret to gardening is ‘do little and often’. Right up there with your suggestions.
Hi, Gabriella—
(Note: long reply!)
I worked some of my garden too! And I’ve been cleaning and organizing up a storm too! I AM SO happy to have spring coming. All the dirt and grime and clutter that comes in in the winter and stays in needs to go. Those are two things that make me feel good (gardening and cleaning). And the gardening one I tend to put at the bottom of the list because it’s one I enjoy the most and want to savor. Bad mistake, then I don’t get to it “little and often” like you suggest. (Very happy to hear about the earthworms. Wonderful sign!)
I’ve not heard of that family you mentioned, but to answer your question about homeschooling versus sending off to school. If they’d ask to go to boarding school, the answer would be “YES!” (Kidding.) Actually, this topic has come up periodically for each one of our school-aged children. It is always an open discussion. I listen to why they want to go to school elsewhere, and then I offer the disadvantages I see. For us, almost always the reason they want to go to school is lockers, buses, dances, drama, things like that. Also, they also think school provides an instant happy community.
When they want to go to school, I try to hear what they’re “needing.” They’re needing something, and usually I can manipulate our schedules and activities to offer them what they need. For example, we contacted a local school to participate in volleyball and track. I opened my house and we had a chess club. I try to get the young ones together with kids to just play routinely. If my academic schedule is making them overwhelmed (and they think public school wouldn’t be that hard), I lighten the load. I enroll them in classes on-line so they can be with other kids and sense the “competition” and get a feel for how they fit in. I let them go to camp six hours away. Our co-op created drama class. When it comes time for prom, I may jump in on that. Who knows. And so on.
Usually, when they hear that school starts between 7:30-8:00 am and lasts till between 3:00-4:00 pm, and that kids get very little time to “be” with their friends, that’s enough for my kids to be like, “No way, Mom.” And when I point out friends who go to school and are very unhappy because they’re picked on or feel lost, they’re quickly reminded that going to school doesn’t mean you’ll be accepted and will fit in.
Perhaps I am lucky in South Dakota where I live because the schools here have been kind to us. If we want to go take orchestra there, we can. If we want to stick them in a social studies class, we can. My kids haven’t wanted that because then it interferes with other activities they like to do during the day.
Well, that was long. IF my kids really persisted, and I couldn’t meet their needs and I could feel rebellion underneath the surface no matter what changes we made, off to school they’d go.
Terri
I would have to re-watch the vlog entry about the son’s reasons but a lot of it had to do with social interactions. He has two younger sisters so that may factor into things as well. But the parents said ‘yes’ and so far so good. No pressure negative or positive. They are letting him discover for himself.
Esther Emery’s mother, Carla Emery wrote the book The Encyclopedia of Country Living https://www.amazon.ca/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402. Esther and her siblings were home schooled. I don’t think her husband was. Interesting people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtAjpBCoIT8&feature=em-uploademail I definitely could do with a husband like that. LOL!
Humans crave human interaction and experiences. It’s what we’re made of. Some only need one good person to do that for them, some just need a churchful of people, and others need a whole universe. 🙂
Thanks for the links; I managed to superscan them. Man, if only I was that handy (as the husband building that house!).
Such a great message! We are on a family holiday in Thailand right now and yesterday I made half an hour to do some treadmill time at the gym. I did it when I had intended to nap and came back feeling so invigorated and vowing to do it every day of the trip. It also had the added benefit of making me feel less guilty about the cocktail I’d had earlier! Ha!
I know. I’ve been working to identify the things that I know really make an impact on how I feel day-to-day and trying to be diligent to them. There are definite things (like getting my heart rate up a little, absolute quiet time, eating whole, laughing, etc.), and little by busy little, I let them slide. “Not important.” Then, one day, I’m like, “What is wrong with me?” Well, duh! You’re not doing what your body and mind are telling you you need! 🙂 Mmm. Cocktail. Sweet. Thailand. Lucky girl.
PS: Hi!!! Good to hear from you!
Haha that is a perfect description of what happens!
Haha. Sigh. Cry. 🙂
Men like that are few and far between. Intellectual AND can make his own lumber from trees on the property and make things from scraps and bits and just amazing. Oh, and he made the upholstered chair in their livingroom (won a prize for it) and knows how to sew. I’m not sure what he doesn’t know how to do but if there is something he will learn and do it well. They are a very dynamic couple and worth taking the time to watch their channel. I’m sure they argue off camera. That’s already been admitted. Hey, who doesn’t? Well, me. It’s pointless arguing with cats. They always win.
Yesterday when I was teaching at our homeschool co-op, a mom was looking at the magazine I used to write for, Molly Green. He was in it! Big picture of him. I felt so “cool,” knowing who he was actually. 😉
Hi! I’ve just nominated you (your blog) for a new tag, the SMILE tag! Check it out at http://www.findingjoy568.wordpress.com
Thanks, Joy! A SMILE is great! I’ll go read about it but, ha, you can see writing time and effort has been down the drain!