Never Too Late to Start Over

I woke up this morning, sleepy but determined to make it to the gym to work out. Having gone twice last week, I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things and don't want to lose that momentum. Summer is calling, and her hot, humid arrival also heralds the season of shorts and bathing suits and all sorts of articles of clothing which leave me desirous of less jiggley thighs. So, up I rose at 5:05 a.m. (I always allow myself one "snooze"), outfitted myself in the appropriate workout duds, and promptly walked smack into a wall in our hallway. Because the outside light had been turned off (Hub and I often war over this- I turn it on, he turns it off), the hallway was as dark as a tomb this morning. After cursing profusely and checking my nose to make sure it wasn't broken, I headed out the door. As I headed toward the end of our street I wondered if running would cause my nose to swell further, but decided the risk was worhwhile. I waited and waited and waited for the red light to change, then noticed that it was cycling around without giving me a green. At that point, I began to wonder if the powers that be were trying to tell me something. Was a crazed gunman going to attack the YMCA this morning? Should I turn the car around and head back home to my warm bed and my darkened hallway? I jammed a right turn into the intersection and made a u-turn, continuing to the gym.

After the offbeat start to the day, I'm happy to report that I had a great workout. I ran two miles and even managed to clock about 30 minutes with the weights without hurting myself or anyone else. I returned home with a much better outlook than the one with which I'd left, and I've no doubt this attitude will carry me through whatever else the day has waiting in the wings for me. Exercise always takes the edge off my tendency for depression; it leaves me with more patience and tends to grind away all of my rough edges. I'm glad I remembered that, at any moment, we can begin our day anew. A few mishaps do not a day make.

Now, off to have the days first cup of coffee!

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Dog Appointments, Lunch Dates and Girl Scouts

Today was not one of those exciting days, but we did take the dog for his yearly visit to the vet, lunched at Burger King (for a long, long time- never underestimate the ability of a small child to savor every single morsel of a kids' meal), and registered for Girl Scouts. While I was very excited about Spiral Scouts, interest in our local group seems to have disappeared. I have finally resigned myself to the idea that the group isn't going to continue. Had interest been shown in keeping it going, I would have stepped up to the plate and helped to lead the group, but I'm loathe to spend all sorts of time trying to organize events just so that no one can show up. I know that this happened to the previous leader, and I can understand the frustration she must have felt even if she never voiced any complaints. I don't know much about our local Girl Scouts group; I will know more once they contact me.

On a magickal note, we are now in the waxing phase of the moon, which is a great time for starting new projects as well as moving forward with things that are already happening. I always feel like I have just a little bit more "oomph" at this time of the month, and I intend to take advantage of the energy boost! My work on the Goddess series continues; the Gaia peice is read for color and I am very excited about that. With life being so wonderfully full it has been difficult to fit creative time into my life, but my soul needs it. I lose a certain amount of serenity when I'm away from creating art for too long. Having made the decision (with a little encouragement from loved ones who are probably tired of dealing with the crazy, artistically bereft me) to make the time to create, it seems that time does appear here and there. It's up to me to recognize those spaces in time when they appear and get to work!



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The Best of Intentions

One thing I've learned during our short time of homeschooling is that flexibility is important. As is determination, the ability to set goals and a certain amount of organizational skill. Flexibility, however, is key to homeschooling if one wants to make it through a whole school year with sanity intact and hair still attached to head. Of course, writing these words does not make me proficient in any of the above mentioned traits. Our life is a constant work in progress; some days flow along like a lazy river, while others tumble and splash like rapids in a canyon. Today was one of those Mississippi river mud days; I had big dreams, but my feet were moving slowly, and it seemed like fate was not hip to the idea of me accomplishing much with my little one. We flowed for brief moments, and I'm happy that we did some work, but it was tough going. My little one hemmed and hawed about sitting at the table. My husband didn't have any work to do today and was home on the couch with the television-a distraction to my daughter and I both- beaming forth program after program into our living room, the volume too loud to be ignored. There was an interesting show on the History Channel about early humans, and I did learn something from it, so I suppose there was some value to watching it. My daughter, though, wasn't really interested and so the educational value of the program was lost on her five year old mind. At some point, after we'd managed to work through a few pages in the Kindergarten Basics book (I'd opted to teach from a low frustration workbook today, thankfully), the Hub suggested that we let Little One watch a movie. Glancing outside and noticing that that thunder which had been threatening for the past few minutes had finally given way to a garden quenching downpour, I relented. I'm happy with what we accomplished, even if it occurred with a bit of struggle and in a haphazard sort of way.

Now, I'm pondering the value of homeschool organizers, flipping through web page after web page, searching for that perfect planner which will organize our lives and turn me into the Martha Stewart of the homeschooling community. I know that this won't happen. I know that part of homeschooling is accepting that life is usually more like organized chaos than perfectly ordered bliss. But I can dream.