Today We Harvested Kori's Sunflower...Fall Is Really Here

I have left this fresh, new page on it's own for some time. It's kind of nice to think of perfect, new beginnings. Like Fall. I really do like this time of year.

I am finding, though, that with as much promise this new season holds, I am still missing the mark on a lot of fronts. The dreary days make me forget to focus on the positive. I am only seeing what needs to be done; what I haven't yet done; what I've wasted, or let go. The effort I dig up throughout the day in insufficient. I am not accomplishing much of anything. Each small accomplishment is dwarfed with a greater amount of things needing to be done....or the things that just come undone after having done them thirty times already.

I promise that tomorrow I will focus on something positive.

The kids and I will catch up tomorrow. There is school work that has been sitting on the small table for two days...ok, there are two math pages that have been there for two weeks...Tomorrow will be for the kids and I to look back on the calendar and fit in a few of the things we missed while Rai was sick. We will do our read aloud chapter - which, I might say, we have been sticking to like glue! In 15 school days - 9 of which Rai was down and out for - we finished Charlottes' Web and have begun Prince Caspian. We all agreed to at least one chapter a day. There are at least 20 chapters in Charlotte and we're ready for chapter 3 in Prince Caspian tomorrow. This is a small, yet important, accomplishment. The kids and I will focus on doing the work that they want to do so they feel accomplished and productive and busy and engaged.

Both kids are happy to do the school work they have choosen this Fall. That is a positive. Our first week was like pulling teeth to get them to sit and concentrate and stop pushing my buttons to see if I'd let them off easy. I did persevere...and we did accomplish our goals for that week. How can a schedule go so badly so quickly?? I have never been very good at schedules. It is still blatently obvious.

In more practical and upbeat news... Efforts continue to encourage more contact between local homeschoolers. Our picnic was well attended at the beginning of this month and there is a Coffee & Chat planned for jsut after Thanksgiving as well as a day of Museum programming in the works. I'm encouraged and hopefull. With very little effort, we have received emails from homeschoolers in the area we didn't even know about!

On more family & friends kind of news, my sister and fiance are getting a dose of real life. They seem to be handling it in stride. It's hard to enter the workforce and see the realities of people in business for the money...not for helping the people. Janie will be a wonderful occupational therapist. Her experiences each day will teach her something and I fully expect that when she gets her feet under her, she will have a thriving, successful practice that she is happy with. We still have to make it to her new place...but I have heard of plans for a winter skating rink on the River. The kids are looking forward to that.

For a first blog entry, this is getting mighty long. I suppose I should do an official welcome... <-- That's it. Don't blink. If someone were so inclinded to leave a comment, that would be nice. It may even help in the accountability department...remember that stuff I said I was going to do tomorrow???

Love & Laughter to all.