"It sucks."

Good morning! Although I wrote the bulk of this post last night, I thought it might be nice to touch bases this morning. It is a windy one and only 27° so not nearly as nice as yesterday. Yesterday I never had to turn up the thermostat because the house was so warm; today I will since our high is only expected to be 30°. There are quite a few clouds, most of them dark and glowering, none of them content to be still. Or, perhaps none of them happy to be hurried on their way. In either case, I want to go out and see the big creek behind the house before I post this.

I only had the two companions today. Misty stayed in again and Seth was otherwise occupied.

Amena went to Nick’s after school yesterday so I went to pick her up at 8:00. That means I left at about 7:25 in order to be there about 8:00. There was a candle lighting ceremony at Hubbardston Center School for the Murch family. I probably should have called Amena and told her I’d pick her up at 7:00 or at 8:30. On the other hand, I don’t feel completely in control of my emotions right now and the most simple things can set me off so….

Still, on the way home, I asked Amena how school was today. Usually I get the typical, “I don’t know,” answer but not today. She said that it was different which I kind of expected. We talked about other people at school. She mentioned that Wayne and Allie drove to school Wednesday morning and made it okay. Just thinking about what it would mean to her for something like this to happen to them really brings home how other people feel.

Amena said that in some classes they really didn’t do much in the way of work. Specifically she was telling me about her art class. Art is art so it often isn’t terribly academic so….

One thing she mentioned is that the other students who sit at her table were talking about Griffin and wondering what it’s like to be in a coma. Can you talk to people and tell them things while they’re in a coma? Do they remember things? How much does a person know when they are in a coma?

I can tell you that you certainly can talk to people while they are in a coma. I talked to Cedric and Amena both while they were in theirs. I didn’t get to talk to Amena as much as I did Cedric because we were in different hospitals and by the time I was able to visit Amena in person, she was under a lighter sedation and was beginning to move around. A lot. So much so that she had periods of lucidity when she actually broke IV lines. Still, you talk to them. You talk to them a lot. You tell them everything you would normally tell them and then some. You tell them how very much you love them and you apologize for them being where they are and let them know that you will do everything in your power to help them get well. You hold their hand and you cry and you know that you have something terrible to tell them and you know it is going to be very hard. You don’t know how hard because you’ve never had to do anything even remotely like it but you can’t imagine that it will be easy and you know for certain that fun doesn’t enter into the equation at all. But, yes, you do talk to them.

I can tell you that they might remember things but the chances are pretty slim. You certainly don’t tell them anything that is important for them to remember. You talk. You don’t expect them to respond and you don’t expect them to remember. But sometimes you are surprised. How much do they know when they’re in a coma? Well, that’s a good question, isn’t it? I’ve done a fair amount of reading and some people remember conversations verbatim. Some people retain a sense of presence but nothing more. Some people report that they had out-of-body experiences and can tell you who was there and when. Sometimes they can tell you what was said and sometimes they can’t. So, you talk to them and you expect nothing in return.

And sometimes you get a surprise. Before I could go see Amena in person, I was able to Skype with her. I didn’t get to see her and I’m not sure my image was available for her but she wouldn’t have been able to see me at that point, anyway. But we could hear. All I said was, “Amena, this is Mom. I love you.” The nurse on the other end said that when she heard my voice she smiled and calmed down. What a way to melt a mother’s heart, eh? So you talk and you expect nothing in return but sometimes you get something anyway.

I was able to see Cedric as soon as I was able to sit in a wheelchair. Joseph got to come see me the very first day because he was in pretty good shape. It was hard to see him and not be able to pick him up. I was used to this youngest boy of mine climbing in bed with me for a snuggle and I couldn’t even turn from one side to the other without taking forever and experiencing a lot of pain. Sitting in a wheelchair wasn’t fun but I wanted to see Cedric so I did it. I held his hand and talked to him. I cried. I held his hand. I talked to him. I didn’t get a response at first but now I know that was because he was so heavily sedated; his injuries were such that it was necessary. Eventually, the weaning process began and that is when the responses began. He would visibly calm when I was there. I touched him as much as possible—just holding his hand, a hand on his arm or shoulder or leg, anything. Different people had a different effect on him; some were calming, some were agitating; the doctor had to ask someone to leave at one point in time because he was becoming too agitated.

Different children; different experiences. I can tell you, because I’ve asked them both, that they have no conscious memories from this period of time but that does not mean that they were completely unaware of what was happening around them.

These students wondered if Griffin knows about his sister. I would submit that on some level, he does, because I knew that Daniel was gone before I was told. The telling just made it more real. So, while he may know on a subconscious level, he will most likely have to be told and at that point it will probably become very real and that is when the grief and the pain come and roll over you like a steamroller. Telling Cedric that Daniel was dead was the very most difficult thing I have ever had to do and telling Amena, Seth and Joseph was plenty difficult as well.

“What is it like to wake up from a coma and find out your sister is dead?” these students wondered. People really need to teach their children to be more thoughtful and considerate. I realize that the pain is not the same for people who have not had to live through something like this but what I wish people would wake up to is that for us, the pain will never be completely gone. The grief and anguish will always be there. Always; or at least until we are gone as well. And we do not know what others are experiencing so we need to be kind. We need to be thoughtful. We shouldn’t be afraid to open our mouths out of fear of offending someone but I submit that offense is vastly different than pain and that while we can choose to be offended by something, we cannot choose to avoid pain.

 Amena said she didn’t say anything but she wanted to say, “It sucks.” I told her she should have.

This next pictures are similar views of the same area. On the left is yesterday morning; on the left this afternoon. Quite a difference.

Kitty was willing to get a lot closer to the water today. I should have gone out this morning rather than waiting until after lunch.

What a change in just 29 hours, eh?

Change

Good morning! I just had to look at the weather because it’s so warm right now. It appears to be 56° at the moment. So for fun I looked at the hourly forecast. It is supposed to get steadily cooler throughout the day until 8:00 when we have an expected temperature of 33°. Isn’t that interesting. Last night it was quite warm and windy and rainy leaving us with a damp, windswept world, lots of glowering clouds and a creek overflowing with rushing water. The wind blew open the front door and the doormat, which is a fair number of feet from the open doorway out to the rest of the word, is wet from rain. I don’t remember if I dreamed or actually saw a weather report that indicated we were due for thunder but I either dreamed or we actually had some during the night and in my dream or half-awake state remember thinking that the weather report was correct. It was that kind of night.

Jay should recognize these two pictures. They were taken down at Daniel's grave.

Last night I wrote down a few thoughts so I wouldn’t forget them. No matter how well I think I’ve implanted something in my mind, the chances it will still be there in the morning are not always good. These thoughts had a better chance but I still didn’t want to risk it. Now, I am left wondering if I remember because I wrote them down or because I would have remembered anyway or if, perhaps, it is because of the subject. Perhaps a combination of all three.

Some time ago, within a few months of our accident, there was an ad on the sidebar of my Facebook page that said, “Accidents ruin lives.” It was, of course, an ad for an attorney who deals with lawsuits resulting from accidents and of course this person wants people to believe that accidents really do ruin lives. The problem is that it just isn’t true.

Our accident did not ruin our lives. It forever changed them, but did not ruin them. Only I have the ability to allow my life to be ruined. Only you have the ability to allow your life to be ruined. Fourteen years is too short a time to live in this life but Daniel’s death did not ruin his life, it did change it forever. Daniel’s death, my fractured back and concussion did not ruin my life; it did change it forever. I can say the same thing for Alisha, Laura, Joanna, Amena, Cedric, Seth, and Joseph, as well as anyone else who knew Daniel. For some people, those who did not know him well, they might not have recognized the change and they might not realize that it is even still there, but it did, even if just a small bit.

Accidents ruin lives? I disagree. Accidents change lives. For better or worse. Forever. Yesterday a girl in Daniel’s class and her brother, in Amena’s class, were in an accident on the way to school: Brittany and Griffin Murch. Not the only accident, but the only fatal one. Brittany was killed and I can tell you that seventeen years is too short a time to live this life. Their lives are forever changed but they are not ruined. They are not ruined unless they each make that choice. Griffin was as of last night in critical care. They are in my prayers and my heart aches for them.

My life is forever changed.

A nest of some type way up in the tree.

Lots of water. Lots of change.

Kitty was having fun exploring, too. Misty didn't go down with us.

More water.

Normally, there is water along the right in this picture, not the left.

Ditto.

Just lots more than usual.

The three explorers.

Seth was really checking out the water and things under the water. He was amazed at the way the pressure from the water pressed the boots close to his legs.

In other news, Amena missed the bus this morning. They had a substitute driver Tuesday and yesterday morning. We caught up at Jeppson’s driveway. The roads are littered with broken bits and pieces of trees and branches brought down in the wet and windy night. Some people in Hubbardston lost power for a time during the night (it’s amazing how they still remain connected). I went down to the creek with Seth and Joseph and Kitty and took some pictures. Nature is so amazing.

Now I am going to get ready to go about my day and decide how the changes are going to affect my life.

Have a grateful day.

Staying Home

So, we aren’t going to church tonight. Why? Well, that’s a good question. This is why: Teen Killed, Brother Injured In Barre Crash. And this: Hubbardston teen dies in Barre crash. No, not one of my children. The brother in these stories, which are really the same story, is Griffin Murch. He is in Amena’s grade; they go to school together. They don’t have any of the same classes but Amena has known him since we moved here. His sister is Brittany. She was 17 and was in Daniel’s grade.

This afternoon someone posted about 10:30 on Facebook that there had been an accident on 62 between Hubbardston and Barre and that the road would be closed for 4 to 8 hours. I commented that it would be interesting to see if either Amena or Cedric commented on it when they got home. Not really. You just never know.

Amena commented but it was not because they had to take a different route home; the road was cleared up and there wasn’t any evidence that she noticed. But she knew what had happened. She pointed out that this is the third time something like this has happened. The third time that someone in Daniel’s grade was killed in an automobile accident who had a younger sibling in Amena’s grade. I hope there are no more.

I don’t know the Murch’s. I wouldn’t recognize any of them if I saw them. I know because I saw a picture of Griffin today and he is the only one I would have recognized and he’s changed enough in the past year or so that I just wouldn’t have. I also can’t say for certainty what or how they are feeling right now. But I can say that I know what it is like to have a child die and I know that it does not feel good.

I know that Amena and Cedric have been affected by this, not so much in the tone of voice but in the words and the expressions. I know that I have been affected by this. The emotions are very close to the surface right now. And so we are not going to church.

Cedric said, “Do you think the Murch’s will sue Quabbin for having school today.”

Two hours later, Amena said, “The Murch’s could sue the school for having school today.”

I’m not going to discuss the pros and cons of that. I’m not even going to talk about if I think it’s a good idea or not. I’m not going to say more than that if it was meant to be, it would have happened no matter what. It is interesting to see how we process the events that go on around us. These events shape us and help us to become who we are.

I wonder if Daniel knew Brittany very well here. I wonder if he was among those there to welcome her to the other side.

These pictures are from 2010 and I've used them before but that's okay. Daniel was making crepes for breakfast and Cedric was helping.

And this guy...

...and this one were just two happy, smiley boys.

And I didn't get Amena's face but I couldn't post pictures of the boys and not her.

 Hug your family and be grateful for the time you have them.

Haul

Good morning. I forgot to turn my alarms back on so I didn’t get up until 6:05 and the only reason I did then is because I heard Amena up and about. She just got in the shower so I’m not sure she’s going to make it on time. Cedric took a shower last night. That was good thinking. It isn’t terribly cold this morning and we have the green car so getting her to school won’t be difficult if it comes to that, I just don’t want to. And I might not have to; she’s done things like this before and made it.

Today I have many things to do because I actually did my list of things to do Friday. I really, really, really want to get all the doula homework done so that I can actually be certified and so I’ve got some writing to do. I might have to do more interviews but that isn’t hard; I know lots of people who have had babies and I can use one interview for more than one paper if need be. That will just leave the breastfeeding class.

This evening is a Meet the Doula night as well and I do need to attend that.

Saturday was an interesting day. Cedric and Seth were at their campout and Amena was gone most of the day. Paul was doing his thing so much of the afternoon it was just Joseph and me. It was so quiet. I managed to mostly finish my doula intake form which should not have taken all day but after messing around with the spreadsheet program on my laptop with no success, I finally just started over on the other laptop. Now everything on my laptop should be okay so I’ll save it to R2D2 and edit what needs to be and then move on to the next thing.

Around three in the afternoon, Paul took off with the white Jetta to take it to Hal’s so it can get its new radiator. He said not to rush to follow him with his ride home so I didn’t. Joseph and I didn’t leave until around 4:30. We picked him up and then decided to go out to eat. There was a line at SS Lobster so we went to Sharkey’s. That was nice because I’d been thinking that fish would be good for dinner if it wasn’t frozen. So I had fish for dinner. With shrimp. Nice.

Sunday was pretty good. Cedric and Seth needed to be picked up so I left church early. Because I was going to pick them up, we took two vehicles to church. I got up kind of late around 7:00 but still finished the dishes that hadn’t been done the day before and went out and milked and fed goats. I had some breakfast. Just did the typical morning stuff that I usually do, you know. Then I went upstairs about 8:15 or so and said, “Some people.”

“What?” Paul asked.

“Just stay in bed all day,” I finished. He was still in bed, reading. Hadn’t been up to eat or shower or anything.

I took my shower and got dressed and went downstairs to get lunch stuff in the oven. I’d taken a big pork roast out to thaw so I cut a bunch of potatoes in half and put them on the bottom of the roasting pan, put sliced onions on top of them and sprinkled all with an Oriental green curry mix. Then I put the roast in, sprinkled it, turned it over, and sprinkled the other side. I figured that with a salad would be plenty even though the sisters were coming over too. By the time I was done, it was still not 9:30.

Joseph and I were ready by 9:30. Amena wasn’t quiet but Paul was just done showering. We left at 9:40. When Paul finally made it to church, he had a nice story about Kitty not wanting to go out but the fact is, he wasn’t even ready until 9:45 and needed something to explain his tardiness.

The Facebook post indicated an approximate time of arrival for the boys and I figured it would be okay to wait for the first part of church to be over before I left so that’s what I did. I’ve rushed to get there and ended up waiting an hour too many times I guess. This time Cedric called me and when I got there he and Seth were the only ones still there. Seth was disappointed because he was about to go to Jack’s room and play with LEGOs.

It sounds like they had a pretty good time. When we got home, I checked the roast and turned up the oven temperature. I was going to make nobake cookies but couldn’t remember where I’d put the sugar. By the time I found it, it was really too late to make them for a dessert for lunch. I did spend some time playing with my computer.

Paul got home with Amena and Joseph. The sisters weren’t long behind. Cedric and Seth claimed they weren’t hungry because they’d had a large breakfast and lots of snacks. The truth is they also had lots of snacks once they arrived home. The roast actually turned out pretty good. Before we were done eating, Julia arrived bearing gifts from her trip to Texas and Florida. She bought us each a Pumpkin Juice from the Harry Potter part of Universal Studios as well as a set of house glasses for the boys and Amena and a Gryffindor mug for me. Very cool. And because her timing was so good, she also got to eat.

Honestly, I think I have the best friends in the world. You can't really see the blue glass very well but there is one for each house, the blue of course is for Ravenclaw. The Pumpkin Juice is really good and if I had some creme soda, I might make some warm butterbeer for the mug today. As it is, I might just have to settle for hot chocolate.

And, yes, Amena did miss the bus. It actually arrived on time. For the past couple of weeks it was regularly four or five minutes late so being on time today was not at all expected. Even Cedric had to run to the second end of the driveway. Amena and I caught up at the stop after Jeppson’s so that was okay.

Right now I need to get some things done in the kitchen so I’ll be off. When I come back I’ll get this posted. In the meantime, have a wonderful day!

I Had No Idea

Good morning! What an interesting day we had yesterday. I knit a bit. Tyler came over. The dishes were washed and candlesticks collected from the window. Towels were washed and some were dried. LEGOs were played with. Cedric was returned and Joanna borrowed the green car again. Amena was picked up. Paul went to work and got home again. Seth and Joseph went to Roll On America with Tyler.

In a nutshell.

Kitty was being a computer cat yesterday.

I finally got my planner organized and finally began a to-do list for myself. I've been needing that for a month and 19 days so it's about time. My list for today is pretty short which is a good thing because it might take some time to do the two things on my list.

Cedric and I attempted to watch the first episode of the new season of Vikings but that didn't work. I just checked and it is available now so we'll watch it later today sometime. I might actually put that on my list.

The computer screen makes a good backdrop for a silhouette, I think.

We managed to take care of most of the leftovers. The chicken and green beans had to be disposed of but everything else was edible. The only things we have left are a little bit of sweet potatoes and a little bit of scalloped potatoes. That means we can have something new today. Like maybe egg drop soup.

Scalloped potatoes. Why are they called that? Do you know? I don't.

Tyler will be picked up at some point this morning and I need to pick Amena up at 10:00.

This is what the socks looked like after the first day. I really like this particular cast on for toe up socks.

Paul brought home a bag of rolled oats for the goats because there weren't any crimped oats the other day and he couldn't remember if rolled or whole were okay. That's fine, but I would have remembered. The problem is that they are now on a couch. I said that it's a much shorter distance from the car to the barn than it is from inside the house to the barn to which he replied it was dark and icy outside. To which I replied that waiting until morning would have been perfectly acceptable. Such is life. I need them when I milk because I'm out of oats in the barn and I'm going to have to drag a boy out of bed it looks like in order to get them to the barn unless I take them myself and while I'm not opposed to taking them myself, I'm not opposed to the boys taking them either.

This is what they looked like this morning. You can really see the blue in the pictures; in normal lighting the purple and red are more noticeable. If you have an eye for such things, you can see how a cable would be a good addition.

In other news, our presidential election this year should be interesting. I'm not particularly happy about any of the candidates at this point in time. Some of them might be okay but most of them would be awful. It will be interesting to see how they are whittled down and what our somewhat final choice is.

In other news, the socks I'm working on right now are interesting. I'm using a pattern I found on Ravelry called Skew socks with some yarn that Becky gave me for Christmas a few years ago. The yarn is perfect for the socks and while they aren't boring to knit, the top/front of them are rather plain and are just calling to me to liven them up a bit—maybe a cable or something. Or perhaps a few cables because they're knit diagonally so they would work their way across the sock and then get eaten up.

In other news, my two editors aren't really able to edit so I'm looking for another. If you know of anyone, let me know.

And that's all I've got for now. I need to get ready to milk and I'm not connected to the internet with my lap top at the moment. It takes a few minutes to get connected and I've also got some pictures I'd like to get off the camera before I do any posting so....

Have a wonderful day!

PS The title of this has nothing to do with the content. We have one mouse to use for two computers and Paul said, "What kind of connector does it have?"

I said, "USB."

"What shape is that? Round or square?"

"Rectangular."

I didn't realize that there are people who can use computers but don't know what a USB is.

PPS Diane, what a difference this morning! Thanks for the call.

Reading

Good morning! What a lovely day it is outside thus far. Cold, but beautiful with the sun shining and the water talking in the creek as it rushes on its way. It is only supposed to get up to 29 degrees today which is somewhat less than yesterday and the day before (we were in the 40s and 50s) but not as bad as last week through the weekend when we were in the teens for highs. Not even just teens but low teens. We went from a high of 12 on Sunday to being in the 50s on Tuesday. What strange weather. Beginning tomorrow and lasting through the rest of this week and next we are supposed to be in the 30s and 40s. We'll see what really happens.

I've been reading. Surprise, that, I know. I read Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry in two days and I'm still reading the one about cultural life in the colonies and the other about menopause. This morning while reading The Cultural Life, I ran across this gem:

“Twentieth-century Americans [I imagine he means citizens of the United States although perhaps this is a problem shared by all of us Americans] have become so accustomed to thinking of secondary education as universally free, a responsibility of the state, that it is difficult for them to realize that three centuries ago free schooling was the exception and not the rule in the British colonies.”

Interesting. Especially when you stop to consider that education is never free. Even if it is provided as a service, it is not free. The teachers must be paid and the administrators, of which there are entirely too many in my opinion, must be paid. Facilities must be provided and people to take care of and maintain these facilities must be paid. Where does all this money come from? Trees? Right.

Then this: “Concerned as the colonials were about vocational training, they did not delude themselves into substituting it for education. It remained for the twentieth century to achieve that confusion.”

That is almost comical. I get the impression that the author doesn't think much of the way we were thinking in the twentieth century. Doesn't it make you glad we are living in the twenty-first century now and have done away with all the incorrect thinking patterns of the past?

The sarcasm is coming through, right?

Lastly, at least for now, a quote from William Penn: “We are in pain to make them [the youth of his day] scholars but not men, to talk rather than to know, which is true canting . . . We press their memories too soon, and puzzle, strain, and load them with words and rules to know . . .”

Granted, he was lamenting the state of learning Latin and was expressing his desire that there be some kind of curriculum devised in order to make the teaching and learning of it easier but his thoughts are quite applicable to education today.

In other news, you know that Amena got her permit. Yesterday we left early so she could drive around in the parking lot at church before anyone got there. That was interesting. Cedric was at Joanna's so we just had Seth and Joseph. They went inside most of the time because someone was there parked in front of the church and the doors were open. Mostly I just had her drive around in circles but she practiced three point turns and parking as well. I think she did pretty well other than one time when she went to change the radio—you just can't do that when you are driving. At least, not the way she does it. She got in a solid forty-five minutes before more cars began arriving.

While we were at church, Dominic called because Cedric had the list for shopping for the camp out this weekend. I did not know he did or I would have made sure he made arrangements for it. He knew he was going to be going to Joanna's so I'm not sure why he ended up with a shopping list. I know that he has a bit of a memory problem and that if he doesn't work on it, it will get worse. He's doing pretty well with school but we've got little things going to help jog the memory and his teachers all know that they can contact me at any time if he needs more help. I guess we just need to implement something for scouts as well.

Yesterday Paul got up on the wrong side of the bed and today it was Seth's turn. The funny thing is that yesterday morning Paul woke up okay but by the time he got downstairs, the grumpiness was evident. Seth work up okay today but then he went back upstairs and when he came back down the grumpiness was evident. I submit that I am the only one allowed to be grumpy so these guys had better get their acts together.

It is rather late and I've already milked Zoey. She's been acting up lately not wanting to get up on the milking stand. Silly goat. Maybe it's the weather. Or hormones. Milk production has gone up and I'm not sure what to attribute that to. It can't be the weather because it went up while we were having the really cold temperatures. It might be that she's getting ready to kid but until I put some effort into figuring out how likely that is, I'm just not sure.

There are lots of things that need to be done and so I suppose I should get to work and do them.

Have a terrifical day!

A Couple of Days

Wednesday

February 10, 2016

6:39 am

Good morning! I got up and Amena and I covered a couple of lessons and Cedric finally got up and I put some laundry in the drier and more in the washer and then I had some granola while I read. Now the bus has come and collected Amena and Cedric and gone and Paul, Seth, and Joseph are all still abed. If not for the clothes washing and drying, it would be rather quiet which is nice.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. In one of the last books I read, Child Life in Colonial Times, the author mentioned that most journals are worthless when it comes to history because most journals are about the life of the person writing them rather than events happening in the world at the time. While I agree they might not be of value when discussing current events, I do think they have value as they give us a look at things that people thought were important enough to mention. Also, we can learn the history of the time period and put the writing in context and can sometimes glean little things that we wouldn't otherwise be able to. However, keeping this opinion in mind, I was wondering of what value my journals might be years down the road. Do I just talk about things happening in my life? Do I mention current events? If you read this in the QDB, you'll kind of have an idea of what I write about. I write about my life, the lives of my family, and other things as they pertain or are of interest to me or us.

I can tell you I haven't been writing anything about the current state of presidential hopefuls because there isn't a one that I feel good enough about to vote for. I can find something good about almost every single one, and there really are just far too many to begin with, but so much that I'm not comfortable with that would overpower any good. And, in all honesty, there are a couple I would not even consider. Ever.

Yesterday I did read an interesting article about how most people think that the only difference between voting for Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton is how you feel about the person; how much you feel he/she can relate to you and vice versa. The reality is that while they are both Democrats, they have very different views and ideas of how things should work. That makes a lot of sense to me. And, just for the record, one of them is one of the two I would not consider voting for under any circumstances.

It is snowing. Little tiny flakes that indicate it is cold outside. Which isn't surprising considering the temperature in the house. It isn't cold, but it certainly isn't overly warm. At least it is warmer than yesterday. Yesterday morning it was very cold because someone had forgotten to close the chimney the night before. I thought Paul had because he'd gone downstairs after checking the fireplace but when I went to open it yesterday and found it already open, discovered that he hadn't.

Joseph is on his way down the stairs and I have laundry to fold. I will see what I can do about covering some current events in the future. Maybe. In the meantime, there is more laundry to wash and dry and fold because, you may recall, the boys cleaned their room and when you have three boys in one room and they clean, it means mountains of laundry that I'm busy with for a week.

Have a terrifical day!

Thursday

February 11, 2016

6:56 am

Today has been similar to yesterday thus far: filled with laundry. Amena and I had our seminary lesson, two, really. She and Cedric both were ready for the bus in plenty of time. I am sitting here with the sounds from clothes washing and drying and I have before me five piles of laundry from two loads already folded. I think I am ready to go back to bed. Paul and Joseph are still abed; Seth is up and about.

Yesterday at close enough to 11:00 to call it 11:00, Joanna called. Her Jeep died and Lincoln was going to give her a ride over here at 10:00 so she could get to the hospital in Greenfield to have her blood drawn at noon and for an appointment with a hematologist at 1:00. Did I have anything going on? No, not really. Could I pick her up and take her? As long as she was okay being late because we needed to get ready to go and as long as having her two youngest brothers with us was okay. Sure. So we left close to 11:30 and got her to the hospital about 12:35.

We sat out in the car while Seth finished up his math because that was all he needed to do in order for them both to be done with school for the day. Other than reading which we saddly didn't get done. When he was done, we decided to go in because there was a huge fish tank in the waiting area for blood draws.

Joanna was in getting her blood drawn when we got in and when she was done, she needed to get right over to hematology. We opted to wait by the fish tank rather than go with her.

When Joanna was all done, we went to Subway for lunch and ate on the way home. Joanna said she thinks it's ridiculous to pay $50 (her copay) to a hematologist in order to be told that she looks good and her blood count is good. I agree.

Joanna also said that a woman tried to cut in front of her when she was waiting to have her blood drawn. The guy came out and said, “We have two Joanne's. Which one is first?” The Joanne said she was but Joanna got up and said her name was clearly first and she clearly wrote Joanna with an 'a' so she said as much, mentioning as well that she had an appointment in five minutes. She got to go in first. Go, Joanna!

We got home just a few minutes before Amena and Cedric. Then Joanna took Amena to the RMV so Amena could take the test for a permit and go to Macy's because Amena had a gift card for there.

Amena passed so she has her permit now which is semi-exciting and they took absolutely forever at Macy's. They didn't get home until after 8:30. Then Joanna needed oil for the car (it tends to suck it up) and she was off for home.

This morning Joanna's plan was to drive to work and then the boys and I will take her home after which should be sometime in the afternoon. She's scheduled to get off at 2:00. That works well with our schedule for the day.

Yesterday afternoon Joseph complained that he was tired. He didn't eat all of his sandwich for lunch and went upstairs to bed not long after we got home. He got up long enough to get ready for me to take him with me to take Cedric and Seth to church but Cedric didn't realize it was Wednesday and didn't think he needed to go and was being really draggy so I left him home and told Joseph to go back to bed. He did. At some point during the night he came and got in bed with me and he came downstairs to let Kitty in but he's back upstairs now. Hopefully lots of sleep is what he needed.

This undershirt is very special and is actually one of two or three remaining. We bought it, and its companions, for Daniel when he was seven or eight and has seen action from him, Cedric, Seth and finally Joseph. He handed it to me yesterday and told me it is too small. We've been collecting clothes he's outgrown to give to a family we know at church whose boys are mostly younger than Joseph but this special shirt has seen so much use and is in such a state of having been born that I don't want to pass it along. Not to mention, it is one of the few things we have that has made it through all four boys. Special.

 

 

I guess you already know our plans for today. Currently it is snowing those little, tiny flakes indicative of very cold temperatures. This weekend it is supposed to be very cold. Amena said the high Saturday is supposed to be something like 10 degrees (Fahrenheit). That is too cold for me, thanks.

Speaking of cold, some people of opined that it's better to be cold than hot because there are only so many clothes you can take off. I would like to submit that there comes a point when it doesn't matter how many clothes you have, they aren't enough to keep you warm. Therefore, I don't think it's better to be one or the other but I would prefer from cool to slightly warm over either extremely hot or cold.

Have a fantastic day!

Snowy Days

Good morning. We had a lovely four day weekend due to the decision making powers of Quabbin Regional School District and the weather. Friday we did have some lovely snow and because people are crazy it wasn't exactly the most intelligent thing to be out in it driving. Paul still managed to take the starter from the silver Jetta to Lowell in the morning so it could be rebuilt and then went to pick it up in the evening so it could be installed. The boys had fun playing in the snow. Cedric and Joseph more than Seth. Amena stayed in and cleaned her room. I played with sourdough.

Yesterday it didn't start to snow until almost eleven and we ended up with no more than two or three inches. I'm not sure that was worth closing school and because the boys were mostly in because they needed to clean their room, it really wasn't the greatest snow day ever.

However, Joanna stopped by Sunday afternoon and took Seth and Joseph home with her to spend the night. Because there was school Monday, Cedric didn't get to go. Had we the clairvoyance to see the future, he would have gone. Sadly, we are but mere mortals so he had to stay home and did not get to watch the Super Bowl.

What better thing to do than eat ice-cream on a winter day? You really should have seen his mouth when he was done. Oh my!

Joanna brought them home around 9:00 because she had a doctor's appointment at 10:30 in Greenfield but her Jeep was acting up so she called Lincoln and he came with a part to fix it. I'm not sure if it was the right part but whatever the case, it was fixed enough for her to drive home and we got to visit for a while other than the bit more than an hour I took to take Amena to Nick's. For lunch Joanna and I had burritos which are always good and she canceled her appointment. She is supposed to have her blood drawn every week to make sure her platelets are at an okay level and Lincoln wasn't going to let her drive all the way to Greenfield just to have that done. I agreed with him. It won't kill her to miss a week and the roads by that time really weren't that great.

The boys actually got their room finished. My deal was by dinner time and they almost made it. There were just a few things that still needed to be done at that point and they mostly included getting furniture back how it needed to be and removing bags of trash.

Amena and Cedric both made the bus this morning. Because Amena wanted to do seminary after school, I didn't even have to get up at 5:30 to make sure things were happening although I did because Cedric was still in the bathroom taking forever to get dressed after he showered and Amena needed to shower. Paul, for some reason, was awake and for some reason wanted to talk. Just because I'm awake then doesn't mean I want to talk. I usually can go back to sleep and get another few minutes or so and they can make or break the day. He actually got up before 6:00 and I actually got to sleep for probably another half an hour. Heaven.

Everything was moving along quite well but because Paul was up, he was in his office and can see the bus coming through one of the windows so we got a commentary on where exactly the bus was. “The bus is coming!”

“The bus is coming!”

“The bus is coming around the corner!”

“The bus is pulling up to the Stanley's!” They are directly across from us and their driveway is about equidistant to the ends of ours and the bus actually stops at the first of ours that it encounters.

“The bus is here!”

She actually did have to go to the other end of the driveway by the time she got out but she made it. I sometimes wonder if it would do any good to tell Paul that I would start moving in slow motion if someone were bugging me about the bus. I know that neither of them have missed it for quite some time which is fantastic and I've probably jinxed the record by mentioning it.

Today looks to be a beautiful day. Cedric brought in enough wood yesterday to get us through today at least. I'd rather burn more wood than have the furnace turned up but at least it is working much better since the guys came to fix it. I'm sure Seth and Joseph will be thrilled to get back to doing school work. Cedric told me Friday that they should still have school because they do school at home. Yeah. No. If there is a snow day for public school, there is a snow day for home school.

Today we are back to relative normal (Joseph is glad we aren't having another snow day) and I hope you have a fantabulous day!

Books and Reading

Well, we have a snow day today. I'd gotten up to make sure Cedric and Amena were awake and getting up and it was less than fifteen minutes when the call came. Cedric wanted to use my phone right then and there and Amena said, “There's no school! Yahoo!!!” I like Amena's response. I told Cedric to go back to bed and sleep. I don't know if he did but at least I got to go back to bed and slept for a while longer. While I was sleeping, I had this crazy dream.

I'd invited Julia and Jenny Whitcomb over for lunch and they were on their way but I had to go get something. When I got back, there was a lot of snow and so I wasn't able to stop to turn as quickly as normal so I had to back up and then drive up the driveway. When I got to the house, it was different and a woman and her two kids were moving in. I thought, “Great. As long as she understands that this is my house and I make the rules.” It became clear within minutes that she thought it was her house and she wanted to make the rules. I woke up before lunch was ready but at the rate things were going, war was ensuing.

On Good Reads, a website to keep track of the books you've read, rate them, recommend them to others, get recommendations, etc., I set a goal of reading twelve books this year. I include books that I read to the boys as part of school in what I've been reading so my number of books read is somewhat inflated but so far I've read ten. And I'm in the middle of three more. One is The Cultural Life of the American Colonies, one is Women of the 14^th Moon: writings on menopause, and the third is The Phantom Tollbooth. I loved the last when I was younger and since we breezed through the five Spiderwick books in just a couple of weeks, we started yesterday. So far, Joseph likes it. Seth is noncommital.

Women of the 14^th Moon is very interesting. Menopause is not something that I'd really given much thought to but since I just had my 48^th birthday last month, it is something I probably ought to give some thought to. The book is a compilation of pieces, essays, short stories, and poems by various authors and it is quite interesting. So far, I'm a little more than a third of the way through. It is interesting to note that the book excluding bibliography and biographies is 365 pages.

The Cultural Life of the American Colonies is very interesting. In spite of the fact that the very title annoys me because it isn't really dealing with all of the American colonies, but rather just those that went on to become the United States of America. Still, regarding the thirteen mostly British colonies, it is very enlightening and I'm only not quite a third of the way through.

I already mentioned pettifoggers in here. Yesterday I ran across apotheosis which I was not familiar with so I had to look it up. It is a noun meaning 1) elevation to divine status, or 2) the perfect example. Cool. Also, the author used the word fleshpots which I'd seen before but really wasn't sure what it meant. It is a noun, usually used in the plural, which means 1) bodily comfort, or 2) a place of lascivious entertainment.

When the Germans came, they brought many religions with them. I knew that the Mennonites originated in Germany but I'd never heard of the New Mooners, the River Brethern, or the Society of the Woman in the Wilderness. I wasn't able to find anything about the New Mooners but there is a bit of information about the other two. You can look them up if you are interested.

Something I didn't realize because I hadn't really thought about it is that Scotch-Irish refers to Scots who resided in Ireland before migrating to the British colonies. Most of them had no or very little Celtic Irish blood and they were Protestant. Very few Catholic Irish came during the colonial period.

On page 54, the author says, “Social historians of late [this was published in 1957 originally] have shown a growing interest in analyzing the various ores that went into the melting pot and of demonstrating that not all of it fused completely.” I thought that was interesting and not at all surprising. Many areas kept their own languages for a number of years, some up to fifty after migrating to the colonies, before succumbing to English.

I still think that English should be the official language of the United States. If people want to also speak another language, that's great. Honestly, I think everyone should be required to know two languages.

On pages 72 and 73: “Let no one imagine, as school children have sometimes been taught to believe, that our ancestors came in search of 'religious toleration.' Tolerations was a concept that few of them recognized or approved. What they wanted was freedom from interference by opposing religious sects or unfriendly official authorities. Once firmly in the saddle themselves, sects that had been persecuted in England became equally zealous to root out heretics from their own order.”

It seems that Amena and Cedric are learning that people came to escape political and religious issues they didn't agree with. I'm okay with that but I seem to recall that I was taught that they came for religious toleration. I would like to say that I always wondered about that but I can't because I don't remember.

I also managed to finish the three Star Wars books by Timothy Zahn. Joseph told me that we should read all the Star Wars books since we were done with Spiderwick. I'm not sure he understands what that would entail. Over three hundred books. I suppose we could start requesting the books for younger readers from the library and read them but I think even I would want to intersperse them with other books. There really is such a thing as too much of a good thing. One Star Wars book, at adult level, would take many days to read.

I read between 25 and 30 minutes each day and it took us about two and a half days of reading aloud to finish a Spiderwick book and they are each just a few pages more than 100. Yesterday we started The Phantom Tollbooth and read twenty-two pages. If we read 22 pages each day, it will take almost 12 days to finish the book. Since the Star Wars books we currently have are all at least 300 pages and have smaller print, I'm guessing they'd take more than three weeks.

It's about time to go play with sourdough so I'll be back sometime.

Have a great day!