sometimes you just have to......

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the best laid plans

Well, I planned to blog in both places for a bit. The fact is that my time is just too limited right now to make that plan a reality. So, while my new blog doesn't yet have that comfy, lived in feel that I am aiming for, please join me there.

Rae of Sunshine

somewhat nervously introducing...

My New Blog!

I'm not completely moved in yet. I'm still unpacking and trying to find that cozy feel, but pop on over and join me if you'd like. I'll be posting both places for a bit, but I'm looking forward to feeling comfortable with WordPress.

not so visual/spatial mommy

My dear friend, Patience, asked after me a question regarding my last post. I began typing out a reply and realized my thoughts might be better shared as a separate post.

Patience asked, "So how does your mind work then? When you read the words petroleum jelly, what happens?"

I first read her questions before my second cup of coffee, so I had to step back, drink more coffee, and let the questions swirl in my head a bit. I have now probably given it too much thought, but I think I can answer the question fairly well.

I have sort of an inner monologue that begins in my head after reading the words petroleum jelly. May I just add here that I so wish we had a "better" choice of subjects to discuss. I hope the google monsters don't find me through some strange search because of our discussions of this awful substance. Bless my husband's heart for sharing his example with me.

So my monologue goes something like this:


Petroleum jelly. That's the same as Vaseline. Of course Vaseline is just a brand name. Petroleum jelly would be the generic - the actual product. I wonder why I call petroleum jelly Vaseline when I don't do that for every product. Tissues are tissues - not Kleenex. Petroleum jelly? No. It's Vaseline.

Somewhere along the way a picture of a container might creep into my head, but for me it is all about the words and what the words mean. It's not very colorful, nor is it very entertaining. I have to will my brain to form a picture. Otherwise it's just bland words.

Oddly enough I can picture concepts from beginning to end, but I either see them as completed or a series of tasks that take me from beginning to end. Again, no pictures - more like a mental outline. I'm jealous, I think. I would like to have pictures.

visual/spatial daddy

I was chatting with my husband this morning about all kinds of stuff. All of a sudden, completely out of the blue, he started in on a monologue. It went something like this.

"I've been thinking a lot about this learning style thing and the information you gave me to read. I've been paying attention to how I think about things.

For instance, yesterday I read the words petroleum jelly. I first got a picture of a Vaseline container with the blue lid. You know, the regular package that you always see. That's what petroleum jelly is to me. Then I started to break down the words. First I saw petrol and immediately thought of a gas station. Then, leum is enough like linoleum that I pictured a linoleum floor. Of course when I see jelly, I immediately picture a big jar of grape jelly. All that from seeing petroleum jelly and thinking about the pictures in my head.

What's strange is that I don't consciously think about creating the pictures, and I can't really stop them either. It's like a slide show of images."

I found this really interesting and bewildering at the same time, because my brain just doesn't work like that. It is really nice, though, to have his input as I work to prepare C's learning time.

read aloud - cry aloud

I read this book with C today. And I had to stop, because I was crying. Leah's Pony is a lovely story, really, and today it touched my soul profoundly. My eight year old daughter looked at me with concern in her eyes and questioned why I couldn't go on through my tears. "Do you understand what is happening in the story?"
"Yes," she said. "The neighbors are buying all of their belongings for not very much money so that they can give them back to Leah's family." She understood. But she still did not understand why the story was rendering her mother unable to speak. I'm not sure that I completely understand why it was touching me so deeply today.
Perhaps the story of this girl living through the ugliness of the Great Depression drew a parallel for me. I fear for the future of our planet and the future of the country that I call home.
I've been reading again about Permaculture and the hope that comes from simple living in the face of peak oil and global climate change. This is a serious issue, and I know that our way of life must change in order to sustain any life in the future. I also know that currently most Americans are unwilling to make changes in their way of life in such a way that would prevent a serious decline of our quality of life. Perhaps young Leah and her $1 bid for her father's tractor showed me that even outlandish ideas can be accepted by many when they understand the wisdom and the good behind them.
Perhaps it has been far too long since I have seen the miracles that can come out of community. At times the unpleasant noise from our world fails to uplift and support those who need a hand, instead of joining together harmoniously to care for our earth, and each other.
Perhaps I worry that those unspeakably hard times will come to my children. I look at the hardships of the Great Depression. I have heard the stories of my parents' childhoods many, many times, and I know that they and their families lived through that time because of their hard work and communities. I fear that our country especially, and the world at large may be headed toward another Depression. I wonder though, and I worry too that this time around our communities aren't so strong, our survival skills aren't so tough, our good old know how is in trouble. So I read. And I research. And I simplify. I just wonder though if there will be a community like Leah's this time, that can surround and protect those who need a helping hand. I know that I hope so. Spiro. Spero. Now, if I only knew the Latin for Simplify.

choosing our labors today

It's Labor Day, and my girls are busy choosing how they will spend their day. C started last evening with conversations about costume selection for Halloween. We talked about buying a costume versus designing and making our own. We decided that creativity is the most important part of making Halloween a fun holiday. With that decision made, she set to work. By bedtime she had created 11 designs and a cover page for her portfolio - "2008 Halloween Costume Designs."

Fashion design is a hobby of hers, and it is an area in which she shows some lovely, natural ability. I am sometimes amazed at the creative and thoughtful designs she puts forth. This last project has been no exception. She has created a pixie, a mermaid, a wizard (female of course), and a bunny just to name a few. She is still going strong, and has added the responsibility of designing for her little sister as well. I wonder what I will ultimately be called upon to do in the way of making her visions a reality.

E chose a different course of action for the day. She is a bit sniffly, so her plans were all about comfort. She laid a lovely tea tray filled with her favorite yellow blankie, her favorite storybook, and a bottle of water. The water was for me - in case my voice got tired before I could read ALL the stories in the book. We've already had one snuggle/reading session this morning with the promise of more to come.

My labors today will be much less creative. I am draining the pool and cleaning two bedrooms in preparation for house guests this weekend. Oh, and I have a 1:00 play date with the girls. Sometimes you just have to schedule these things, because they are that important.