March Madness.
At a recent youth ball game, someone brought conversation hearts. At some point in the evening, we were trying to arrange shapes like hearts and smileys. After someone had just completed a heart with the candies, Mr. Sir stole one and ate it. “You’re breaking my heart!” Then again he stole one as seemingly someone had the best flavored hearts. “Stop breaking my heart!” Not even a preplanned joke but we laughed uproariously over it.
A fun day is breakfast with the girls and thrifting and antiquing to boot. We found some jewels and ate some good food. Also, the older folks who man the checkout counters are so friendly! It is refreshing to have someone actually conversate with you as they scan and bag your items. If you are in need of china sets, try your local antique shop. The amount of beautiful sets of china dishes we saw was amazing. Why do the dolls in antique stores look so creepy? Long ago they were someone’s favorite play thing and now they scare you as you walk by.
Another note on volleyball games: if you go expecting nothing but decide to put your heart into it, you may actually have the most fun you have had in a long time. It’s all about the mindset, am I right?
Pro tip: if you are not that hungry and you are invited to a Mexican restaurant for supper, order a side of rice and a strawberry daiquiri. What a win win situation! The daiquiris are actually so delicious and quite fun to drink out of the large fishbowl that qualifies as a cup. Also suppers with the girls are just a fun time. The topics that get spoken on are hilarious. Volleyball afterward is so fun cause you’ve already shaken loose and the extra sugar from the fishbowl drink keeps you bouncing.
Happiness is a cookie from a student in my favorite flavor, chocolate chip.
Kidron school made a massive decision to start school at 8:30 instead of nine o’clock. There were a few disgruntled ones but to the teachers, it has been a relief. Let me lay some ground work. Imagine you have nineteen students and only an hour to teach two math lessons. Here’s another thought. What if you were teaching twelve first and second graders and you only had one hour to teach two language lessons. And let me just casually add that if any of your students are slow learners, it makes for a push and a shove everyday to get this Abeka curriculum completed. How nice it is to have the time to do extra review and actually get through the whole lesson completed.
What beauty is March! The lambs frolick in the grass as their mothers graze lazily. The birds chirp merrily in the trees. The green shoots of plants finally poking through the dirt and the sunshine warming the earth again makes happiness bloom more easily. It is Ohio however; so you never know when the heavy cloud are carrying the hard rains or if snow will make another appearance. True to its nature, it was snowing and nearly freezing just two days after 70 degree weather. What a fun experience spring in Ohio is!
A quote I came upon that really resonated with me: Confidence is not walking into a room and thinking you are better than everyone else. It is walking in and realizing that you don’t need to compare yourself to anyone.
Since a classmate’s wedding is coming up, I decided that I am going to sew an all new wardrobe. Always a good decision to stress yourself out. Of course I choose some patterns that I have never sewn in my life and some were ones I made up in my head. Really smart, Shanelle. Really smart! With school and youth and keeping up at home, the time crunch feels real. So far we have two dresses completed without too much headache and two more that need to be cut out.
After singing at a nursing home, Mik and I approached an elderly lady in a wheelchair. We both shook her hand and asked her how she was. “What a nice firm hand shake you have! Have you been doing that since you were little?” We both giggled and figured that we had. Side note: older people are much more receptive to singing than the other places we have sung.
And that’s it for now!