So, I finally got around to watching "Limitless". It was awesome! That's my kind of flick.
But it got me thinking: If I could access 100% of my brain, just for one day, what would I do? Would I learn new languages? Would I head to Las Vegas and cash out like a crazy person? Would I write a plan for world peace and submit it to the Nobel Prize committee?
No. I wouldn't do any of that. If I only had one day to do anything I could ever want to do, I'd probably organize my entire house, and label everything! It's a humble dream, but it's mine. Trying to keep a clean and organized house is a big issue for me, primarily because all of the cleaning and organizing takes so much time away from just hanging out with my family.
If my home was consummately clean and well-organized, I believe I would dedicate all of my time to being with my husband and children.
When I look at my life, I look at it from the perspective of: "What will I be thinking about on my deathbed?" In that moment when all of my years will be slipping away from this world, what will I want to remember?
I'll remember how excited my daughter was when my son lost his first tooth. She was happier than he was! I'll remember my kids running through the sprinklers on a summer day, and seeing how far they can spit watermelon seeds. I'll remember the first time they saw snow, and how beautiful everything was, covered gently in a soft blanket of white. I'll remember the day my husband proposed to me. I made him ask me three times before I said yes. I'll remember honeysuckle, and showing my babies how to get the nectar out of them to eat. I'll remember how they'd blow dandelions and get a little stuck to their mouths. I'll remember the first time I cooked dinner for my husband; it was Indian food. I'll remember how proud he was the first time he mowed his own yard, here in the desert. I'll remember the Sunday tradition of grilling steaks, regardless of weather; the smells of onions being grilled and hear the sizzle of steaks being flipped, while we argue about the correct level of doneness.
I suppose these seem like mundane things. Why wouldn't I remember Amritsar or Goa? Why wouldn't I want to remember that time I went skydiving? Because none of those adventures really matter. Traveling the world and doing completely crazy things, all for the thrill of new and exciting, well, it's all alright if you don't have what matters most in all the world. When you have a love that never dies, a love that can't be broken, no matter how you try to hurt it, that's the best thing in the world! And it's something no amount of adventure or selfish endeavor will ever afford you.
Love's funny like that; It's a gift. And it's a weird gift because it's one that you can only get more of if you give it away. The more freely you give it, the more it falls all around you. If you try to keep ahold of it, you'll lose it. No one ever told me that before. I was always told that love was a give-and-take. As it turns out, love's a give-and-give-some-more! The more love I give, the more it boomerangs back at me, with greater depth and force.
Sometimes, I sit drinking my coffee in the morning, and I start to cry. It's just all too beautiful for me, the joy and gratitude just pours from my eyes, My cup runneth over. The memories make me grateful. I'm grateful to have been blessed with so much beauty in my life.
And tonight, we'll grill out steaks, the kids will run and play and eat watermelon. My husband will ask me for a rum and iced tea, made in my special way, and marinate steak in beer and his "special seasonings", and I'll have another beautiful, remarkable and amazing memory to think about as I lay dying, and everyday until then.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Happy Birthday Monkey!
Six years ago today, My Monkey was born! :D
I can't believe it's been six years! Where did the time go??? To this day, I have no idea what good thing I did in my life to deserve my children, but whatever it was, I'm sure glad I did it!
We'll be having cupcakes and texas gumballs for dinner, and have the ceremonious blowing out of the candle for the birthday wish...followed by a HUGE family party in a couple of weeks. In our family, any party requires a two week notice to get everyone together. On my side of the family, there's 32 cousins and on my husband's side, there's only 15. Plus adults, there's about 60 people to feed at any given time. For some people, that's a family reunion!
I've got a lot of work and planning ahead of me...maybe I'll make some sweet tea! :)
I can't believe it's been six years! Where did the time go??? To this day, I have no idea what good thing I did in my life to deserve my children, but whatever it was, I'm sure glad I did it!
We'll be having cupcakes and texas gumballs for dinner, and have the ceremonious blowing out of the candle for the birthday wish...followed by a HUGE family party in a couple of weeks. In our family, any party requires a two week notice to get everyone together. On my side of the family, there's 32 cousins and on my husband's side, there's only 15. Plus adults, there's about 60 people to feed at any given time. For some people, that's a family reunion!
I've got a lot of work and planning ahead of me...maybe I'll make some sweet tea! :)
A vent, a rant and a sigh of exasperation
I home school my kids. Why this information shocks people, I will never know. I hadn't planned on doing it when I was a homeschooled kid myself, but once I entered the Public school system for my last couple of years of schooling before college, I instantly understood that I was much more intelligent than my peers by vast degrees. Most of my peers were stumbling through one foreign language, while I had a good handle on at least three, with four more in a more infantile state. In those years, I lost a great amount of knowledge that I wouldn't recover until my third year of college. It was pretty obvious to me back then, that public education is lacking in too many ways to repair. As I studied the subject, I discovered that the public school system has been vehemently opposed by the most respected educators since it's inception over one-hundred years ago. That was a true shock to me, considering how vast the public school system is. I considered private school, only to find that privately schooled children are just as ill-educated as their publicly schooled counterparts, with a surprisingly higher drug and alcohol abuse rate.
For me to give my kids the best possible education, I was going to have to take it into my own hands. And so I did. But why is this move seen as subversive?
I believe the general public has too much faith in their government, or are willing to settle for poor education in favor of having a two-income household with a lot of stuff. Somewhere, a very bad compromise has been made at the expense of our children's futures. And while kids these days are looking at a new 8 hour school day to counter their parent's 8 hour work day, a homeschooled child will probably spend about 3-4 hours per day actually doing school work....That's a win-win as far as I'm concerned.
Another annoying point in this, people always assume I'm some kind of fundamentalist Baptist or something. although, I find the concept of fundamentalist protestantism hilariously contradictory! How can you be protestant and a fundamentalist??? I'm just saying.
Besides, even if I wanted to be a fundy, I doubt my shorts and myriad 6 inch heels will do well in that environment. I do, however, have long hair, but that's more for the sake of versatility than anything else. Plus, it gives a sense of wildness to me that my husband finds very appealing! ;)
For me to give my kids the best possible education, I was going to have to take it into my own hands. And so I did. But why is this move seen as subversive?
I believe the general public has too much faith in their government, or are willing to settle for poor education in favor of having a two-income household with a lot of stuff. Somewhere, a very bad compromise has been made at the expense of our children's futures. And while kids these days are looking at a new 8 hour school day to counter their parent's 8 hour work day, a homeschooled child will probably spend about 3-4 hours per day actually doing school work....That's a win-win as far as I'm concerned.
Another annoying point in this, people always assume I'm some kind of fundamentalist Baptist or something. although, I find the concept of fundamentalist protestantism hilariously contradictory! How can you be protestant and a fundamentalist??? I'm just saying.
Besides, even if I wanted to be a fundy, I doubt my shorts and myriad 6 inch heels will do well in that environment. I do, however, have long hair, but that's more for the sake of versatility than anything else. Plus, it gives a sense of wildness to me that my husband finds very appealing! ;)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks
Every June, it begins, and every August it passes away again. My summertime yearning for home. Back home in THE SOUTH, This is the busiest time of year.
Every blackberry and raspberry bush has been stripped to bare by birds, hungry kids who don't want to bother going home for a snack, and ladies who will make the best jams and jellies in the world. My mom would be chasing me out of the kitchen and telling me "that batch is yours, since you can't keep your fingers out of it!" and I would smile and say "Good, maybe I'll put my fingers in the rhubarb and strawberry jam too!" Then Mama gives me the look that tells me I had better not. But she always makes extra for me anyway.
I would be whipping out "Shoo-Fly Pie" and Pecan pie as fast as I could get them in and out of the oven, while Mama curses the created heat, and swears she's going to move the oven out on to the back porch. (Of course she never does)
After a busy morning of jam making, baking and canning every last tomato on earth, it seems, I'm finally on my way to the river with my best friend. We pack in with our kids and run-down the checklist of everything we'll need: towels, fishing rods and nets, a pot, butter, garlic, parsley, a HUGE igloo of Iced Tea, homemade sun-tea to be precise, and river shoes (otherwise known was old, ratty tennis shoes)
We search the rocky riverbanks for crayfish, which we call "craw-daddies" or "crawdads" and keep an ear out for the ticking of snake doctors, or dragonflies. Most people don't know this, but when a dragonfly starts ticking over the water, there's a snake in the water, usually a water moccasin, hence the name 'snake doctor'. (now you know)
After a more-or-less successful haul of crayfish, we set up a small fire by the side of the river. Of course, we've forgotten the required marshmallows, so it's necessary that someone go to the tackle store to see if they have some. They always do. We cook crayfish, which only the adults eat, while the kids roast marshmallows until dusk. We put out the fire and pack it all in, weary from the day and full of junk food. Maybe a couple of fish to take home, too.
Once home, we are required to eat dinner, even though no one is really very hungry. We all drink copious amounts of Iced Tea and wait until the fried chicken and biscuits are cold before we really want to eat them. Fried okra is eaten like a handful of popcorn, a little at a time. After dinner, the kids run through the yard like wild things, catching fireflies/lightening bugs and laughing maniacally until it is proclaimed bed-time. The universal "AAAW!" rises up from the crowd, but they go in and get pajamas, brush their teeth and sleep with their little jars of fireflies for night lights.
While the kids are asleep, the grown-ups break out guitars, a banjo maybe, and 'pick a little'. They play songs we all know, usually Johnny Cash's early stuff, or Hymns. The ladies who don't sing or play, will make some form of snack while the musicians get in tune, and everyone will enjoy a tall glass of iced tea and moonshine, from Franklin County or Lafayette, and have what we call 'redneck sangria'. Music and drink fill the night air all around the house.
This will usually go on until 1 or 2am, when the players are tired and sobered up a bit. Everyone is required to take a plate of food home, and a pitcher of sun-tea. The night is still warm, but cool enough to feel nice.
As the dew falls, it smells like clover everywhere, just before you nod-off to sleep, out on the screened back porch, on the hammock you hung up there when you were ten.
Every blackberry and raspberry bush has been stripped to bare by birds, hungry kids who don't want to bother going home for a snack, and ladies who will make the best jams and jellies in the world. My mom would be chasing me out of the kitchen and telling me "that batch is yours, since you can't keep your fingers out of it!" and I would smile and say "Good, maybe I'll put my fingers in the rhubarb and strawberry jam too!" Then Mama gives me the look that tells me I had better not. But she always makes extra for me anyway.
I would be whipping out "Shoo-Fly Pie" and Pecan pie as fast as I could get them in and out of the oven, while Mama curses the created heat, and swears she's going to move the oven out on to the back porch. (Of course she never does)
After a busy morning of jam making, baking and canning every last tomato on earth, it seems, I'm finally on my way to the river with my best friend. We pack in with our kids and run-down the checklist of everything we'll need: towels, fishing rods and nets, a pot, butter, garlic, parsley, a HUGE igloo of Iced Tea, homemade sun-tea to be precise, and river shoes (otherwise known was old, ratty tennis shoes)
We search the rocky riverbanks for crayfish, which we call "craw-daddies" or "crawdads" and keep an ear out for the ticking of snake doctors, or dragonflies. Most people don't know this, but when a dragonfly starts ticking over the water, there's a snake in the water, usually a water moccasin, hence the name 'snake doctor'. (now you know)
After a more-or-less successful haul of crayfish, we set up a small fire by the side of the river. Of course, we've forgotten the required marshmallows, so it's necessary that someone go to the tackle store to see if they have some. They always do. We cook crayfish, which only the adults eat, while the kids roast marshmallows until dusk. We put out the fire and pack it all in, weary from the day and full of junk food. Maybe a couple of fish to take home, too.
Once home, we are required to eat dinner, even though no one is really very hungry. We all drink copious amounts of Iced Tea and wait until the fried chicken and biscuits are cold before we really want to eat them. Fried okra is eaten like a handful of popcorn, a little at a time. After dinner, the kids run through the yard like wild things, catching fireflies/lightening bugs and laughing maniacally until it is proclaimed bed-time. The universal "AAAW!" rises up from the crowd, but they go in and get pajamas, brush their teeth and sleep with their little jars of fireflies for night lights.
While the kids are asleep, the grown-ups break out guitars, a banjo maybe, and 'pick a little'. They play songs we all know, usually Johnny Cash's early stuff, or Hymns. The ladies who don't sing or play, will make some form of snack while the musicians get in tune, and everyone will enjoy a tall glass of iced tea and moonshine, from Franklin County or Lafayette, and have what we call 'redneck sangria'. Music and drink fill the night air all around the house.
This will usually go on until 1 or 2am, when the players are tired and sobered up a bit. Everyone is required to take a plate of food home, and a pitcher of sun-tea. The night is still warm, but cool enough to feel nice.
As the dew falls, it smells like clover everywhere, just before you nod-off to sleep, out on the screened back porch, on the hammock you hung up there when you were ten.
HOPE AND FAITH...in my blogging and organizing abilities
So, I've been thinking about how to make a good and instructive blog and what I'd like to have in it. I think I'd like to put out there all the stuff that I look for in a blog: Marriage advice, parenting tips, good recipes, homeschooling idea and resources, how to live as cheaply as possibly, how to get out of debt...I've been thinking about how to structure it all and learn to blog and link and the whole nine yards! I'm one of those people that has at least ten-thousand articles on making household cleaners, and I keep the ones that don't work for crap...why do I do that?! I also keep old magazines and TV guides..I can't think of more useless things than old magazines and TV guides, but there they sit in stacks, waiting for nothing. I have at least a hundred books I love but haven't read in years. If I really feel like I have to keep them, I should at least box them up.
I'm a big reader. I love to read and reread the classics, except Ernest Hemingway...and John Saul. ( I dont' know why, but their books seem like they will never end or get to the damn point already! ) I have at least four old, worn copies of Little Women, but I haven't read it in three years. But I don't have any of my Laura Ingalls books, and I'm always trying to find them for my kids and I to read! If I don't start getting my house and life organized like it used to be, and better, I'm going to sink under all of this stuff that I never can find a use for! :)
So, in the spirit of full disclosure, I confess to you my brothers and sisters, that I am officially a MESS! And something has to be done about it soon.
Step one in the process of organizing my home: Download ebook formats of all of my favorite books and put them on a flydrive, so I can read them anywhere, and get rid of all excess copies of books. One bookcase will be enough for me, and should be enough for me...what am I doing, Hording fuel for fires?
Repeat step one with cookbooks. No one needs five Gordon Ramsay cookbooks just because he's a hot, muscled, well-built man who can cook. I have one of those at home, and he doesn't require a three-berry couli for cheesecake!
I'm a big reader. I love to read and reread the classics, except Ernest Hemingway...and John Saul. ( I dont' know why, but their books seem like they will never end or get to the damn point already! ) I have at least four old, worn copies of Little Women, but I haven't read it in three years. But I don't have any of my Laura Ingalls books, and I'm always trying to find them for my kids and I to read! If I don't start getting my house and life organized like it used to be, and better, I'm going to sink under all of this stuff that I never can find a use for! :)
So, in the spirit of full disclosure, I confess to you my brothers and sisters, that I am officially a MESS! And something has to be done about it soon.
Step one in the process of organizing my home: Download ebook formats of all of my favorite books and put them on a flydrive, so I can read them anywhere, and get rid of all excess copies of books. One bookcase will be enough for me, and should be enough for me...what am I doing, Hording fuel for fires?
Repeat step one with cookbooks. No one needs five Gordon Ramsay cookbooks just because he's a hot, muscled, well-built man who can cook. I have one of those at home, and he doesn't require a three-berry couli for cheesecake!
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