Thursday, September 8, 2011

Around here

Or... more aptly titled-- What Next? Because the last few days have been... challenging. Interesting. Tricky. And... amusing. Here's why.


So school. Yes, school. It comes around every September, but for some reason or other, it completely caught me by surprise this go round. A crazily busy summer surely didn't help. Nor did my decision to read only for pleasure these past few months (note to self: a little school prep-work truly is necessary before the calendar flips to September. Now I know :). So currently I find myself volumes deep in the Great Books, Ancient Egypt, latin declensions, and algebra 1... all of which are more than my overly tired brain can handle on any given day. I think I'm in deep. Very, very deep.

Costco. I {LOVE} that place. Love, love, love, love, love. But really. Christmas decorations? On the shelves? Smack dab in the middle of the warehouse? Seriously??? And why?????
And that's all I have to say about that.

The family room carpet. Beautifully clean (thank you, Stanley Steamer). For one night. Because sometime while we slept, the dog got sick. In three different spots. Ugh.

The laundry room. Probably my least favorite room in my house. Now... surely my least favorite. Why? Because five days ago my washing machine died. In mid-cycle. Right before the first rinse. Soaking wet sheets and towels had to be wrung dry (Chris handled that one splendidly :), the water had to be emptied from the basin (again... Chris), and those sopping wet linens-- I had to dry them in the dryer so that I can re-wash them tomorrow when my new machine arrives. Hallelujah! Still, anyone care to wager a guess at how many pounds of laundry a family of six can generate in the span of 6 days (in addition to the bits & pieces that came home dirty from the beach)? I'll tell you this much... it's a lot.

And finally, I now have this beauty-- tall, proud and black-- dominating a
portion of the boys' bedroom.


Uncle Donnie offered it to them a couple weeks ago; I was told they were inheriting a punching bag. You know, something easily stashed in the corner or even under the bed if necessary. Evidently, we experienced a minor miscommunication. I'm thinking you won't find anything even remotely similar in the Pottery Barn catalog.

Big Man later created this sign and attached it to the top of the "Big Black Beast"
...so that I might find its presence a little more appealing :)
How can I argue with that??!


And that's about it. For now.
Tomorrow may find me back on Everything-is-fine-and-dandy Street. Or it may not.
Either way, I'm reminded that I have a choice:
Whether I soar through the day with the wind at my back OR struggle just to keep my head above water as the hard times roll, I can grumble. Or I can praise. I can complain. Or I can give thanks.
I must choose... because I simply cannot do both.
I must choose.
And remember...
that even when things don't seem to work out quite right,
All.
Every little tidbit. Every single breath.
ALL.

Thank you, Father.


6 comments:

Carrie said...

Such a great reminder for me, too, Heather! Thanks for sharing your heart and always keeping it real! :)

P.S. Omnibus *and* TOG?!?! ... are you doing both this year?

Kellie said...

Thanks for the glimpse into your crazy life and your beautiful heart. And I'm with Carrie -- both?!?! Actually, the whole stack looks pretty intimidating! We're doing SOTW 1 too, so we can muddle through the Ancients together. So sorry about the carpet and the laundry ((((hugs)))). But I snorted with laughter reading about the Big Black Beast ((hugs again)).

Christine said...

Exhausted right with you and completely overwhelmed by my current load -- but I don't think it even compares with yours, my friend.

Thanks for the good words. They help more than you know. xo
-C

gretchen said...

I'm with Carrie - Omnibus??? Really? I saw that and said "Whoa! She's doing Omnibus!" So did I mention we are coming into town and camping out at your house. We'll be there tomorrow. :) I love you too much to do that to you... although, I could help fold some laundry. :) don't forget to breathe... it helps. :) Love you friend. It'll all be over by june... you only have nine months to go.. except for the black beast... it doesn't look like it's going anywhere soon. :)

Heather said...

You know... there will surely be days ahead when I'll be pulling my hair out; I can already see the writing on the wall!! Still, for as long as I can, I'll be tackling both programs-- sort of-- but neither one to its fullest extent. Here's the story in a nutshell: for the past 2 years (we just started year 3 today), we've been part of a co-op that uses ToG. And it's been wonderful! But... last spring as I began to plan for this year, I quickly recognized my need & desire for an online class or two for my eldest b/c I wanted a little help! After doing MUCH research, I decided to plug him in to the Veritas Press Scholars Academy for the Omnibus 1 *Secondary* class (b/c I wanted to stick with ToG-- at least for one more year-- as our primary history "program"), and oh my goodness... it is fan-tastic!! Amazing! I could not be happier! So... I'll be using ToG with all 3 boys as we study *history.* My 5th grader will work through the ToG lit selections, and hopefully my eldest will have time to read a few of those titles as well. The Omni books, however (again-- the secondary ones only; NOT the primary titles which are more closely tied to the time period) will be our first and highest priority. So yes, in a way we are tackling both programs, but I think (& hope :) that we won't be too badly bruised in the process!

And yes, that Black Beast is something, isn't it??!

The dB family said...

Amen! I love God's grace! I hear you on the washer too. Mine had the decency to die mid spin cycle so at least my stuff wasn't sopping wet. I had to spend a fortune at the laundry mat though!

Blessings!
Deborah