Summer Break Week 2

Summer break week two started off great. Monday we had our homeschool evaluations where I was mentally judging myself each time my child said “ummmm” or “I don’t remember”. But the kids still performed excellently and we received our reviews to send in to the state for another year of homeschooling, which is what I expected but it’s always stressful!

After a lovely time having lunch at the park (the kids found turtles) we traipsed home and did the three hour round of Barton Reading and Spelling Program.

The day ended with our air conditioner breaking and its suddenly it was 80f in our house.

Tuesday I woke up grateful for air conditioning. It’s working! Brian was able to fix it after he got home from work Monday. He worked on it for two hours or more! So thankful for my hardworking husband who hustles for us. Here is to praying it continues to work all summer.

Tuesday we started math again. No one likes math and that’s all I’ll say about that.

I’m still in a breakfast slump. What should I make for breakfast? Everyone has a different idea and I have no motivation. I need to figure this out.

We had chicken fried rice for lunch followed by back to back piano lessons. It was 94f and both the older kids were sweltering in the car! (our car has no air con) We got ice cream after the second piano lesson and then headed home for an hour of slip-in-slide in the yard before karate. What did I do while the kids were outside? Googled instant pot recipes, cleaned the house, and prepped dinner, questioned my life choices, had a pity party and ate some banana on toast with peanut butter. You know, normal things.

I just have to mention that earlier, I had tried the dairy free ice cream, and immediately broke out in hives. I need to stay away from trying anything when dairy is served right next to it...sigh.

Then we went to karate and I put myself to bed when we got home.

Wednesday I declared a rest day. Rest day to me means chores. We did a bunch and I made Mac and cheese, chicken and broccoli for lunch. My brain is soup and I am a potato. So like a potato I went and read a book on the back porch and it was awesome, and very hot.

It’s forecast to rain for the next 5 days, right through the pool opening. I hope the weather is wrong.

Thursday we went to the park again. It was lovely. I was determined to have a day with no screen time and we made it. I knew with the rain coming we would be doing video games and movies in the afternoon most likely... we played Labyrinth and colored and did nature drawings. It was such a great day.

Reuben lost his karate pants for some reason. I helped him look and he couldn’t find them anywhere. Obviously they were at karate when we got there--he had dropped them in the parking lot and someone had turned them in. What a day!

When I got home I found this note that Becky had written. She had told me she had made some notes to hand out at karate.

The notes say “will you be my friend” on the top and “I want to be friends with you because I don’t have any friends I want you to be my friend” on the bottom.

Anyway, for the past year or two I have been praying hard for some friends for my kids. Their best friends the Kans moved 35 minutes away and they really don’t do stuff with us, even when I ask. Different priorities. Becky’s other little friend Cecily Canning lives even father away--45 minutes. Everyone else that I know as a friend/acquaintance maybe wants to hang out once a month. People are so busy or maybe everyone just already has friends that they priotitize. One thing I don’t really talk about much is just how lonely homeschooling is. I’m trying to find a way to fix that but I can’t make people come over, and all I can do is invite them and I have been inviting people! 75% of the time anyone I invite says no. And those who do say yes cancel half the time the morning of my invitation! It’s crazy.

I remember how devastated Becky was when no one came to Esther’s birthday party... I know that still has to hurt her somewhere as she still talks about it. I also know it has been a real struggle for me with my chronic illness to make it out to our friends the Kans and the Cannings who live so far away and as they don’t come to me (they both homestead) I know Becky has been feeling particularly lonely. But I didn’t realize just how lonely. I felt devastated when I read her note. She said she didn’t hand any of them out because she felt too shy, which I also felt relieved about.

Anyway, I encouraged her to talk to the girls in her karate class and try to make friends just by hanging out, and I gave her special hugs when I tucked her in at night. Then cried for about 45 minutes while I cleaned the kitchen. Motherhood is hard, and I want good friends for my kids. Oh her note just hit me to the core!

It’s Friday now and honestly I feel really drained. I started my cycle and it’s just been a long week. But it has been a good one even with its challenges. We had a toilet break (the back stopped filling up with water) yesterday and so sharing one bathroom when we are used to having two has been very interesting. I added it to Brian’s list of things to fix this week on his vacation...It’s been raining on and off since 5pm last night and we had a lovely tea party breakfast today followed by video games for Reuben and a movie for Becky and Esther (they watched Shrek)

Oh, and I bought a waffle maker and I hope it helps the kids enjoy breakfast a little more.

We went grocery shopping and spent way too much money. I felt sad that Kroger changed all their pricing to dynamic pricing. I stood in the isle and watched some prices actually go up in one section--and just wanted to leave. I don’t recognize the world I live in any more. Electronic shelf labels are wrong. Food is already so expensive why do you need the option to change the price every five minutes? Is nothing sacred?!

The world is changing so fast. Is this what it’s like to get old? Seriously, what is happening to our economy. Inflation is insane.

I’d rather live with Anne of Green Gables and play with Diana at the The Lake of Shining Waters than live another moment in our reality with AI and digital price updates, angry democrats and republicans, and corrupt politicians. As Anne would say, everything in this world just has no scope for the imagination.

The pool opens tomorrow and the high is 60f and it’s supposed to rain all day. I just have to laugh.

Summer is coming! We will make it to the pool. Just not tomorrow. And probably not next week.

But we will have happy beautiful warm days sometime and the sun will come out eventually. God is good. It’s everyone else here that isn’t (including my own sinful self) and I need to learn like Anne (and Pollyanna) to widen my imagination and find beauty in the pain and play the glad game.

Here is to next week, which will be our week of Daddy’s vacation. The one that we planned to spend all day at the pool at...God had other plans because the weather is rain every day and temperatures barely in the mid 70s!