Five on Friday

Lots of random stuff floating around in my brain these days. Here are five of them...

1.

Home school. I figured my time in bed and hobbling on crutches would be the death knell for our at home schooling experiment. Happily, this has not been the case. Having set up a "desk" in the room next to mine, I have been able to sit with each student and have more one-on-one time than ever before. This is a huge blessing to me...I have been able to work in-depth and see where the trouble spots are. Since much of my time homeschooling has been overshadowed by the constant worry of "are they really learning anything?"  these weeks have let me see for myself that, yes, they actually are and doing well!

2. 

I said "desk" in #1 because it's not a desk, it's a sewing machine. Granted, it's OK for the time being but it's not really the appropriate space to spend many days of study. It's great to be in bed with a laptop because, let's face it, Craig's List is a treasure trove of cool stuff. My latest find:

 

Two of these sweet things and we can have group lessons! I'm so excited. We had some like this as kids (just to "play" school, we weren't home schooled) and I loved them. I know the kids will be thrilled.

3. 

Crutches are really annoying as a mode of transport but they do have many great uses. A. Arm extensions. I can sit in bed and close two of the four doors in my room just by using my crutch. B. Baby toys -granted there should be mobile adult supervision but  Mr. G has a great time just holding one and bouncing the short end off the floor. Whatever works these days. C. Behavior-correction-instruments. I only once swatted #2 child in the backside with my crutch and, magically, instant behavior modification device for all the little people (and, see "A", you can reach the bad actor from far away). 

4.  

I've been reading like a madwoman for the last several weeks. This is one I requested from the library and I will definitely purchase it for our home collection. What an AWESOME book! She covers 16 chapters, each with a different topic (marital discord, physical ailments, old age, family, etc.), by highlighting a Saint that struggled in the same area. Complete with questions to consider and a prayer for the area of concern. I highly recommend this for your bookshelf to pull down when needed. It will help recenter your thoughts to God and our Heavenly brothers and sisters so that you don't struggle alone!

From the "Life Choices" chapter:

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.

- C. S. Lewis (not a Saint, just a really smart guy!)

5. 

  OK, I'm beating this one to death and writing the review one blog post at a time but it has really got me thinking. 

 

It occurs to me, while reading this book, that most of my friends are introverts. As I've said before, there is value in both introversion and extroversion but, to me, the former is my home. I think, reflecting more on my close interactions with people, I actively choose introverts because it seems more natural and much less frustrating (I'm sure extroverts feel the same when dealing with me!)...If you go here you can take a quiz to find out on which side of the aisle you fall. Even the questions are informative to me. 

"I often prefer to express myself in writing." I've already commented on my dislike for the phone. I will always chose the written word, probably because...

"I tend to think before I speak." I need ample time to formulate responses...that's hard to do with anything less than writing although, with one-on-one conversation, it is possible to "work through" things while discussing them.

"I feel energized when focusing deeply on a subject or activity that really interests me ". I was discussing (via email) a certain religious question with a friend the other day. It was so challenging and intriguing to me. I'm often boggled by "small talk" but I love diving into deep things with someone who enjoys the same type of discussion.

"I seem to care about wealth, fame, and status less than my peers." I don't like the wording of this at all (it makes extroverts seem shallow) but I do understand it and I do know that some of my very closest friends feel the same. It's always an odd thing for me, talking about "what I got for Christmas" or "have you seen the latest boots/purse/etc." or "I just reached 10,000 hits on my blog". Just recently I've been replacing some of the blogs I follow. If the person has a picture of the Pope on their home page or a title that involves religion but, reading the previous 10 posts, I find nothing God-related, it has to go. The same with blogs that are followed by lots of people and/or display advertising. There are exceptions but mostly I find that those people write to their audience, what they know will sell, not what they've spent time struggling over; not what might alienate readers. I'm sure that the blog writers are well-meaning but I'm in a place where I have to use my time wisely. Other than keeping up with far-away friends, blogs are a way to give me things to ponder, usually things that relate to my faith. I want challenges; things to consider in regard to how I live my life. It's nice to hear about people's kids and their issues and I would never take away from their right to vent about day-to-day life (since I do this as well) but it's not something I choose to spend my time on right now. It's weird because I am sure, if I were chatting with that person one-on-one it would be fine. I guess I just use blogs for a different purpose. 

Ultimately, there are people in my life who are extroverts. I know they will never be my closest friends but that's OK. It helps to have balance in certain situations. I have children who are clearly extroverted and I will be interested to see how that plays out being raised by two introverts. Life is fun, non?

Sorry to go on and on. I told you I love that book!

Congratulations on making it to another weekend! We are so blessed, even in our trials :0) Speaking of which, I am officially half-way through with the crutches! Happy weekend, everyone.