Indications that All is Well

Tonight I ultra-cleaned our coffee maker. New filter (thanks Ma!). Polished shiny happy red exterior. Programed to grind and brew at 6 am. This was a joy for me to do. Babies all asleep, husband on his way home from being the "Bread Hero", dishes washed and put away. What is a contented woman to do? Give some love to a faithful servant--the coffee maker.

Looking back I see that this meticulous attention to inanimate, yet cherished for their simple usefulness, objects is a common sign that I am happy. The washing machine was the previous recipient of my attentions.

Eating well and exercising have been a habit for a long time--and I do them to a certain extent no matter how I feel. Prayer, and closeness to God are a basic fact of life mothering and homeschooling this brood--less of a discipline at this point--more of a necessity--like oxygen. But taking apart the vacuum cleaner, dusting it out, and using Q-tip to get at all the crevices?

I'm walking several inches above the ground, I am floating on the joy of a well fed family, well managed household, well educated children, and best of all--a REALLY CLEAN coffee maker!!!!

I don't Even Want to Know

" When you step on a baby snake, it opens it's mouth, and that means it can't breathe."
-5 year old in residence

Mothering is Living to the nth Degree. . .

This may be just a figment of my imagination. I'm probably totally wrong--but I need a bit of a boost today, and creating a little mythology around the importance of what I do seems just the ticket.

I am exhausted--and I can tell it's an emotional thing. I have been working fairly hard at being the adult in residence today. That's painful but not too hard when the toddler/pre-schooler set is rolling around like puppies. A bit more stressful when nursing a true, outdoor adventure induced physical trauma. But I am most pulled to the limit when the faculties an offspring is exercising involve arguing, emotions, and a critical attack on the examples of parenting and womanhood readily available for critique. . .that'd be me.

I have kept my cool. I have gently but firmly demanded respect. I have maintained verbal acceptance and support in the face of a maelstrom of emotion. I am ready to nap!

When things are quiet on the homefront I sometimes get caught-up in certain less than healthy political banter--esp on Facebook. I have been know to have some strong emotions myself when I feel marginalised, that my thoughts and opinions are dismissed out of hand. But it's all theoretical. I vote. I value civic participation. "Your wrong. I'm right. All those folks are evil." has very little impact on my life, and on the world.

So this very challenging morning has brought me back to the work that is worthy of my energy--that of teaching respect, communication, responsibility, and compassion. Teaching what should come first--in this house it's Jesus first, family second. But that has to be re-learned every day--sometimes every hour or minute!!

It is a good tired. It is Labor Day after all!

Mamma Bear Shows her Claws!

SO--we had one mile to go of the 10K. MC and I running together, feeling great--when CRACK! There is a peice of a car flying around and my little girl is grabbing her arm and crying out in pain.

Not Good. Everything is fine. She's a bit banged-up and bruised and will be sore tomorrow. She may favor off road races from now on though. . .

We didn't finish--but she got a consolation prize of 3 live lobsters. The man driving tried to move to the passanger seat and claim his wife was driving. He also started to yell at me because she was on the wrong side of the white line. I pointed out--not too nicely--that it's not illegal to run inside the white line, but it is illegal to hit a pedestrian wherever they are!! And besides, did you notice the traffic cops and the "watch for runners" and "SLOW" signs? I really wanted to tear his face off. . .

He has a suspended liscense. I told the Sherrif I definately want to pursue this since he is an unsafe driver and should not ever be behind the wheel again.

PHEW!! Now to follow up with my poor Mom who got the brunt of my anxiety when we got back to the race start. . .

Follow-Up--Amazing B-day Meat!!!

Pork Pomotion

My friend Kurt is getting into the smoked pulled pork business, and needs an excuse to have people taste his food. That excuse is John's 43rd birthday. If you live in Maine and know (or can get) my phone # you are invited to our house Saturday Aug 8 for pulled pork sandwiches, 4pm. BYO drinks and a side to share. I'll have cake and paper products. Remember--plenty of space for happy children to play!

Good Work