Monthly Archives: August 2007

We started ’school’ this week, and so far it’s going really well!  Faith has been doing a tremendous amount of work, with a delightful attitude, in spite of a pretty nasty cough that gets in her way. (Seems she doesn’t do well with chlorine. . .)  The first day did take us a bit longer than usual, but that was okay, because we had the whole day to ourselves, since Alex was at Dayspring all day.  The last couple of days have been significantly shorter, so we both have more free time in the afternoons.  That’s really nice since this is a short week, due to us having to take Friday off to move Kendall to Belmont.

I mentioned that Alex had his first job interview last week.  It went well, apparently, because they asked him to come back for a 2nd interview.  So, yesterday we go back to Chick-fil-A and he goes in for round two.  I figured it was going well, because he was in there nearly 40 minutes.  Next thing I know, he comes out grinning and waving a Policies and Procedures manual at me.  How awesome!  There are some restrictions, since he is only 14. By this time next month, he’ll be 15 and DRIVING!!!  He can only work during traditional non-school hours, and he can only work about 18 hours a week.  But that will work out really well, considering he does have schoolwork to do, and he has about 9 hours a week of play practice, and every other week he meets with his Drama Group, and he also has Squires meetings once a month.  The boy is busy!  And I am sooo proud of him.  He is growing up so fast.

Tonight, Kendall has invited me to join him at the new ‘hot spot’ in town:  The Hookah House.  I’ve never been to a Hookah House, but I have always been fascinated by that smoking caterpillar in Lewis Carroll’s book!  This was supposed to be a Mother/Son night out on the town, a last ‘Hurrah!’ before he goes off to college.  I had envisioned some really nice, quiet, intimate evening of meaningful conversation and exchange of thoughts and feelings.  Silly me.  Turns out, I am going to be having a nice, quiet, intimate evening with Kendall and 400 of his closest friends!  (Okay, more like 6 or 7) But I can’t really complain, since they way it has been communicated to me is that when they found out I was going to be at the Hookah House, they all wanted to come along, because they enjoy my company so much.  Hmmmm. . . . could be a con job, but I can stand the flattery. At any rate, it should be an enjoyable evening.  And to that end, I’m off to take a shower!

Okay, I have a lot of friends who are "Liberals".  And I love them, although I quite often have no comprehension of WHY they believe the things they do, politically speaking. It simply doesn’t make sense to me.  So, a friend sent me an email explaining WHAT to believe, if not exactly WHY.  Thought I’d share.

WAYS TO BE A GOOD LIBERAL

1.  You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2.  You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3.  You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Iran or Chinese and North Korean Communists.

4.  You have to believe that there was no art before federal funding.

5.  You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical changes in the earth’s climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUVs.

6.  You have to believe that gender roles are artificial, but being homosexual is natural.

7.  You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

8.  You have to believe that the same teacher who can’t teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.  (Note:  And if they can’t read, HOW are they being taught about sex???!!!)

9.  You have to believe that hunters don’t care about nature, but PETA activists do.

10.  You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11.  You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make "The Passion of the Christ" for financial gain only.

12.  You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

13.  You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

14.  You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Edison.

15.  You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

16.  You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been tried is because the right people haven’t been in charge.

17.  You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag queens and transvestites should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

18.  You have to believe that this message is part of a vast, right-wing conspiracy.

I have spent the last two weeks cleaning, rearranging, organizing and planning. I sat down with my appointment book and figured out when I would need to start this school year so we could take the entire month of December off for Christmas, and still be done by the end of May. What I came up with is that we need to start school next week! So, my course is set, and I have been carefully navigating my way there.

First, we cleaned out the basement. After the fire, I really wasn’t sure what I still had and didn’t have, as far as curriculum goes. Turns out, I actually have quite a few books left, all things considered. So, I got those all organized according to grade level. Then, thanks to my wonderful husband who finished the built-in bookshelves in our sitting room, I was able to move a lot of books upstairs! I still have several empty shelves, but being a true bibliophile, I’m sure that won’t last long, LOL! Then, I listed a lot of the curriculum that I don’t need on my local homeschool support group email list. So far, I’ve sold maybe a fourth of what I’d like to unload. But, it’s off my shelves and money in my pocket, so I’m happy.

Next, I realized that I needed to finish moving in. Let me explain: we actually moved in last August, but things were really chaotic, and we were all in a rush to just get IN, so a lot of things got stacked here and there, and I haven’t really gotten back to them since. So, over the last couple of weeks, I have organized and sorted all of our craft supplies, put them in totes, and labeled them! (Why do I have a ziploc bag full of red feathers???) Then I started going through pictures! Praise be to God that most of my pictures survived the fire!!!! So, I took the plunge this afternoon and went out and bought a bunch of new frames, put the pictures in them and Mom and I hung them on the wall upstairs in the hallway. I had a couple of pictures that still looked good, even after the fire, but were stuck to the glass. So, I simply put the old glass, picture and all, in the new frames. So I have a hallway full of lovely pictures now, and it really is amazing how much of a difference that makes. It really does feel more like “home”.

I separated all of Alex and Faith’s school books and put them on their own special shelves, and then read through the Teacher’s Manuals to make sure I have a general idea of what we need to cover and what supplies I need to have on hand the first week. Alex will be taking a lot of his classes through a local co-op called Dayspring Tutorials, but we will be doing some of his schoolwork here at home. I am especially looking forward to our History studies, which will center around an amazing text entitled “Christ The King: Lord of History”. Faith and I will be using Catholic Heritage Curricula again. It is a great curriculum, with a lot of really neat activities. We will also be using a spelling program called Spelling Power, which I used somewhat with the boys.

And of course, I have been getting ready to move Kendall to Belmont Abbey College. Next week! I can’t believe the time is already here. It honestly seems like just yesterday that he was a little guy just learning to read. But now he’s all grown up, with a beard and a brand new car, and he’s ready for the next stage of his life. I have been grieving in small doses, and at the same time celebrating. I am glad for the man he is, and the man he is becoming. He loves God with all his heart, and he is committed to always doing what he believes is the right and best thing. Gaylon and I are blessed beyond all imagining to have such a wonderful son.

And speaking of wonderful sons: Alex had his very first job interview today! He interviewed for a job at Chick-fil-A, and has another interview scheduled for next week! He looked so professional and confident as he walked in there! I knew he was nervous, and he asked me a lot of questions about what to say and how to respond before he went in, but he went in with confidence and a good, hopeful attitude. I pray he gets the job. . . I think he will really enjoy it, and I know he’ll do well at whatever he chooses to do.

Tomorrow (Friday) he is going with a young seminarian friend of ours, Noah Carter, to the ‘Day of Discernment’ sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. Many young men will be there, praying about what God has planned for their lives, focusing particularly on vocations and the priesthood. Our wonderful Bishop, Bishop Jugis, will be there, as well. Alex is very excited about this opportunity.

Play practice continues. They meet three times a week, and the performances are scheduled for the end of September. Alex is LOVING being Hook. And, if I do say so myself, he is really good! I can’t help but notice that all the girls crowd around him during break time, and he is really eating that up! Faith is glad that she’s in the play, but she is not as into it as Alex. She only has about three lines, so that’s good, because then she’s not so nervous. But I think she will be just as happy when it’s over.

Faith and I have just joined the “Mother Teresa Club” at our Parish. This is a group that meets once a month to do service projects for various groups in our community. We will be serving lunch one month for the Habitat For Humanity work crew, working at the Manna Food Bank one month, Christmas shopping for the Angel Tree, helping out at the local animal shelter and gift-wrapping boxes for the St. Vincent de Paul Society during Thanksgiving. We are both really looking forward to the experience.

So, things are moving right along, and we should be completely ready to start school next Monday. I know I’m ready and excited, and the kids are too. And if ANYONE dares to tell me that Homeschooled kids don’t get any socialization, when I quit laughing, I’m going to punch them! Our phone rings off the hook all day long for Faith and Alex. Alex and Kendall’s cell phones ring constantly. I have to have an appointment book just to keep track of THEIR schedules! LOL

One last thing: my cousin, Branden, has a delightful new wife who has just started blogging! Check out her new blog at: www.miltnotmilk.blogspot.com .