'Twas the Fortnight Before
The Fortnight Before. August, 2008.
I took this picture only to see if the camera card was working. I almost trashed the photo, but in looking at it now, I can hear it speaking volumes.
It's dark, which means it's night. Probably late, after the kids are in bed: the house is clearly not "lit up like a Christmas tree!"
The glow of the lamplight gleams, reflected, from the darkened screen of my laptop computer. The computer seems somewhat precariously perched where it is, which means that it is tethered to the printer, and even that seems to be at rest.
The dining room table sits in silence, muffled by the stacks of books and papers, despite the couple of coffee mugs in their midst. Clearly, the moment of rest in this picture is interrupting something much larger.
You can probably guess what sort of thing that might be. On the table sits a copy of a republished historical narrative, accompanied by a digital collection of primary source material from ancient history. There's the spreadsheet print-out of key events and developments in ancient Rome, and a Bible, in which is found our only hope of understanding why the nations rage.
These are just a few of the books I juggle for just this one part of our year's course of study. As so many other worthy women know, it takes a lot of preparation to chart it all out, and that, in case you hadn't perceived it by now, is precisely what I interrupted to take this picture.
This year I laid out as much of each child's full 36 weeks as I could. It was a pretty big undertaking, and I'm afraid I still have to revisit it with a vengeance when we transition out of our ancient Rome studies and into our medieval ones.
But for now I consider my task accomplished, and now the tables have been turned: as I write, our Greek syllabary, the sole lesson book on the dining room table, is interrupting the peace which otherwise rests in our quiet home tonight.
Happy Labor Day.
Psalm 127:
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
posted on Monday, August 25
Comments
• Tuesday, August 26
Take heart!
Posted by PreschoolersandPeace
Stay focused! Pray hard! Eat chocolate!
I'm right there with you... stacks and stacks of books, binders, old papers that need sorting and tossing...
