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Sep. 12, 2006
The Marathon
There was a rumor going around my homeschoolers group that most of our HS mothers took their little ones to McD's on Tuesday afternoons at 1pm. You know, kind of a standing event. Let the kiddies run around for an hour and socialize with other HSed kids. I decided the weather was cool enough today to attempt the trip out there. We packed lunch, took along our umbrellas, and set off for the 2.32 mile away destination. Remember, dear friends and visitors, we don't have a car - and last time we tried SMART bus, we were bitterly disappointed. So we walked it. We stopped off at a park en route, ate lunch, and continued on towards McD's.
When we got there, there were many kiddies running around, but none of them were HSed, and most of 'em were under 5. Not that it matters to Daughter - play friends are play friends. She ran around like a fiend, playing with all the other kids in the tubes. I overheard her being nice TWO times!! The first time, she told a girl, "I'm playing hide and seek with someone else right now, wanna join?" I totally beamed with pride, thinking "I taught her that!" and then, "I can't believe she actually APPLIED it!" Then, as if I weren't impressed enough with her just then, the game changed. There were teams. It was "her team" against "their team." When another kid dropped into the middle of this, the "other team" rejected her, and Daughter invited her to join HER team!! All on her own!
Socialization? I got your socialization RIGHT THERE!
After returning home, and resting a bit (Daughter had a second PB&J) Daughter wanted to visit her friend "Marie." Marie lives an additional half mile away. I looked at my daughter like she was crazy! After a 4.64 MILE round trip, she wants to take an additional mile?! She BEGGED me to go. I figured, "sure, what the heck," and we did it. Total for the day: an astounding 5.64 miles! That goes to show me that she CAN take more of those long walks, as long as there's a playdate reward at the end of it, LOL!
Tomorrow, my brother comes over for his last visit before moving to FL on Friday. Daughter is still having potty difficulties, which I have decided to blame on the emotional upset this seperation is causing. Note I did not say "I blame Brother." I don't blame him, nor hold him responsible for her upsets. He's leaving to better his own situation, so more power to him! But the sisterly part of me wants to make him stay here so Daughter and I don't feel so heartsick. I'm totally torn. I want him to be happy, but I don't want to feel bad so he can be happy. Does that make sense?
So anyhow, between the walking, the visiting, reading, and all the other things a SAHM does, I managed to 'detail scrub' the bathroom and kitchen, and do everything shy of shampooing the carpets in the family room. I'm exhausted! I should have taken it a little slower today - I'm afraid I'll be too tired tomorrow to spend any quality time with Brother!
Another thing I want to catalogue here was our 9/11 tribute. We watched the replay of the broadcasts from 9/11, as the events unfolded, we also watched the memorial services, we talked a bit about those bad men, we talked a lot about the heroes who would rather crash the plane fighting the bad men, then allow the bad guys to use them to kill other American citizens. We watched as much as we possibly could, spent the whole day steeping in our country's recent history, talking about the war against terrorism, etc. It was a pretty heavy day, explaining that people were putting up the American Flag as a tribute to victims and heroes, and how much safer our country is now because of this bad event. (I didn't know how true that was, but with no terror attacks in 5 years, it seems safe enough to me!)
I can't wait to get past dinos and move into catalogued histories, I want to be able to cover European History, Asian History, and move forward in time as efficiently as possible. I don't expect her to grasp the history dates, but I want her to know where humanity has been, where we're going, mistakes we've made, lessons we've learned. I want to encourage her to learn ANY foreign language she wants, and I want to have her learn about different kinds of art.
What we learned today: We can do over 5 miles a day. She's socialized. Walking in the rain isn't that bad with an umbrella.
What we learned on 9/11: our history is precious. Never forget the events of that day, that was a 'defining moment' for our country, and fundamentally changed who we are as a country.
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