Six years ago. The street was slippery with rain. As my car slowly climbed the hill, the mist grew thicker and thicker until I could hardly see the lines on the road. And then, out of the fog, yellow-gold leaves began to fall onto my windshield. Leaf after leaf fluttered down, startlingly beautiful on an … Continue reading Leaves in the Mist: Ordinary Extraordinary Expressions of a Savior’s Love
The dryer buzzes loud in the morning silence with another load to be folded. There are piles of already-folded laundry on the living room floor next to bags that have yet to be unpacked from a weekend away. Our school day is starting soon and the girls should have been awake and ready long before … Continue reading You are not enough … and that’s okay.
The first day of autumn. The milkweed is beginning to puff with seeds. It won’t be long now before they brazenly burst, and the breeze will carry wisps of white bearing kernels of life. Everywhere, the asters are blooming boldly—purple New England and white heath. There’s chicory, too, first brought by the early settlers as … Continue reading Goldenrod Days: New Seasons and Letting Go
Week three. I've already threatened to send the kids to school. More than once. September is a hard month. It's not just September. Homeschooling is a hard gig. It is by far the hardest thing I've ever done and will probably be the hardest thing I'll ever do. It's messy. Keeping up with the general tidying, … Continue reading Three Things to Remember When Homeschooling is Hard
The world is golden-washed in early evening sunlight. A gull wheels low, brown and speckled—a juvenile. We make our way down a paved path that winds its way through a profusion of flowers along the Lake Ontario shoreline. Five, huge turkey vultures swoop almost close enough to touch. We spot them later, feasting on fish … Continue reading Find Me Faithful
Our feet are noiseless on a trail of packed dust that winds along a tree-covered ridge. We are in Niagara wine country, and the chatter of our three little girls is punctuated by the sounds of bird bangers in the valley below—propane-fired cannons used to ward off hungry avians. Overhead, the constant whirr of sight-seeing … Continue reading This Week in the Woods: Late Summer Wanderings and Back-to-School Ponderings
The mid-summer heat is almost unbearable, yet I hesitate to turn on the air conditioning. Fans hum in unison with cicada songs drifting through open windows. I've just come in from inspecting the gardens, which are in a sad state. Despite my best efforts, most of the vegetables have been dug up by a marauding … Continue reading Each Day Special: Finding the Sacred in the Common
The house is quiet but for the ticking of the simple, blue-rimmed clock on the wall. Blue because that's my favourite colour. I love everything about this place, from the beautiful wood bookshelf that once haphazardly adorned the front curb of a rundown shop in the roughest area of town—the shop owner assured us it … Continue reading Some thoughts on the day before my birthday…
At the very end of elementary school, I discovered I could run. It shocked everyone, myself most of all. You see, I was painfully awkward. I was always the last to be picked when we divided into teams in gym class. I liked playing sports about as much as I like eating fried liver. Which is … Continue reading The Day I Ran and What I Learned (The Secret to Winning at Motherhood and Life)
I can hardly believe it. We're finishing up our third year. Three years of this crazy experiment that was only supposed to last for one. Three years of doing the most amazing—the most challenging—thing I have ever done in my life. Three years of homeschooling. Officially, anyway. Some days crawl by. And yet the weeks … Continue reading Reflections on Three Years of Homeschooling and Togetherness
