We Took It Outside...

The Young Pup

The Awful, Never-Ending, Layer-Upon-Layer of Leaves

The Serious Scholar

The Artists In Deep Concentration

Today was a rough day. Perhaps it was the time-change ... Perhaps it was yet another whirlwind weekend ... Whatever the reason, by 11 am I had had enough. Attitudes were poor (mine included), and the thought of the long hours that stretched before us until bedtime just was too overwhelming to bear. So, we packed up our sketch books and the video camera and headed outside. We spread an old comforter across the lawn and the kids settled in to complete their assignment - pick a vista, snap a picture of it, and then sketch it. I mowed the leaves (that's right, I mowed them) as they rather contently sketched the house, the rock beds, and the mailbox. They did a very good job. My serious student was very precise with her architecturally detailed drawing of the house. My Mark Kistler fan added cartoon characters to his rock bed, and gave the house a fun-house feel. My Little Bear did such a good job with her drawing - I am always surprised by the effort she puts into her work, because I think of her as so young still. It was wonderful for Rocky to be out of doors, so he could race about like the young pup that he is. We even had some time for PE - football practice. After a few hours, we took a break to get some food and then the kids spent a few more hours outside. We completed our academic work in the evening. Non-traditional but time well-spent. It was a glorious fall day, cool but not cold, brisk, not too many bugs to spoil the air. The children really enjoyed it, it helped break the hold the bad mood of the am had on us, and I got some yard work done.

I think the bad moods and poor attitudes are partially my fault. I have committed an egregious parenting error - I have felt sorry for my children. I feel sorry for them for having to go through the emotional turmoil of this situation with Emma, and I feel sorry for them that I have to leave them so often and disrupt our normal way of life. But pity never did a body good. So I need to just stop. I need to reinstitute my high expectations for my children. Chores need to be done again with efficiency and regularity. School requires effort, concentration, and time. And life does not have to be fun. It is nice when it is. Today it was. Tomorrow? We'll see.