I began this week with a thought, “I don’t have anything to
write about.” It was Monday. We just finished up a rainy, but acceptable spring break. I mean, yes, I have quite a few topics/stories planned for the
blog over the next few months, but those will be serious and emotionally
draining to write (which means they’ll be great to read). So I decided the
Monday after Spring Break should not be a day to delve into anything serious or
emotionally draining.
We (me, Zane and Ramz) slept in a teensy bit, then finished school by noon when something miraculous
occured. It was something I hadn’t experienced in so long. It took me a minute
to wrap my mind around what was happening, and then I called the kids near the
window. I said, “Look little guys! This is called SUNSHINE. Do you remember
when you were younger back in the year 2014 and it used to shine?” We were
overjoyed to say the least. So we went out INTO IT. It felt fantastic on our
skin and we couldn’t get enough…that’s a lie. Ramzee quickly got enough and
claimed to “need” the sprinkler to cool off. We set up sprinkler-shop on the
trampoline for the 2 of them…then momma went all pioneer on ‘em.
Yep, I got serious about tidyin’ up the homestead. Ole Jus
came home for lunch and caught me restacking our firewood and cleaning off the
front porch. He asked me, “What are you doing?” I couldn’t help myself. It’s
like I was unconsciously channeling Little House on the Prairie, “I’m readyin’
our firewood stock for a long hard winter, Paw.” He was more confused than
amused by my reply.
Then I broke some small limbs WITH MY KNEE. Just like the
pioneers woulda! I stacked those all around a small stump we need to burn,
which isn’t quite as easy as it sounds. Apparently those small sticks and stump
aren’t real hospitable to fire after weeks of torrential downpours.
After that I mowed. I considered sharing how I sweated a lot
and how hard it was to mow our yard because…huge, and then I was gonna leave
out the part where I used a zero-turn John Deere riding mower to do so because I
wanted to seem like an authentic pioneer lady. But then I realized that pioneer
women are smart, and no respectable pioneer lady would pass up an opportunity
to ride a zero-turn John Deere riding lawn mower. Besides, I had cows to milk,
butter to churn and sheep to shear before sundown.
As a bonus, during my mowing extravaganza the kids had gone
from the trampoline to the muddy stream that had accumulated since their sprinkler
fun had begun. I thought about how cute they were playing together in the mud,
but not really because I thought of how dirty their clothes and hair and bodies
would be. Those thoughts were quickly fleeting when I noticed they had built a
dam with mud and made a huge puddle they were sitting in together. Why was I
pleased with this scene? Hello, science! And I had full intentions of
discussing dams and all they entail over dinner, but I didn’t. My pioneer body
had worn out my homeschool teacher brain by then I suppose.
All in all it was a great Monday. As I drove the lawn mower and
sweated I thought how awesome it was that we were doing Saturday on Monday. That’s one of the very best parts of homeschooling…FROM THIS SIDE OF THIRTY.
Labels: Homeschool, Ranchlife
