Took a large bright colored pill last night which sent my poor coughing body finally into a whole night of sleep. What are those pills? Some kind of cold medicine, green at night, orange in the day. Nothing weird, I assure you. Hopefully my lungs will stay in my body today and I’ll be able to speak out loud. Matt seemed surprised, when he came in at the end of the afternoon, and found me under a blanket looking like death, that I had actually started school. So tired of Not Starting, I told him, that I just went for it. And I’m glad I did. We like school. Well, it’s not school. We like learning. Oh whatever, someone needs to come up with a new name for whatever it is we do. Kind of like Instigerating Knowledge.
{pretty}
This has nothing to do I with my first day of school, but it’s the latest picture of my childhood dwelling. My parents got to visit it in August and I’m so relieved to see it looking so well. My room was the round one front, the square one is the kitchen. When people ask me why I homeschool I tell them, in a hushed and dretful tone, “I had to leave this wonderful house and go to Boarding School.” And like all of humanity, I swing wildly the other way from wherever it was that I started. Probably my children will not homeschool their children, they will send them to school but their their children will send my great grand children to boarding school and then my great great great grandchildren will be homeschooled. Oh never mind. The house is so pretty and in the bath there are brass candleholders and a Botticelli.
{happy}
Our first day went really well. Everyone was interested and happy. Don’t worry, I know that in a week all the whining and fighting and crying will resume, but for a first day, with no ability to speak and no margin of patience, I was euphoric by the end.
Gladys, doing a page of sums.
Alouicious remembering how on earth the countries of North Africa and the Middle East fit together.
Romulus having a go at some math online and not needing help, miraculously, as he did every single moment last year.
Elphine, Faker, when she saw me taking pictures she arranged herself and whipped out a book that she had Not been reading. She spent more time arrangering her desk than anything else all day.
Baby Elspeth…I guess it’s time to drop the Baby…colored all day as if she had never colored before. I’d forgotten about little girls and coloring.
Marigold, to my relief and joy, was more tuned in than I expected. She traced letters and handled her pencil very well. I need to make up a song for her name which is ridiculously long. What were we thinking?
The Dog. Wish he would pull a cart or bring us slippers or something. It’s evil of him to sleep so soundly when we are working so hard.
{funny}
You wouldn’t have thought this was funny if you’d been here and heard hushed angry whispering. “Try not to look so angry!” I waved my arms. “Marigold, you are right in front of Gladys, Move Over!” That kind of thing.
{real}
This, my friends, is a real and true first A produced by Baby Elspeth (gosh, so hard to actually drop the Baby). Feel extremely dubious about the angry black Ax pointing straight at the Apple. Know they both start, and this may shock you, with the letter A, but in such a violent time, I might have had the Ax pointing the other way.
Preventing Grace
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