The other day the girls and I ate at the local Chinese buffet.  (This one has my favorites, Jalapeno Chicken and sauteed green beans… but I digress. ) The meal wouldn’t be complete without the girls going through the fortunes in the cookies and giving opinions on how well each fit its owner.  I don’t care for fortune cookies. They taste like cardboard baked in a little egg wash.  Still, the fortunes must be read and that day they were particularly good.

The girls wanted to know what mine said and so I read aloud to them, “He who hurries does not walk with dignity.”

Cricket said immediately in a matter of fact tone, “So that’s why Gandalf is always late!”

To which Pumpkin turned up her nose and opined, “Wizards are never late.  They always arrive precisely when they mean to.”

That’s what passes for witty repartee in a homeschooling family.

By four o’clock today the girls and I figured the day was a loss. The man of the house away and missed, some disappointing news, important mail that didn’t come, an orthodontic appointment for Sunshine, a dentist appointment to fill a cavity and add sealant for the Novocaine resistant Pumpkin, the rescue of a sun stricken baby possum, and a missed haircut due to the delay at the dentist, not to mention the house sorely unprepared for the move next week, had us all looking at each other and heaving a big sigh.   I had been eyeing the new Iron Man movie and decided that instead of going to work out at the Y, I’d see if we couldn’t redeem the day. 

I called the girls from the various and sundry areas of the house to which they had retreated and asked them if they wanted to go.  There was an unusually cautious response but a positive conclusion was reached with some encouragement and we set out for the theater.  Several hours later our moods were substantially improved.  The movie was a hit all the way around and we set off for the local pizza place amid post movie chatter since everyone was hungry and the massive quantities of Novocaine incapacitating the full half of Pumpkin’s face had finally worn off.  The pizza came and went… and as I sat waiting for Sunshine to finish her last piece I looked around at the animated faces of my four daughters caught up in the conversation.  Their faces were bathed in light as the day came to a close outside and time slowed as I caught a glimpse…

I’ve caught glimpses before you know, glimpses that take me back… kissing Pumpkin’s forehead goodnight I’ll occasionally get a whiff of that smell she had when she was a baby and closing my eyes see once again her tiny form making the mattress of her baby bed seem as big as a King size mattress.  Watching Cricket do her excited little hop reminds me of the hop Precious used to do when she was about two years old.  Little things that take me back to days gone by, precious memories of when my girls were small.  This glimpse was different…

This glimpse was of future days… days ahead when my daughters will no longer be teens and pre-teens, but beautiful young women in their own right.  Days when they are grown, with lives of their own, when we will get together and do things not just as mother and daughters… but as friends too, sitting around some future table making new memories or reminiscing over the old. I looked at their faces and saw, for just a moment, the beautiful women they will become and heard, for a brief second, the laughter of more mature voices and good times yet to be had echoing back through the years. 

As we drove home through the dark blues skies and greens hills of a late  spring dusk, country music escaped the windows and warm breezes whipped our hair around our faces.  Peeking in the rearview mirror, I spied smiling faces tipped up to the wind, eyes squinted against the strings of hair lashing their cheeks and thought how proud I am of them, how much fun we have together… We have had such an awful year, my husband and I agree that this has been the worst year in our entire marriage… not because of family strife, but due to outside events - many beyond our control.  Yet even now, at the end of such a year and with yet another move and many uncertainties ahead, the girls are able to find, to make, these shared moments of joy… They are happy… and my heart fills with joy at their happiness. 

I ignored the urge to prolong the drive home, to hold on to the moment just a little longer, and allowed this precious time to come to its natural close, buoyed by the knowledge that it would take its place in the hallowed halls of our family memories… and that here are many more to come… after all…

I caught a glimpse.

Riding back to the resort after dinner at one of the Disney restaurants (Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge for those who know and care), the following conversation was to be heard in our car… 

Sunshine: Well, I know where I want to put the furniture in my room.

Daddy/Husband: Which is…..?

Sunshine: Which is?

Daddy: Which is? (drawn out)

Sunshine: Which is WHAT? (frustrated)

Cricket: (stage whispering) Where you want to put the furniture in your room!

Sunshine: Oh! Well, I know where I want to put it.

I slap my head as dh drops his head into his hand and begins to laugh along with everyone else in the car.

Talking to that child is like trying to have a conversation about who’s on first.

These are hysterical… #4 is my favorite…

Horror Movie Safety Tips

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(Added: 28-Oct-2004 Rating: 6.78 Votes: 9 )

1. When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it’s really dead.

2. Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.

3. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has gone out.

4. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not know, shoot them immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. However, it will probably take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared. This also applies to kids who speak with somebody else’s voice.

5. As a general rule, don’t solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.

6. Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt. This would apply to any other house of the dead as well.

7. If appliances start operating by themselves, do not check for short-circuits; just get out.

8. Do not take ANYTHING from the dead.

9. If you find a town, which looks deserted, there’s probably a good reason for it. Don’t stop and look around.

10. Don’t fool with recombinant DNA technology unless you’re sure you know what you’re doing.

11. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, kill them immediately.

12. Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Sunnydale, Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, and Nilbog, anywhere in Texas where chainsaws are sold, the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in Maine.

13. If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to phone for help. If you think that it is strange you ran out of gas because you thought you had most of a tank, shoot yourself instead. You are going to die anyway, and most likely be eaten.

14. Beware of strangers bearing tools. For example: chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons, band saws, or any devices made from deceased companions.

15. If you find that your house is built upon a cemetery, now is the time to move in with the in-laws. This also applies to houses that had previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion, or had inhabitants who performed satanic practices.

16. Dress appropriately. When investigating a noise downstairs in an old house, women should not wear a flimsy negligee. And carry a flashlight, not a candle.

17. Do not go looking for witches in the Maryland countryside.

18. If you’re searching for something which caused a loud noise and find out that it’s just the cat, GET THE HELL OUT!

 Hat Tip to RNW at Postscripts who shared this little tidbit in her conversion story of all places…

We are sitting in Common Grounds listening to the guitarist… Cricket, Sunshine, and me.  Sunshine leaned over and said, “Mom, ya know what my worst nightmare is?”  “What?” I asked.  “Waking up and finding out that my whole life had been a dream…”

Sunshine is 9.

I bring you this story courtesy of a new friend, Heidi, from the homeschool forums.  She has given me permission to share it here so that I may have it for posterity.  Talk about a kindred spirit! I’m thinkin’ we need to get together for Indian… 

Once, a guy, obviously from India, called to sell me a mattress. After the fourth hang-up call in an hour, I picked up. I was eating lunch and talked with my mouth full. Here is how the conversation went:

“Hello, how are you today Mrs. _____?”
“I’m fine, I’m great!”
“I would like to tell you about a mattress that will change your …”
“First, let me tell you about the lunch I’m eating. I am having a sandwich of turkey on 8-grain bread with tomatoes and watercress. Have you eaten?”
“Uh, yes, but would…”
“Oh, what did you eat?”
“Uh, some vegetables.”
“Are you a vegetarian?”
“Yes, I…”
“What vegetables did you have?”
“Some potato, onion, carrot, and many spices.”
“Curry?”
“Yes, but…”
“Oh, I looove curry. Red or yellow?”
“Yellow.”
“You know, I can’t eat onions at all, they give me the worst heartburn.”
“I must go now…”
“Aaawww, that’s too bad, I wanted to know your recipe for your vegetables.”
“Maybe another time.”
“Oh!!! Give me your home phone number! I’ll call you when you get off of work! We can chat then.”
“No, thank you, ma’am, I must go now.”

My kids stared at me like I was out of my mind. Then they died laughing and kept telling the story to everyone who would listen.

The super funny part is that I started out being fecitious, but then I got into the conversation. When I finally thought of asking for his number, I almost wished he would tell me so I could have the recipe!! You should have heard his final sign off. He was desperate to get ME off the phone. Just imagine the Indian accent…HILARIOUS.
 

This past week was spring break for the local institutional schools (public, university, and so on).  We do not follow the institutional school schedule. We are homeschoolers! (What can I say, it’s one of the benefits…)

 Ok, I have to stop here because Pumpkin was reading over my shoulder and choked out “BENEFITS!?!?!?!?”  I confess, my head swivelled. “You don’t consider taking two weeks off in the middle of October when all the other public school kids are slaving away to go to Disney in the sweet season BENEFITS????”  She rapidly rethought her position and began bobbing her head in agreement while muttering something about ‘thought you meant all the extra school work we get done’… ungrateful wretch that she is… harumph.  So I turned to her and said that for penance she could go make me a fresh cup of tea.  I’m pleased to inform you all that she burst out laughing. *big grin* (As it was purely amusement at the audacity of my request, and not disrespectful, I consider that an indicator of successful parenting.)  Once her mirth was under control, she said she WOULD make me a fresh cuppa, because she loves me. Awwwwwwwwwww.

Where was I… So when my children heard it was spring break and all the public school kids were going to be out for the entire week they turned speculative gleams mom-ward.  It was MY turn to burst into laughter.  I am so not that easy. After informing them that we would certainly not be taking off an entire week thankyouverymuch, I granted that we might take a day off as nice weather was in the forecast. They thought this a lovely concession and went away happy discussing which day they would choose to take off. As if they would get a choice. HA.

Tuesday was lovely so we took the afternoon off (I had intended to do so provided we schooled in the morning and had nice weather) and all day Wednesday.  Both days were the peak weather for the week and by far the best weather we’ve seen since last fall.  Warm enough that the girls were out in shorts and bare feet, playing in the grass and the stream that runs through our back yard.  By Wednesday afternoon, they had used up a good bit of that spring fever and settled a bit. 

My girls aren’t your average girls, they aren’t the type who only think of boys and make-up and clothes. When they get out, they ride bikes, swing on a rope, play dart guns or soccer with the boys down the street, shoot bb or pellet guns/bows and arrows, try to get a thrown knife to stick every time, track animals in the woods and by the stream (for fun, we don’t kill them) etc… however the usual result of being shoo’d out of doors is that they end up reading books on a blanket or beach towel in the sun instead of inside. The cats joined them for some love and provided the occasional break from the books.

Thursday saw the return of cold weather. Despite the tentative shoots put up by bulbs, new growth on trees, etc, spring is still some weeks away.  It was back to the grindstone for us as well.  Lessons done while the weather is dreary mean lighter days when the sun beckons and warm breezes blow. Still, even though it wasn’t REALLY spring, it was a blessing and a nice break with hints of the glory to come.

China. Does. Not. Like. Me. *big, big, big grin* Blocked on BOTH my blogs… Suh-weet.

The princes have had a leetle fun with their grandmere… Gotta love it!  Someone give the Queen’s secretary some knickers from the 21st century… that man takes his job WAY too seriously!