Mom & Pop Home School

A reasonable facsimile of an actual conversation from this afternoon that took place as I walked out of the door from the basement, across the family room where both of my children and one of Sunshine’s friends were playing, and to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the bedrooms:

Cricket: “Mom, I trained my new beluga whale on Zoo Tychoon how to do a spy jump!”

Sunshine (simultaneously): “Mom, I fed Jiggle [the guinea pig] a carrot!”

Friend (simultaneously): “I got to pet your guinea pig!”

Me: “Oh, you did?”

Cricket: “Yeah, and now I’m teaching him another trick!”

Sunshine (simultaneously): “Uh huh, she LIKES carrots! I’m going to feed her ANOTHER ONE.”

Friend (simultaneousy): “Yes, she’s VERY soft! Petting animals is FUN!”

Me: “That’s great! I bet you’re really good at that.”

Cricket (beaming): “I am. I’m training it to do a whole PROGRAM. You can watch it when I’m done.”

Sunshine (beaming simultaneously): “Yep, I like taking care of Jiggle.”

Friend (also beaming simultaneously): “Yeah, I pet my dog a lot at home!”

Me: “Ok, well, I’m going up to work on the laundry. Have fun!”

Cricket: “Okay, Mom, I’ll call you when the beluga program is ready.”

Sunshine: “Okay, Mom.”

Friend: “‘Kay. We’re playing with the guinea pig.”

————

Now. Two questions:

1 - How’s THAT for multitasking. Three simultaneous conversations, thankyouverymuchsir! Sometimes I amaze even myself.

2 - How is it than none of the three kids seemed to have even the slightest inkling that anybody else was talking at the same time? How come they didn’t wonder who I was responding to?

Yes indeedy, I have officially survived another year of what I like to think of as “life”.

That being the case, I suppose today is a day for reflecting back on my life, pondering where I’ve come from (do you realize that not only could I not walk or talk on this day thirty-six years ago, I couldn’t even use the toilet?! Eeeew!), and setting goals for my future. ‘Tis true that I’ve come a long way, baby, and all that, since those long-forgotten days of yore when I was the only girl baby in the hospital nursery, and my poor mother was there all alone in a foreign land (Canada), hundreds and hundreds of miles from her family, waiting for my father to return from the tundra fields of an arctic island where he was off doing some scientisty thing or other (he did bring her back some nice musk ox wool, which she later knitted into a soft–yet slightly itchy–scarf for yours truly (also, did I mention that this was my fault because I stalled on the whole birth thing for weeks after my due date until his trip could NOT be put off anymore?)). And now, I’m all grown up. Can you believe it? And I think there may be hope for me yet. I find that as the years go by I do and say a slightly smaller percentage of really dumb things. Perhaps in a few years (read “centuries”) I may smooth the rough edges off my personal dopeyness to the point where I might even be considered to harbor some small modicum of something that, in a pinch, might pass for wisdom–but don’t hold your breath. On the other hand, as I age, I also find myself feeling less inhibited about engaging in a little conspicuous foolishness, just for fun. Is this a precursor to senility, do you think? Whether it is or no, it does add a certain pizzazz to life–not to mention embarrases friends, neighbors, siblings, and offspring alike–mwaaa-haaa-haaa-haaaaaaaa!!!! Pop just rolls his eyes and puts up with me. You just can’t help but love a guy who puts up with you, eh?

At any rate, I had a lovely day. After intending to sleep in I woke at an unusually early hour (at least compared to my “usual” recent lackadaisical loafing in the mornings–I’m using the excuse that I need to recover from a very stressful year that left me ill and exhausted, and it must be a good excuse, because I am feeling MUCH better lately). After lying languidly in bed for a while marveling at the inexplicable absence of early morning swarms of children (no, I haven’t yet figured out how two children can “swarm”, so you’ll just have to take my word for it), I decided it would be a good time for a nice leisurly soak in the bathtub.

And it would have been too, if Sunshine hadn’t (more…)

They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our FREEDOM!!!!

http://homeschoolcafe.blogspot.com/2007/07/carnival-of-homeschooling-independence.html