A Little Lull

Well, the bus pass is done so it is back to going only places our feet can carry us. Today that was the library and to play tennis where a group of senior citizens beat us to the courts. By the afternoon is was drizzly so we haven't done much of anything. Sometimes that is nice. Sometimes it just grows old. Too much together time and not enough to do has me feeling "blah"!

I had been trying to get the kids into school and we found out the other day that none of our choices had room. Time to hunker down and get to business with home schooling. I have been doing work with them here and there. I resorted to workbook pages out of desperation for activities at the bed and breakfast when we first arrived. The idea of going full force, however, has been stressing me out. Now I realize why.

I got one of two responses when I told friends and family about considering home school- "Better you than me!" or "Oh, that will be easy for you because you were a teacher." I guess reality lies somewhere in between. I realized recently that being a teacher actually makes it more difficult. I was thinking about short term and long term goals, thematic units and lesson plans with lots of song and dance like I would do in my own classroom. I mean, if I went to that much trouble for mere strangers, to what lengths should I go for my own children? I realize this is the perfectionist in me coming out to stop me in my tracks. Who can even start when the bar is so high? I do the same thing with house cleaning, Christmas shopping, and even writing this blog. The other day I found a math workbook for Anne at the bookstore. I bought it and used this as a jumping off point. I will keep the goals short and sweet. Math and reading everyday we are at home with a project like a book report thrown in once or twice for good measure. Just dive in and do it!

I applied that to another project I have been putting off - coloring my hair. I would peruse the hair color aisles, every chance I got. Oh the choices- brand, color. What's a girl to do? Come up with a lame excuse why she couldn't commit, that's what! Finally, I realized how ridiculous this was. I mean, I decided to move to another country in less time than it took me to pick out a hair color! I grabbed a color and didn't look back. I am pleased with the results but even happier that I was able to just get it done!

This may be a little lull but there are lots of fun things on the horizon. Mark will be in London Monday and Tuesday for meetings. When he returns we are preparing for our trip to Austria. We leave next Thursday to visit Vienna and Salzburg. On the ride home, we will pick up Mark's mom in London. We are SO excited for her visit.

Time is flying by. Guess that's good and bad. I am trying to live in the moment and be happy where I am. Just be. That is always a challenge.

Dina