Rethinking, Regrouping, Moving Forward

I must say that today went NOTHING like I'd planned, expected, thought, imagined, etc., etc.  Well, the very beginning did.

We got up, the kids had breakfast as I whipped around the house lining things up at the door.  Today was another gathering with our homeschool group.  Another mother and I spent time planning and preparing a very hands-on workshop about goal setting and planning.  Needless to say, we both spend a good amount of time (into the wee hours of the night) reading, prepping, creating for this workshop.

After making sure faces were washed and teeth brushed, all necessary items in the car.  We left the house.  I ran two important errands before making my way in the direction of the Rec Center.  As I exited the highway, I noticed that my left blinker wasn't working and scanned the dash board to see if there was any indication as to why.  Well, it was a good thing that I did for I noticed that my thermostat was rising and moving quickly up to HIGH!!  I immediately pulled into a gas station, popped the trunk and called my husband.

Photo credit

Before he answered a Police Officer pulled up and got out to help! (Yeah, I was pretty shocked by that, as officers here don't often do that sort of thing.)  I got water in the tank for the radiator and then pulled over out of the way of actual customers to give my car time to cool off.

I was proud of myself for not losing it.  For remaining calm, for speaking gently to the children.  We turned up the story on tape they were listening to and sat.  Since I'd left in plenty of time, we had time to let things cool off.  After about 20 minutes, I headed out, maybe 5 miles away from the center.  I didn't get a mile down the road before steam was billowing out from under the hood.  I saw an Auto Zone up ahead and pulled into their lot.

This time, I was a bit more frustrated, but alas, I have some good friends.  I called one of them (the one who was doing the workshop with me) to let her know what was up and she said she'd come get me in about 10 minutes.  Again, no problem.  I alerted my husband as to what has happened and he said he get over there within a few hours to take care of the car.  So, I let go of the stress about the car and waited for our pick up.

As I waited I thought about how I'd planned to be on time and set things up.  How I was disappointed about that fact but that this could just be another example of what I was already planning to share with the parents in our group--how I don't have it all together, how I've got to adjust and readjust as things happen, how I've got to learn how to be flexible and go with the flow.  Yeah, I was frustrated, but perhaps this was just another way of sharing authentically about how to keep things in a good place even when they seem like their going South fast!!

[Let me just insert, right here, that we've been without both our cars for just under 3 weeks.  We'd loaned out one of them and it has been falling apart, slowly, ever since we've gotten it back.  What keeps coming to mind is, "No good deed goes unpunished!" smh.  We've spent this time fixing one thing and then another.]

Well, time kept moving and I could see that I would be late.  My friend sent her husband to get us and he quickly moved our things from our car to his van and we were headed for the Rec Center.  As we chit chatted, I was imagining how things had started and that although I was a bit late, I could jump right in once we got there.  My friend called as we were about 3 minutes away to ask if anyone had called or texted me about not coming.  I said no and asked why.  She proceeded to tell me that NO ONE WAS THERE!

Really??!!  No, that can't be true.  "What time is it?" I asked.  It was forty-five minutes after our start time and only one person had shown up??? No one else had called?  We were both really shocked.  As I went through my phone I did get a text from a member saying she didn't think she would be able to come.  We then went online to check and see if we'd missed anyone's message to us. Nothing was online.

We vented a bit about it and then went in and proceeded with our meeting with only one participant.  (We modified things, of course.)  Our children were about as disappointed as we were, but as we're learning (again) from our children, we regrouped and kept it moving.  By the end of our time we were laughing and sharing and feeling really good about the time spent together.

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Life happens.  No matter how we've planned it or imagined it.  No matter how well things have been laid out or how much time you've given to prepping.  Things come up that affect how your day will go.  That fact need not push us over the edge or send us crazy!

Today has given me a good bit to think about.  I've rethought a few things about planning, with regards to our homeschool group.  I've talked about how best we can engage the members in the group.  But at the end of the day, I choose not to give too much time to the negative spots, instead I'm going to regroup and move forward!

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I've seen today just how blessed I am.

• Blessed to have had my blinker go out so I would notice the car overheating (and stop so I wouldn't cause more damage!).
• Blessed to have had the help of a stranger in locating exactly where I needed to put the fluid (this car is set up differently then the one I normally drive).
• Blessed that I know how to pray and mediate and allow myself to be calm when things should be frustrating.
• Blessed to have a very good friend who I can call to come get me and my kids when we're on the side of the road (ok, I'm being dramatic here. lol).
• Blessed to have children who, although disappointed, too, made the best of their time and found joy in being with the older ones who were there.
• Blessed to have a husband who 1) knows how to work on cars; 2) is willing to do whatever it takes to get it fixed; 3) keeps moving forward despite set backs (that often feel very overwhelming); 4) loves me!
• Blessed that we've been able to afford to get the car fixed (although we've had to wait for paydays to arrive--it's a blessing to have paydays!)
• Blessed that I have been practicing seeing the good in things--thus making this day, although different than I expected/planned, not a wasted day; not a 'bad' day!
• Blessed to have had this experience and come to some conclusions about how to teach our members how to better handle/communicate their cancellations.

So.
There it is.
There is was.
Tomorrow is a new day.
(His mercies are new every morning!)
I will be moving FORWARD!


Thanks for listening to all of this....

Happy Home Learning!

Strawberry Picking :: GA Style

We have had this field trip on the calendar for several weeks now and were thrilled at going to pick strawberries again this year with our homeschooling friends.  I was a bit annoyed though, that we were running late.  Turns out it was a good thing! One of the other mothers called me to say that she had arrive early and that the farms were closed.  It was rather random, as I had just spoken to someone at the end of last week.  Anyway, since I was still at home, I was able to find another strawberry farm within 7miles, contact the others attending and we were still able to pick!!

Now, our experience wasn't what we'd had in mind.  The people in charge there were politely rude.  You know what that is, the stiff smile, polite gestures but the overall rudeness.  Perhaps it was more sweet rudeness.  Either way, we made the most of our time.  Hopefully next time we'll get to the original spot, as they allow for 'fun' and 'tasting' of their fruit.

Yes, we were NOT allowed to sample any of the fruit we picked until we paid for it.  Now, I get the whole "this is not a meal" thing--but part of the fun of picking your own is the sampling and snacking!!  The kids did well--no one complained OR ate one strawberry!  The overseer, I mean, the man made sure of that!  We lived, we learned, we will do better next time.

But you can't tell that was going on from the photos! :D

Game Day :: Library Day

We hosted a game day/support gathering for our home school group today at our library.  It was like two days wrapped into one!  I only took pics at the beginning, as once we got engaged in playing/talking I forgot to get more. lol

It was nice to watch the children playing and learning some new games.  And it's always refreshing to have some positive adult interaction!!

After we finished up with our friends, we took our library time, as Tuesdays are reserved for checking out books and reading IN the library.  Here are a few shots of where you'll find us:

Valentine's Day Party

Celebrated with our home school friends yesterday.

The 'prepared environment' :D

Making bags to hold valentine's

More decorating

crafting

Group game: Try to Make me Laugh!

Another group game: Charades

Enjoying the food!

Discussing the History of Valentine's Day

Ending with Musical Chairs

All Smiles!

We all had a fabulous time!  We made new friends (which is always a plus!).  We also participated in the library's Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt.  Can't wait for the next time we're together.