As my kids grow and our days continue to fly by in the flurry of pick ups, drop offs, hurry-up-we're-lates, and all of the comings and goings of a family I am finding that I'm drawn back to writing. Perhaps it is the record keeping I miss. Perhaps it is the wisdom that arrives when you're out of the toddler stage, that this time is indeed fleeting.
Here I am. I'm not going to set a goal of any sort, aside from posting more often than twice a year.
I've settled into teaching a new grade this year, and find I spend far too much time away from home planning, preparing, and marking, while also feeling like I'm never prepared enough! Robin holds the fort, making dinner most nights and helping with homework where needed. The kids are becoming, finally, more independent, and can be counted on to help with daily tasks like unloading the dishwasher, making their school lunches, and even cooking some simple meals.
We still protect their free time. We still have not got Netflix or any other TV services, aside from borrowing DVDs from our local libraries. Sometimes we feel like we should leap into the 21st century. There are series I'm dying to see and winter is coming.
But mostly we see the kids eating their dinner quickly to make the most of the dwindling sunshine in the evening, creating adventures and games outside. They still read a lot, and are picking up crafts here and there. Both Violet and Margot got their hands on my spinning wheel over the summer and will soon be asking to learn how to knit again. Margot wrestles with Jude till she cries, Norah bosses everyone around, and Violet retreats to her room with a book.
We are in that phase of life where it seems that everything is breaking down or falling apart. Our chimney is being repaired this morning, and during last night's rain our attic ceiling sprang not one, but two leaks. This is bad news for our trip to Prince Edward Island. I don't think the $30 we have saved so far is going to get us there.
But we just keep on keepin' on as we always do. Some days are harder than others and things are not always rosy at the Knitty Gritty Homestead. But we're still here, and that's something, isn't it?
