Simple Woman's Daybook, March 9th

I am thinking... that although I have a million and one thoughts about the Weekend to Remember marriage conference the Jedi and I attended this weekend, I'm not blogging about any of them right now. It was truly, truly, a wonderful experience, and I highly recommend it to any married or engaged couple. (Except you Smurf, you would hate it...it's way too conservative for you.) But other than Smurf, if you've been thinking about attending one, they hold them all over the US, by all means do! It's well worth the investment of time and money.

From the learning rooms... let's face it, the mommy and the teacher has lost interest in school around Christmas this year. Every year in January or February, I want to throw out the entire curriculum and do something different. And no, it isn't because of the curriculum. The curriculum is a perfect fit for Sweetling, and so far for Toa of Boy, but it's because of the seasonal affective disorder that strikes the Mommy every winter. I get restless, I start to lose motivation and interest, and feel like I'm just plodding through life. But spring is almost here. I'm re-instituting the weekly field trip policy. It works like this: I print out Sweetling's assignments for the week. As soon as they are finished, Sweetling picks a field trip for us to take either on Friday afternoon of that week or on Monday afternoon of the next week. It's a wonderful tool to keep us both focused and productive.

I am thankful for... my husband. People who know the Jedi only casually can never picture him as sensitive, but he is, oh his so much is. I'm thankful that he planned and initiated and prioritized the marriage conference this weekend. I'm thankful that our marriage is important enough to him that he is always seeking for ways in which it can grow. I'm thankful that I am important to him.

From the kitchen... my fridge needs cleaned out. Over the weekend Dear Mama found a cucumber on the back shelf that I had completely forgotten about. (Then again, maybe if we get bored with school, we can just use what's growing in the fridge for a great science study unit.)

I am wearing... jammies and a bathrobe again. Silly you. Am I ever wearing anything else on a Monday morning? I got up at 7am, had a prayer and quiet time and did some stretches. By then it was 7:45. Dear Mama wasn't in the shower yet (see what happens when I fail to follow through on Maven's device?). I can't hop in the shower at 7:45, cause Dear Mama *needs* to get in the shower so she can be out the door to go to work at 8:30. Rather than fret and fuss upstairs, I just came downstairs to blog a little while.

I am reading... For Women Only. Actually, the Jedi and I are reading it together because within the first three pages I had to stop. No way, I thought, no possible way. So I asked the Jedi, and he said, yes, yes indeed. It goes like this. The Jedi has always said that respect is important for a man. I thought I understood that. I respect the Jedi, so you know, I can just check that off my list, right? I'm reading this book, which was assembled after interviewing and professionally surveying over a thousand men. The author states that most men would rather go through life alone and unloved than feel inadequate and disrespected. Nuh-huh, thinks I, who in their right mind would chose that? Apparantly the Jedi would, and he isn't at all surprised by this statement. In fact, it makes perfect sense to him. You know those stories of husbands who say "my wife should already know I love her, why should I have say 'I love you?' " I felt like one of those husbands. I figured, I respected the Jedi, so I didn't really need to worry about the details of this need he had. I suddenly realized I had no real idea what he meant by respect, what respect looked like to him, or whether or not I was meeting this emotional need or not.

I am also reading.... the Book of Luke. Our church is participating in a Reset Journey, along with a few other local churches. The challenge for week one was to read through the Book of Luke. I read through most of that gospel in the children's museum last week, and realized I didn't really understand all of the symbolisms in several of the parables and speeches of Jesus. The Jedi and I did a brief Bible study together on the way to the marriage conference. The Jedi brought his Jewish commentary on the New Testament along so that we could get more of a cultural perspective on the symbolic language.

I am hoping... for a productive day! I really want to get school and laundry done so that after dinner we can watch Little House on the Prairie together. (The recent mini-series done my Disney, not the old TV show. The Jedi has an elder meeting tonight, so Mommy picked out a family movie for the rest of us to enjoy.

I am creating... plans for the garden. Yes, yes, I am. Stop shaking your head. It's going to be different this year.

I am hearing... the shower running! Woo-hoo! (It's 8:30 now, but I've had a nice morning.)

Around the house... the living room has been picked up, and the entire house has been vacuumed. I only have two more loads to push through the machines, but lots to fold and hang. Toa of Boy still has his December artwork on the school room door, and I have a pile of his stuff to hang sitting on the corner of my desk, so I think I shall add that to my list for the day.

One of my favorite things... I am God's perfect provision for the Jedi. This means I bring something into the Jedi's life that the Jedi would never be able to provide for himself. This something I bring certainly isn't organization, so I need to stop measuring myself and finding myself lacking on that standard. This something I bring has to do with who I am in my innermost being. Creative, spontaneous, fun, child-like, gentle, and lovely. I need to nurture and enjoy who I am, and stop fretting about not being a typical Suzy Homemaker. (No offense to any Suzies out there. You know I have the utmost admiration for the name Susan.)

A few plans for the rest of the week... school. Tae Kwon Do. Co-op. Church. FIELD TRIP. Garden planning. Creative writing. Being myself.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing...



It's 8:37. Dear Mama has just left the bathroom, so I'm off to shower. Peace out.