Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...Sunday, March 20

Outside my window...

It's supposed to be in the 20's tonight. Crocuses are blooming, the grass is greening but still muddy. It snowed today but after a week of spring temperatures, it didn't stick.

Inside the house...

We give the Easter baskets a week early, so right now there's artificial Easter grass and a couple candy wrappers on the living room floor, plus garden seed packets, a garden map the boys are making, and two large baskets of clothes to fold. Welcome to a house with four kids. I'm learning to take it in stride while still trying to keep up and keep them in line. We do devotions after dinner and sometimes, if it goes long, the living room stays messy until morning...because in my playbook late bedtimes are worse than a messy living room.

And I forgot something else in the living room. Twinkle the hamster--belonging to Mary who waited three years to grow old enough to own one--is going like mad on his hamster wheel while I type. What would I do without that noise and the loud furnace keeping me company while everyone is sleeping?

I am thinking...

That I don't like being 50 years old (my birthday was this month). Life is so very short and youth is fleeting, but I had my turn...now it's my children's turn to be young and vibrant and my turn to share wisdom and escort them into adulthood, which is a privilege and a prayer.

I went to the thrift store for spring clothes for the family, and I had to try on short-sleeved shirts. Not attractive once you hit fifty, let me tell you. Older arms develop sun spots and more freckles from all the years of sun exposure in cars and during summers, and skin is less elastic.

I have en elderly aunt here who wears long-sleeved shirts year round because she doesn't like to show her arms. I was 39 when we moved here and my arms were great, so I thought she was crazy wearing long-sleeves in a rather humid summer climate. Now...I get it! I probably won't ever be quite that vain, but I totally get it.

I am thankful...

For the Lord's grace and mercy, new everyday, for my children and husband, for the power of prayer and humility, for the eighth grade boys' Sunday School teacher taking the boys out to dinner and for laser tag (on his own dime), for Mary's Sunday School teachers hosting a fun event also, for the sweet toddlers in the nursery this morning, and the cute 2 year old who told me I was smart (apparently because I did an exemplary job reading Brown Bear Brown Bear to him :)). Children are non-judgmental and easily pleased. Beautiful human beings!

And I'm thankful that Peter is mature enough now to watch the kids while I go to the store. That has been a recent thing and it's going well so far. Hubby and I haven't been on a real date in years and years, so maybe that can come soon? 

What will we even talk about?!

Well, we best not talk about OCD, or money, or car or home repairs, or arthritis, or Donald Trump, or my husband's obstinate elderly father who lately is meaner than Donald Trump. 

That leaves...what? I can't think of a single thing to say. Help me?

I am wearing...

Blue jeans and a plum-colored sweater.

I am creating...

A profile on Care.com because I need a job. I thought about what I can do from home using my gifts and talents and passions. I love nurturing and teaching children and I love writing. Writing for money would require a great deal of time, so childcare it is.

I am going...

I never go anywhere special...too expensive...though special is a relative word. Nature is God's glory and it's free and it's very special...so there's that. The library, Walmart, the thrift store, the Rec Center that hosts homeschool gym, to parks, to the kids' doctor appointments...that's about it. I'm never bored however; every minute is accounted for and every minute is meaningful when you're with kids all day. Stay-at-home motherhood is not for everyone, but it is a purpose-driven life.

I am wondering...if anyone will read this entry? Stagnant blogs get forgotten fast, but I've avoided putting any pressure on myself to keep this up. After nine years of blogging, I've said everything over and over too many times already. Still, this is a pleasure of mine.

I am reading...

Peace Child.. a missionary book I assigned the boys.

I am hoping...

That my children will serve the Lord all the days of their lives and dwell in His house forever. And that someone will need my babysitting services on a part-time basis...because we have Beth's arthritis appointments to keep up with. I have to work around those.

I am learning...

That each day has enough trouble of its own, and enough blessings, too. You'll never know the extent of God's love and care if you don't count your blessings. You'll discover over and over that you do indeed have enough. Discontent melts away and joy prevails.

In my garden...

I love having a garden but I would never call it "my garden". I'm too busy with the house and meals and schooling to take care of the garden myself. Paul and Peter are planning it together this year. The seeds are purchased and now they're plotting the planting times and measuring the ground.

In my kitchen...

The dinner dishes are waiting for me and can I just say I hate dinner dishes? After seventeen years of marriage and fourteen years of motherhood, I think it's time to pass the dinner dishes onto the boys....at least several nights a week.

In the homeschool room...

Mary is reading chapter books and is much more independent with her school work. Beth, who likes school more than anyone else here, will soon be reading chapter books and she's thrilled. Both girls are doing 3rd grade Teaching Textbooks math, which has been wonderful for them. They love it and they're excelling. The TT guys are far better math teachers than I am!

A favorite quote for today...Psalms 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

One of my favorite things...long-sleeved solid-colored classy tees from Old Navy or other famous makers that are tight enough to show you're a woman, but loose enough to show you're a lady. They're the most practical thing to mother in, since I don't do sweats or sweatshirts. I get dressed to shoes every single day and while I don't dress up, I do want to look put together. They go with jeans and jean skirts and can be paired with scarves and cardigans and I love them! And Old Navy fades so slowly..the tees last a long time. Thrift stores are my only option and I jump for silent joy when I find a high-end long-sleeved tee.

From the board room...The board room? Who wrote these prompts, anyway?The kitchen and laundry room are my boardrooms. After twenty years on a clunky desktop PC, I now type on a Chromebook...so I suppose the comfy blue recliner in the living room is also a boardroom.

That's the state of things here, friend. And how are you?