Things Worth Remembering The three habits that lead to success are: Patience, Application, and Vision.
Take care: The person who will tell others' faults to you - will tell yours to others.
It is always better to be underestimated.
There are three things that are better than riches: Health, Freedom, and Honor.
Think swiftly, speak softly, act wisely.
"The world is neither Scottish, English, nor Irish, neither French, Dutch, nor Chinese, but human, and each nation is only the partial development of a universal humanity." - James Grant on founding the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, 1862
All from: The Book of Celtic Wisdom
|
Bibble : “Your Highness, I will stay here and do what I can…They will have to retain the Council of Governors in order to maintain control. But you must leave…”
Faux Queen Amidala : “Either choice presents a great risk…to all of us…” (looks at Padme)
Padme : “We are brave, Your Highness.”
Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
So here we are, ready for the summer. Internet service is back up and running, which is merely a sign of my weakness and internet-junkie status. My original plan was to put off internet service in the apartment until fall giving us all a chance forcing us to really jump into life in Des Moines. Yeah, I know. Dry your eyes, the tears of laughter sting when they make a path for sunscreen to get into your eyes. The reality is, despite the fact that we have a free (albeit s.l.o.w.) wifi hotspot just below us, we use our wifi connection far more than even I ever realized. Google Maps, search engines, the white and yellow pages for everywhere, community events calendars, weather.com, our Netflix queue, email, Facebook, iCubs game times, coffee shop hours, you name it – we use the internet to access them all.
And to make the siren song of the internet just that much more enticing, we bought an internet ready TV back in early May since our old television set gave up the ghost back in March just a few days shy of Dad Windu’s move to Des Moines. Poor guy made good with our 20 inch (and 20 yr old) set for two months, but it was time for us to get him a Big Boy television set since it wouldn’t even connect to the DVD player and he’d watched all our old VHS tapes (some more than once). So we got a “small” 40 inch, internet-capable HDTV – did you know those things go up to 70 inches now?!?! – on sale and have since plugged that puppy in. Let me tell you how cool the Netflix on-demand feature is, when downloaded directly to your TV set - really, really, really cool.
In unwired news, Padawan Learner and I have joined a secular teen unschooler group. Yes, all three of those words cause me to swoon just thinking about them. I especially like that the group’s definition of unschooler is so fluid. I’ve looked at groups that have real unschooling and not real unschooling definitions, and I find them annoying – ironically – in their rigidity. I have no interest in trying to pass someone else’s unschooling “quiz.” From what I’ve seen, there are teens in this group that go to school part-time and teens who have never set foot inside a school. There are teens who do lessons as they and/or their families see fit and teens who wouldn’t know a worksheet if it jumped up and bit them in the tukus. Teens that take formal classes for something or other and teens that aren’t currently take any outside classes at all. Teens that have home routines, schedules, chores, and – dare I say it … parental expectations in one form or another.
The moms I’ve met are friendly and welcoming, and no one gasped in shock or horror to hear that we’re a family of atheists. Score another one for Des Moines.
One new thing in our homeschooling world is state requirements. Since Michigan is a no registration, no notification and no annual assessment state, the mild to moderate requirements of Iowa seem a bit overwhelming at times. There are registration and notification deadlines – August 26th this year – and testing requirements if not using a supervising teacher. I considered going the supervising teacher route, but decided to just do the pre- and post-year testing instead. PL has never taken a formal assessment test before and I don’t think it’ll be a negative thing for him to go through that type of experience a few times. The initial test, in October I believe, is just a starting-point assessment. In a nut-shell, they just want to know where he’s at “according to the norm” and it will be used to show that he has made academic progress over the next nine months when he tests again in June. Since registration and assessment is only required until he is 16 years old, I won’t be required to jump these hoops after this initial year. While I don’t think it will be a big deal for him academically – he’s a bright boy – I also don’t like being told what to do by a bunch of educational bureaucrats.
For PL, this single round of testing is going to be more of a ACT/SAT warm-up than anything else. If he was going to have a few years of it, I’d likely have gone the supervising teacher route instead. Annual testing requirements get my panties in a twist on principle.
Obi-Wan: (quietly to Anakin) “This time we will do it together.”
Anakin: “I was about to say that.”
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Time sure flies when you’re entire life is picked up, packed up, carted off, unloaded, unpacked and re-arranged over the course of a few weeks. This is a massively long post, so grab a cuppa because you’re going to be here a while reading this.
I don’t know where I left you all on this journey that has become my life – and I’m too lazy to go find out – so here’s what has transpired over the course of the last 6 weeks or so. We sold the house and are waiting to close this later this week. Huge sighs of relief are being held in check until we get a signed form telling us that, indeed, we are no longer home owners. The woman that is buying our house is using Bank of America for her mortgage, and they are taking for.ev.er to get the paperwork done. This must not be too uncommon because the woman at the title company gave a very audible groan several weeks back when she heard which lender the buyer was using. We were supposed to close today or earlier, but B of A didn’t get their paperwork in on time so we’ve been delayed a few days. Oh well. Did I mention we sold the house in Michigan? Because if not, we did, and selling a house in Michigan is no small feat. Let.Me.Tell.You.
 Four movers showed up on May 20th in a 24 ft truck to box up all our worldly belongings – that hadn’t been sold or given away, that is. After the initial walk-through (in which our nearly empty 1800 sq ft. house looked like it had been robbed), the driver said, “You hardly have anything to move! I’m glad we didn’t bring the semi that we were scheduled for!” As it was, everything filled just under half of the truck and they finished both the packing and loading in a little under six hours – a wee bit short of the two DAYS they had scheduled for the packing (day 1) and loading (day 2). I’m pretty sure they weren’t too impressed with the estimate given by the local subcontractor regarding amounts of goods to be moved.
My mom picked us up on the 22nd and drove us, our liquids, a few perishables, and our financial records out to our new place in Des Moines, Iowa. That’s right, we’re Iowans now. Having never even been to Iowa before Dad Windu’s marathon interview back in February, it seems a little weird to think that this is likely where I’ll spend the rest of my days, but we’re rather enjoying it here. The people have been uber-friendly, there’s no tourist industry to speak of so no fighting traffic on the weekends, Padawan Learner found a gym he’s happy to train at for competitive trampoline, we’ve linked up with an active homeschool teen group, the downtown is awesome and very, very walkable, there’s the most fantastic farmer’s market each Saturday that’s only a ten minute walk away from our apartment, and best of all – Dad Windu, Padawan Learner and I are all together again. Ten weeks felt like a hundred. I don’t know how other families do it long-term.
On the flip side, we’re missing friends and family, we have 79 apartments full of people who are – literally – only steps away, and there’s no giant lake (ok, really more of an inland sea) to flee to when the heat begins rolling up the thermometer.
Still, I do declare: Life is good.
Our worldly goods returned on Monday, the 24th, on a very full 14 ft truck. Two young men tugged, lugged, rolled and dragged all of our things into our 865 sq ft apartment for seven hours. This (different) pair of movers, after dropping off the last box and standing in the last two sq ft of available floor space, said, “You have an absolute TON of stuff!” It’s all about perspective. I tried to get a picture – but it took me all day just to find my purse under all that stuff!
On the 25th, PL, my mom and I headed back to GR for a final week of classes in Grand Rapids. PL’s last piano and Dutch lessons and homeschool and competitive trampoline classes took place over the course of three very busy days. We were even able to grab a little park time with Yoda and Red Leader and their respective boys: Lando Calrission, R2-D2, Wedge Antilles and Lobot, before having dinner with my sister-in-law, Queen Amidala, and nephew, Zebulba. On Thursday, my mother-in-law treated me to a mani-pedi at a little nail place near her and I treated her to lunch. Unexpectedly getting out of work early, Queen Amidala shot me a last-minute call and we ended up drinking eating dinner for three hours, laughing all the while.
Come Friday morning, we were back on an Amtrak train heading for home. Juuuust making our connection in Chicago, PL and I relaxed on the train and I had fun making train tips statements on my Twitter account based on the goings-on around me.
Saturday afternoon found us hanging out and surrounded by other Michiganders at the graduation party for, get this, Qui-Gon Jinn’s niece out in the suburbs of Des Moines! Knowing that we were brand-new to the area, Q-G J’s sister very generously invited us to crash the party and begin the holiday weekend in a social manner. It was fun to meet and put a face to the names of people that I’d been hearing about for the past several years. We even got to drag Qui-Gon Jinn, Endicott, and C-3PO out to our favorite restaurant downtown and show off our new apartment – I’m sure they were impressed by our large assortment of boxes, piles of stuff, and absolutely jam-packed furniture.
Memorial Day was parade-free, at least for us, because we didn’t know anything about where such things began, but that night we found out that they was a large going-on up at the Capital Building. Doh! We did go out to the mall – after we realized that we’d obviously missed all the Memorial Day programs – and saw the new Robin Hood movie. I finally got to go to Ulta and, I must say, it made my X-chromosomes sparkle. Angels sang, the clouds parted, and money absolutely flew out of my hands as I began the process of anti-humidity-fying my make-up supplies. For the record, Smashbox foundation is glorious – it simply does.not.melt.off when the air is hot and sticky. By the way, locals have a favorite past-time with northern newbies: talking about how hot and humid it’s GOING to get. I have been instructed to: wait until August gets here and go for a visit to Kansas/Missouri (preferably in August). From what I can gather, the weather here in August is just a few degrees short of Hell and much, much more humid. *yea*
Oops, out of time. More later.
Obi-Wan: “Sorry, Master, the water fried my weapon.”
Qui-Gon: “You forgot to turn your power off again, didn’t you?”
Obi-Wan nods sheepishly.
Qui-Gon: “It won’t take long to recharge, but this is a lesson I hope you’ve learned, my young Padawan.”
Obi-Wan : “Yes, Master.”
Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
Still alive and still in the middle of the moving drama. Here’s the situation in a nutshell:
- House was put up on the market in mid-March
- Come to find out, the realtor’s assistant works for the devil, the Galactic Empire or some other evil monstrosity like Sprawl-Mart and did a major f*ck-up on the listing – 4 days late, crappy pictures, pathetic blurb, etc.
- Realtor’s assistant apparently does not know how to use voicemail as messages were never returned before 48 hours, if at all.
- Realtor did not check assistant’s “work” until after week two of the listing when we had not gotten a single showing.
- Realtor assistant has now been fired/’quit’.
- Price on house was dropped twice.
- House finally sold last Thursday – yeah – but we’re taking a major bath on the price – boo. I’m walking away getting less than I paid for the place 12 years ago – after spending 40K on home improvements these past couple of years. Double boo. I spent most of the 29th in tears.
- BUT it is sold and we’re finally going to be together again. Quadruple yeah!
- I’ve shed about 1/2 of our furniture and all of our yard/garden/garage items. House and garage look like they’ve been robbed. Apartment will still look like a furniture store exploded inside it. It’s all about perspective.
- We’re hoping to close by the end of the month.
- I told Padawan Learner tonight, as we had a Mom’s dinner out, that he has given me the best Mother’s Day present ever in the way he has been handling this topsy-turvy, split household, back and forth to see Dad Windu, emotional roller-coaster of a move.
If all goes well, I’ll be able to write again in complete sentences and whole paragraphs soon.
“You and the Naboo form a symbiont circle. What happens to one of you will affect the other. You must understand this.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
There are so many wonderful homeschooling moms that I rely on for homeschooling ideas, crazy kid commiserating, humor, and the occasionally much-needed kick in the pants reality check. I want to give a big and public thank you out to all the homeschoolers and homeschooling supporters that have helped to smooth the way along this sometimes Belgium Block bumpy road that Padawan Learner, Dad Windu and I are traveling.
Sometimes you just need to know that there are others out there that have been there, done that, and lived to tell about it – people that you can call on (or type at) when you’re most feeling like you’re a) on the brink of tossing it all in; b) about to make either the best or worst decision of your life; or c) absolutely over-joyed at the complete un-spectacular-ness of the day. I know some of your faces, many of your names, and even a couple of your kitchens. You mean the world to me.
Moff Jerjerrod: ”Lord Vader, this is an unexpected pleasure. We are honored by your presence…”
Darth Vader: “You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander. I’m here to put you back on schedule.”
Moff Jerjerrod: ”I assure you, Lord Vader. My men are working as fast as they can.”
Darth Vader: ”Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them.”
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Yeah, that’s pretty much me right now. I’m going to be done dispensing with the pleasantries in about 3 more seconds.
Padawan Learner has a facebook ‘friend’ that’s really laying the “I’m the one that’s been chosen to SAVE you from your wretched life of disbelief” crap on mighty thick these past couple of months. She’s even begun using Dad Windu’s recent lay-off and our possible need to move if DW finds work out of the area (something she knows PL is dreading) as her “lead in”. He’s asked, and then told, her to back off about the religious stuff, and she has point blank said that she has no intention of doing so NOR does she have any intention of apologizing if she has been shoving her religious beliefs in his face against his wishes and offended him. I’m trying my hardest to stay out of it, to continue to let PL find a way to deal with it, but… it won’t be much longer if it doesn’t stop. Immediately.
He and I both know the difference between someone who holds strong religious beliefs and someone that is being a religious bully. We know lots of people who hold strong religious beliefs. We know that this is not acceptable or normal to the majority of people with strong religious beliefs. As I told PL, “She’s not being a friend; she’s being a bitch.” There’s a big, big difference between the two. And yes, that is the word I used.
Now I’m off to find 50 cents for C-3PO’s cussing jar.
PS – Yes, I know this is a rather crabby post. Feel free to disregard as needed.
“The death toll is catastrophic. We must bow to their wishes. … You must contact me.” - Governor Sio Bibble, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
Well, I’ve done it again. I’m back on Twitter. Don’t ask me why. You can find me (and my infrequent tweets) listed as (what else?) obimomkenobi.
It would be way easier, though, if I had an iPhone. A beautiful, lovely iPhone. A sleek, app-happy iPhone. I’m not generally a “stuff-focused” person. Seriously. And yet I long for an iPhone – and electric boogaloo’s giant rubberized shit shield app. I definitely want that, too.
“It’s very dangerous, putting them together. I don’t think the boy can handle it. I don’t trust him.” – Mace Windu, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Padawan Learner and his loyal neighborhood buddy, Chewbacca, hit the neighborhood garage sales this morning with a vengeance. It took all he had to get through his piano lesson before hitting the streets. They scootered from one house to another picking up other people’s crap undiscovered treasure for pennies on the pound. Put an Abe Lincoln in your pocket and the garage sale world is your oyster.
About once an hour, he and she would come back and show off their treasures before heading back out for rounds 2-4. The highlight of PL’s day was finding a tiki lamp; don’t ask me why. The lowlight was the complete and total lack of broken electronic equipment for dismantling. Seems our neighbors don’t save and then attempt to sell or give away broken items. Oooh, aren’t we hoity-toity.
Isn’t there some kind of unwritten garage sale law that requires all broken motors, yard machines and consumer electronics to be stored in an old cardboard box until the next garage sale date? How’s a boy supposed to learn how stuff works if he can’t take stuff apart?
“Yoda spoke of another.” – Luke, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Or should I say, “Yoda spoke to another” – another newbie homeschooler, that is. They’re so cute. My good buddy Yoda invited a newbie homeschooler to our mom’s group last night. *wipes tears of remembrance away* Remember those days?
Obi-Wan Kenobi: ”Your clones are very impressive. You must be very proud.”
Jango Fett: “Do you like your army?”
Obi-Wan Kenobi: ”I look forward to seeing them in action.”
Jango Fett: ”They’ll do their job well. I’ll guarantee that.”
Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
Here’s a question for all you parents of early teenagers or parents of former early teenagers: What do your kids do to earn a little extra spending money before Uncle Sam allows them to join the work force?
Padawan Learner is jonesing for some paid work, but not necessarily the kinds of work I have available (e.g., spring cleaning-ish house and yard tasks). He was mighty put out to learn that 13 year olds are not legally allowed to hold the more mainstream jobs in the community such as at the local pizza place or coffee shop. I think part of what he’s really looking for is a “real” job, aka not for mom, where he can stretch his independence-loving wings a little, meet some new people, prove to himself that he’s growing up, and earn $7.40 or more an hour. Allowances are just so pre-teen.
You’re a clever and creative bunch, what are some of your ideas?
Echo Base Officer: “Your Tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker!”
Han Solo: ”Then I’ll see you in Hell!”
Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
I just shoveled snow on my little city driveway and sidewalks for 2.5 hours. I’m going to go pass out now. We’ve been promised a one day reprieve before the snows return on Sunday.
Update: After a lovely half-hour nap, Dad Windu and I went out for another hour and a half, to help dig out a couple of the neighbors after they got home from work. This is what I love best about this neighborhood. Everyone pulls together to help each other out. After she cleaned out her driveway, the lady across the street let our neighbors use her snowblower. Another neighbor parked in our driveway while he cleaned out his drive, and then he cleaned out the elderly lady’s drive next door to him. Padawan Learner, Dad Windu, several neighbors and I have been pushing cars out of the no-pass zone at the end of our street for most of the afternoon and early evening. The plows haven’t been through yet and our road is a complete mess of roughly 15 inches of snow. I hope they can get to it tonight.
Now I’m really tired, but in that good, work-induced way. I remember often feeling like this as a kid, after working in the barn all day. I’ll sleep well tonight.
|
Secular Homeschoolers Unite!
|
