It is windy tonight. I hope to sit outside later and listen to the wind in the trees. For now, I have grades to record.
It is beautiful here. My children love each other. Thank you, God.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Bits of This
This evening we took Tara out for Mother's Day dinner. This is much smarter than going out for lunch on Mother's Day because you can actually get a table. We went to Baker's Square, but it was not as tasty as usual. Except for environs, I'm more inclined toward Denny's. The kids were oblivious and ate with abandon. I also ate with abandon, but my chicken primavera was not that good.
I created a new game for the children tonight. Do you remember the Wonder Twins? Wonder Twin powers... ACTIVATE! Form of... Shape of...! Our game begins with at least three participants -- Wonder Triplets, Wonder Quadruplets, etc. All say, "Wonder Triplets... Activate!" The first person leads out with "Form of...[something]." The next person has to come up with something related. The same with the third. Then they all have to be the things they shouted -- together -- at the same time. The audience gets to choose which player's choice shows the least continuity to the others. He then is voted off, and the game continues.
My kids liked it a lot.
I continue to work on my new Latin book for 5-6th graders. It will be called "Rudimentum Latinum" we think and it is due out sometime in July. I'm very excited for this opportunity and pray that the Lord uses it to bless students and enhance their learning.
There are now less than two weeks of school left. That means getting the last assignments of the year graded, end-of-the-year annual tasks, and final exams. This concludes my second year of teaching only Latin and my fourteenth year of teaching at Schaeffer Academy. It is also time to get summer business off the ground.
We are planning to have a garage sale next weekend. Come one, come all. We are out of space in the garage and shed, so some things will just have to go. There are no other options.
I created a new game for the children tonight. Do you remember the Wonder Twins? Wonder Twin powers... ACTIVATE! Form of... Shape of...! Our game begins with at least three participants -- Wonder Triplets, Wonder Quadruplets, etc. All say, "Wonder Triplets... Activate!" The first person leads out with "Form of...[something]." The next person has to come up with something related. The same with the third. Then they all have to be the things they shouted -- together -- at the same time. The audience gets to choose which player's choice shows the least continuity to the others. He then is voted off, and the game continues.
My kids liked it a lot.
I continue to work on my new Latin book for 5-6th graders. It will be called "Rudimentum Latinum" we think and it is due out sometime in July. I'm very excited for this opportunity and pray that the Lord uses it to bless students and enhance their learning.
There are now less than two weeks of school left. That means getting the last assignments of the year graded, end-of-the-year annual tasks, and final exams. This concludes my second year of teaching only Latin and my fourteenth year of teaching at Schaeffer Academy. It is also time to get summer business off the ground.
We are planning to have a garage sale next weekend. Come one, come all. We are out of space in the garage and shed, so some things will just have to go. There are no other options.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Manhood Must Have Been Easier Back Then
What did you do if you were a man 150 years ago? I suspect that you got up, grunted at your wife, fed the stock, and headed out to the fields. Maybe you fixed some machinery if it was a rainy day. By late morning, somebody probably brought lunch out to you. Then you got behind the team again, made a gutteral noise of some sort, and off you went. Good till dinner, which was also prepared for you. You might have made an effort to relate to your family, but we don't know that for sure.
Now let's talk about masculinity in 2009. First, you teach all your classes for the day, which includes everything from 5th grade to sophomores. You try to do creative things because it gives your students another reason to stay awake. But Friday is a heavy class day, and you have a headache by the end of it.
You sit down at the computer and cram lesson plans for an hour and a half or so. You know that your wife is going to Women's Retreat this weekend, and you will be the primary source of adultness for your many wonderful children. So you must get those lesson plans done efficiently. But a parent stops by and wants to learn Latin pronunciation. You teach her... you are, after all, glad that she wants to learn. A colleague calls your cell twice because he is trying to find the home of someone who just moved. It does not bother you. In fact, it is nice to be regarded as someone who would know how to get it found -- and quick.
The time evaporates. You must pick up your oldest son from Grandpa's house in time to pick up your other three children from a friend's home in distant southwest. You make it only a few minutes late, but it doesn't matter because they are all outside playing in the back yard. You load your children, bring them home, and feed them dinner. They all eat appropriately. There is essentially none left...enough for the cats to nibble some meat scraps, but that's it.
After supper you change your gear and then try to head outside. As you are loading the children in the trailer to go to the park, it is discovered that your daughter has soiled her diaper. You are not dismayed by this, because you are a thoroughly modern daddy in every sense and therefore can change diapers without undue strain. So you do. Your daughter finds herself a different pair of jeans to put on over the diaper. You marvel at this, as you could hardly be expected to recognize a pair of your own jeans, much less hers.
Later on, neighbor boys come over to play with yours. You are happy about this and aware that when these boys come over to play, you have opportunities to introduce Christ to them. You treasure these opportunities.
You eventually put all four of your children to bed and later you blog. Masculinity remix 2009. What a strange time in history.
Now let's talk about masculinity in 2009. First, you teach all your classes for the day, which includes everything from 5th grade to sophomores. You try to do creative things because it gives your students another reason to stay awake. But Friday is a heavy class day, and you have a headache by the end of it.
You sit down at the computer and cram lesson plans for an hour and a half or so. You know that your wife is going to Women's Retreat this weekend, and you will be the primary source of adultness for your many wonderful children. So you must get those lesson plans done efficiently. But a parent stops by and wants to learn Latin pronunciation. You teach her... you are, after all, glad that she wants to learn. A colleague calls your cell twice because he is trying to find the home of someone who just moved. It does not bother you. In fact, it is nice to be regarded as someone who would know how to get it found -- and quick.
The time evaporates. You must pick up your oldest son from Grandpa's house in time to pick up your other three children from a friend's home in distant southwest. You make it only a few minutes late, but it doesn't matter because they are all outside playing in the back yard. You load your children, bring them home, and feed them dinner. They all eat appropriately. There is essentially none left...enough for the cats to nibble some meat scraps, but that's it.
After supper you change your gear and then try to head outside. As you are loading the children in the trailer to go to the park, it is discovered that your daughter has soiled her diaper. You are not dismayed by this, because you are a thoroughly modern daddy in every sense and therefore can change diapers without undue strain. So you do. Your daughter finds herself a different pair of jeans to put on over the diaper. You marvel at this, as you could hardly be expected to recognize a pair of your own jeans, much less hers.
Later on, neighbor boys come over to play with yours. You are happy about this and aware that when these boys come over to play, you have opportunities to introduce Christ to them. You treasure these opportunities.
You eventually put all four of your children to bed and later you blog. Masculinity remix 2009. What a strange time in history.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Late Frost Surprises Gardener
On Saturday morning, before making pancakes for the children, I headed off to Walmart to get some plants and something else, though I cannot remember what. [Tara says it was Delsum, the amazingly expensive and amazingly effective cough syrup.] Toby and I found some very fine tomato plants and a few flowers and brought them home. Later in the day I worked aggressively and got about half of everything planted. I was pleased.
Back in my childhood, I remember hearing the date "April 15" as the one for beginning to plant in Minnesota. Southern Minnesota, of course, where I have lived for the vast majority of my life. Apparently April 15 is no longer a safe passage for this. Global warming, my nose hairs.
Going outside this morning, I noticed a rather thick layer of frost on my windshield. And on the tomato plants. The top two or three tiers of leaves were completely destroyed... frozen to death. The lowest layer, apparently too close to the soil, seems to have survived. The other flowers I think were pansies and did not sustain any damage. I guess pansies really aren't.
I sat in on a marvelous lit class today not taught by me.
Back in my childhood, I remember hearing the date "April 15" as the one for beginning to plant in Minnesota. Southern Minnesota, of course, where I have lived for the vast majority of my life. Apparently April 15 is no longer a safe passage for this. Global warming, my nose hairs.
Going outside this morning, I noticed a rather thick layer of frost on my windshield. And on the tomato plants. The top two or three tiers of leaves were completely destroyed... frozen to death. The lowest layer, apparently too close to the soil, seems to have survived. The other flowers I think were pansies and did not sustain any damage. I guess pansies really aren't.
I sat in on a marvelous lit class today not taught by me.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Yanks Survive KY -- no attacks reported. Part 3
On Monday morning we woke up to find that we were in Kentucky... it's this whole other state. I think we got going slowly that day. During the morning hours, David got out one of his four tubas and we played a few duets with me on piano. The boys may have played out in the backyard somewhat, and the rest of us got acclimated and tried to figure out what to do. Eventually we settled on the Kentucky Horse Park, not too far from our home base in Georgetown.
It was immense and well-kept. It included a museum, something akin to a show area, stables, and innumerable other outbuildings for specific purposes. It was pleasant, but honestly, out of everything we visited, I liked the horse park the least. There seemed to be comparatively few horses on campus compared to the vast number of stables and stalls. We did get a chance to talk to a few of the groom/jockey/caretaker people, but that was about all.
I believe it was that evening that, upon our return to the Bubba's boyhood home, I inspected the tires again and noticed a large screw driven unceremoniously into the center of the driver's side back tire. It was releasing air at a pretty impressive rate. For the second time in two days, I grabbed Bubba and we headed to some form of car repair center. This time it was Goodyear, just a few blocks from David and Susan's home. We were very thankful to God that we did not have to replace another tire; this one just needed a patch for $14.50 and we were good to go. I know Roy the mechanic made up for the money he didn't charge us, because he was working on some vehicles for Everett's parents at the same time. He didn't let them get off for just $14.50. I guess we just got the Yankee discount.
By this time I was pretty spooked about driving anywhere at any time, know that we had to get this vehicle back to Minnesota, and also knowing that there were only two tires left that had not been affected by sharp road-going objects. What's a driver to do?
It was immense and well-kept. It included a museum, something akin to a show area, stables, and innumerable other outbuildings for specific purposes. It was pleasant, but honestly, out of everything we visited, I liked the horse park the least. There seemed to be comparatively few horses on campus compared to the vast number of stables and stalls. We did get a chance to talk to a few of the groom/jockey/caretaker people, but that was about all.
I believe it was that evening that, upon our return to the Bubba's boyhood home, I inspected the tires again and noticed a large screw driven unceremoniously into the center of the driver's side back tire. It was releasing air at a pretty impressive rate. For the second time in two days, I grabbed Bubba and we headed to some form of car repair center. This time it was Goodyear, just a few blocks from David and Susan's home. We were very thankful to God that we did not have to replace another tire; this one just needed a patch for $14.50 and we were good to go. I know Roy the mechanic made up for the money he didn't charge us, because he was working on some vehicles for Everett's parents at the same time. He didn't let them get off for just $14.50. I guess we just got the Yankee discount.
By this time I was pretty spooked about driving anywhere at any time, know that we had to get this vehicle back to Minnesota, and also knowing that there were only two tires left that had not been affected by sharp road-going objects. What's a driver to do?
Monday, April 6, 2009
Yanks Survive KY -- no attacks reported. Part 2
On Sunday morning I started the day with a shower. While I was showering I became aware that it was dark in the bathroom. At first I thought one of my children had turned off the bathroom light, but I soon came to discover that the electricity had gone out. A horizontal snowstorm in Chicago will do that.
Still we successfully went to church at Everett's church. I was a little groggy but the sermon was about sexual immorality... an interesting combination. The kids reported liking church there... the younger ones had lots of toys available, apparently.
The power came back on and we lunched at the apartment, then packed and set out for Kentucky. As we proceeded south, the weather became less slushy and a bit warmer. The drive through Chicago in the daytime was absolutely amazing. Between the skyline, the immensity of the city, and the many ancient houses crowded next to one another, I was awestruck. I wonder what sort of sewer system serves that community...
Just a little way into Indiana, we hit traffic. We wasted more than an hour doing between zero and 12 miles per hour. Eventually we came out of the traffic and were able to enjoy the Indiana countryside at a more reasonable pace. I discovered that I really like Indiana. Previously I had thought of it as an "also ran" sort of place, but it was very homey and all the people we met were gracious and hospitable. I particularly liked the small farms that dotted the Indiana landscape along the interstate. I'm sure life on them isn't quite as romantic as it appears from the highway, but still it does appear that way. And I have no facts to contradict my impressions. The farms were small, the houses were small, the barns were small. Somehow they must have managed to survive in the midst of all that small.
It was getting on toward nightfall when we hit the Kentucky border. The interstate seemed narrow in places, and I paid the best attention I could to the road and asked God to keep us safe. And He did. We arrived at David and Susan's I think a little before 11:00 Sunday night. It only took a few minutes to get the children situated. We chatted a bit and then fell into bed ourselves.
Stay tuned for Part III, hopefully within a few days before I forget everything that happened!!
Still we successfully went to church at Everett's church. I was a little groggy but the sermon was about sexual immorality... an interesting combination. The kids reported liking church there... the younger ones had lots of toys available, apparently.
The power came back on and we lunched at the apartment, then packed and set out for Kentucky. As we proceeded south, the weather became less slushy and a bit warmer. The drive through Chicago in the daytime was absolutely amazing. Between the skyline, the immensity of the city, and the many ancient houses crowded next to one another, I was awestruck. I wonder what sort of sewer system serves that community...
Just a little way into Indiana, we hit traffic. We wasted more than an hour doing between zero and 12 miles per hour. Eventually we came out of the traffic and were able to enjoy the Indiana countryside at a more reasonable pace. I discovered that I really like Indiana. Previously I had thought of it as an "also ran" sort of place, but it was very homey and all the people we met were gracious and hospitable. I particularly liked the small farms that dotted the Indiana landscape along the interstate. I'm sure life on them isn't quite as romantic as it appears from the highway, but still it does appear that way. And I have no facts to contradict my impressions. The farms were small, the houses were small, the barns were small. Somehow they must have managed to survive in the midst of all that small.
It was getting on toward nightfall when we hit the Kentucky border. The interstate seemed narrow in places, and I paid the best attention I could to the road and asked God to keep us safe. And He did. We arrived at David and Susan's I think a little before 11:00 Sunday night. It only took a few minutes to get the children situated. We chatted a bit and then fell into bed ourselves.
Stay tuned for Part III, hopefully within a few days before I forget everything that happened!!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Yanks Survive KY -- no attacks reported. Part 1
We decided to go to Kentucky for Spring Break.
It took a bit of convincing to get my wife to sign on to this idea. We would be taking my best good college friend Everett "Bubba" with us and staying at his parents' home in KY. She knows Bubba pretty well, but had never met his parents. Moreover, we'd have our four precious offspring with us... in someone else's house... for several days!!
We set out uneventfully and in the late afternoon arrived at Everett's apartment in Chicagoland. It was then that I noticed a hissing hole in the driver's front tire. We sprang into action down to National Tire and Battery, getting it dealt with before it went flat on us. The tire was $65, but somehow the labor brought it up to $107 for their 20 minutes of effort. Please.
We all stayed over at Everett's that night, which was just short of impossible ("The difficult we do first; the impossible takes a little longer."). We had all four children packed into Bubba's bedroom and then Tara and I and Everett were sleeping on couch and fouton in the main living area. That is, until Bubba started snoring. He produces an impressive vibration, and even with earplugs, I was not able to ignore the snore. So I packed up my blankets and headed into the bedroom, which, remember, is already occupied by my four children. I picked the only remaining patch of floor and settled down on a mat. I remained asleep until about 2:00 a.m. when Aidan fell out of the bed and onto... me!! Yes, I was sleeping right below the side of the bed, and Aidan is good at falling out of things. There wasn't really room for him on the floor, so I heaved him back up into the bed and returned to sleeping until 5:30, when HE FELL ON ME AGAIN!. Yes, fans, he really did. Vacation sleep. Whatever.
It just gets better from here. Stay tuned for the next installment of "Yanks Survive Kentucky".
It took a bit of convincing to get my wife to sign on to this idea. We would be taking my best good college friend Everett "Bubba" with us and staying at his parents' home in KY. She knows Bubba pretty well, but had never met his parents. Moreover, we'd have our four precious offspring with us... in someone else's house... for several days!!
We set out uneventfully and in the late afternoon arrived at Everett's apartment in Chicagoland. It was then that I noticed a hissing hole in the driver's front tire. We sprang into action down to National Tire and Battery, getting it dealt with before it went flat on us. The tire was $65, but somehow the labor brought it up to $107 for their 20 minutes of effort. Please.
We all stayed over at Everett's that night, which was just short of impossible ("The difficult we do first; the impossible takes a little longer."). We had all four children packed into Bubba's bedroom and then Tara and I and Everett were sleeping on couch and fouton in the main living area. That is, until Bubba started snoring. He produces an impressive vibration, and even with earplugs, I was not able to ignore the snore. So I packed up my blankets and headed into the bedroom, which, remember, is already occupied by my four children. I picked the only remaining patch of floor and settled down on a mat. I remained asleep until about 2:00 a.m. when Aidan fell out of the bed and onto... me!! Yes, I was sleeping right below the side of the bed, and Aidan is good at falling out of things. There wasn't really room for him on the floor, so I heaved him back up into the bed and returned to sleeping until 5:30, when HE FELL ON ME AGAIN!. Yes, fans, he really did. Vacation sleep. Whatever.
It just gets better from here. Stay tuned for the next installment of "Yanks Survive Kentucky".
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