New goals for a new school year

As everyone goes back to school today, I am pondering the one advise we all hear as homeschoolers - to create a plan/goal for each school year. One of the speakers at the recent homeschool retreat spoke about creating a spiritual and physical plan on top of the academic.  Her examples really energized me and is inspiring me to put mine into action.  So here's a sample of what we're hoping to do: (keep me accountable!)

Academic:

• the kids want to take the CAT (California Achievement Test) in the Spring.  My children are excited about the idea of academic testing and gauging how well they do (it's really for bragging rights)  We are using the CAT as our inspiration to work harder.
  

• an immersion (instead of spiral) approach to Science this year.  In the past, we dabbled with a little bit of everything (jack of all trades, master of none) but this year we want to focus on one subject (Astronomy).  The oldest has already perused the whole book and gave me the thumbs up.  We're using Apologia for this subject.
  

Spiritual:

• we have yet to choose a patron saint and school motto. I am leaning towards St. John Marie Vianney, he seems to be everywhere I was this year.  He might have already chosen me ;-)  As for the motto, it will come to me, like it always does.

• each year we memorize a Latin prayer - it will be Anima Christi and Salve Regina.  We will learn to chant the latter as it is easier to memorize in song.  Speaking of singing, I want to teach the kids Tantum Ergo and O Salutaris Hostia. The parish in our neighborhood has a weekly Exposition and Benediction so it would be so appropriate to learn these. Since Latin is one of our subjects, this also falls into the Academic category right?

• taking the advice of a priest - I want a holy water font by the front door to bless ourselves on our way in and out of the house.

• a blessing/gratitude book, where we can all write down our blessings at the end of each day.  

Physical

• the oldest and I have recently started to run.  We also found out that our parish now has a 6:30 AM daily Mass. So we have planned to combine the two - go to Mass three times a week then run afterwards. 

• more outdoor time/playdates before the cold of Winter locks us indoors

• more (challenging) chores and responsibilities for the older three.  The almost four-year old has already, on his own accord, taken over new chores. Praise God!

I'm trying to be simple in my goals and plans as it is very tempting to plan for everything. One of my favorite things to say is "make room for the Holy Spirit".  So that empty space in my planner is for Him.

Happy Back to School!

You know I love you right?

Before I left for the Philippines, the girl wrote me a letter that truly made me so happy.  Here is the text with no spelling corrections ( she's a great speller- I'm a proud mama!)

June 30th 2011
10:35 Thursday

Dear mama,

I will miss you when you leave. At least the days pass by fast. I will save some fun for you when you get back.  My list daddy already has, so you know what to get me.  The boys might send theirs, I do not know yet. I hope you understand this letter.  You know I love you right? Tell Daddy I love him and miss him.  Have fun!  I love you! and I will miss you.

She stole the "you know I love you right?" question from me, I ask them that question at least once a day and for her to write it to me is just too sweet.

I love my life, I love that my kids are at home with me.  This letter is just one reward for this amazing vocation.

Daybook- A Much Needed Retreat Weekend

Outside my window.... sun is up, soft breeze blowing on the leaves of the maple tree on the front yard. After the scorching heat in Houston and the Philippines, 71 degrees is a treat.

I am thinking...too much.  So much going on, my mind is a busy place and my body can't keep up.  I am overwhelmed with things that need time (and money) to be resolved.

I am thankful for...this weekend, the homeschool mom's retreat that starts tonight.  Need to be around friends in the faith and be wrapped in the grace of good company, Scripture and the Sacraments.  Looking forward to my alone time with Jesus.

I am wearing...a brown island dress, embroidered delicately and lovingly made by Target, white island flip-flops accented with crystal jewels hand-attached by Old Navy - these were my standard wear in the Philippine Islands.

I am remembering...beach, surf, volcano, friends and an unforgettable Summer.

I am creating...a checklist for my overnight bag, I've been such a scatter-brain lately that there's actual danger of my forgetting the overnight bag itself.

I am going...to pick up the older two from a sleep-over (thank you Becky K.!), dropping off recyclables and clothes for donation,  dropping off the girl for an ice cream parlor date with her girlfriends, tidy up the house before I leave my brood for the weekend. 

I am NOT...handwashing today woohoo!  Giving my hands a break from manual labor. 

I am reading...nothing yet, need to go through my bookshelf for spiritual books for the retreat. 

I am hoping...to find a reasonably priced, well-built clothes washer sometime this week.

On my mind...Georgia.  Umm, not really, I've never been to Georgia.  My mind is in the here and now, at least doing my best.

From the learning rooms...school is still out for the Summer.  A girlfriend is selling me some of her homeschool books though.  Apologia will be our Science textbook this year.

Noticing that...running has become easier since coming home.  Maybe it's the cooler temperatures and not having to deal with heat exhaustion.

From the kitchen...a sinkful of dishes. It will be a take-out food kind of day for all of us.

Around the house...a word - UGH!  In a more hopeful tone - this too shall pass.

One of my favorite things...a little baby who won't stop saying "Daddy" as soon as Lawrence gets home.  He only says "Mama" when he's trying make bubbles with his saliva.  Yup, this child obviously loves me very much, he salivates at the mention of my name!

A few plans for the rest of the week... just trying to get through each day with a smile on my face and more check marks on that chore list.

Ready for my close-up...for those of you not on Facebook (Barb S.!)  a photo of our beach vacation in the Philippines (Boracay), I've been asked if this is a postcard, it is not, I took it with my humble Kodak digital camera and it wasn't even re-touched.  Nature is photogenic.

From Vacation to Vocation

I am getting over a major post vacation-withdrawal issue.  Most of my 1.5 readership know by now that we are back from a 2-month vacation to the Philippines via Houston, Texas. It was a trip that certainly exceeded our expectations from how smoothly it all went to how blessed it was. Through the generosity of my sister and brother-in-law (and their children!) Lawrence and I were able to spend 10 days in the Philippines without the kids. Hubby was there for work for seven weeks, for those who haven't heard. I joined him on his fourth week there which was also his vacation week.

I am still pinching myself to this day, who but a generous God in His beneficence could give such a wonderful gift!? As much as I would like to write the details of this glorious vacation, my vocabulary fails to satisfy such a sublime experience.  For the sake of memory I hope to put everything in writing one day but for this blog entry we will deal with post-vacation stress syndrome

Vacation is not an easy thing for me to ease in and out of.  After all, I am the mother of a fairly large household and my nature is to control, manage and put things in it's proper order.  So allowing myself to do next to nothing, to have others take care of me and my children, to be pampered and be spoiled threw my OCD nature for a loop. There was a total mind-body disconnect.  Add to the equation that I was alone with my husband for 10 days.  Okay that was actually the sane and amazing part, he is my sanity-saver. But like I said, details later, drama part now

We knew we were coming home to a little bit of a rough patch. As we were rounding out the corner to our street, my husband gave the ominous "are you ready for this?" question.  A couple of weeks before our homecoming the one bathroom attached to the boys bedroom leaked (into the room and down the into the basement). The house was so musty that we had to sleep in the sunroom that night. Everywhere about me screamed "vacation is over sister!"  The following morning, as I was getting ready to run a load of laundry, we found out the washer is dead. In less than 24 hours my to-do list became so formidable (two months of undone chores, unpacking, back-to-school stuff, retreat planning, a benefit dinner, etc.) With my name written under all of it, I startled to buckle under pressure. Did I say it had been less than 24 hours that real life confronted me with a swift kick?

On the other hand my children were, for all intents and purposes, back to their normal life. They are playing with their friends again, laughing (crying and fighting) about the same things. As for mine, well, it couldn't get back to "normal" fast enough. My heart and mind seems to be straggling behind. It was stuck in the glorious light of vacation, the romance of being back to my native land with family and childhood friends.  In the interest of full disclosure, I go through this "I wanna go home" deal every so often. For those of you who are "transplants" from a foreign country, you know the feeling, there's no place like home. After twenty years of being gone, even I did not anticipate the kind of love I felt for my native land.  When my feet hit the ground I about lost it, home at last to the land of my birth, to it's warm and beautiful people, to it's beautiful language and delicious food!  And the bonus - home to the embrace of my husband who left 3 weeks earlier greeting me in the land of my birth.  God has a great sense of humor.

I'm lucky to call so many places home, just ask the amused customs people.  My travel documents include a Canadian passport and an American green card, I am the envy of many who can only dream of having one of both. As a typical Asian trait, we tend to assimilate well to new cultures and make any place our home.  Despite my legal credentials, my heart will not deny that it aches for the Philippines more than any other.  But before I start sobbing let's move on...

Fast-forwarding to the here and now: I'm slowly easing into my real life.  The truth of it all is that it is a good life and I just need to stop whining and get with the program. As I was hand-washing our clothes today it occurred to me that the happiest people in life are those that RESPOND, not just REACT. My misery was due to my reacting to the imagined chaos of my real life. Having more time to digest, plan and accept it all I realized that the proper attitude had to be a loving response.  To embrace once again the beauty of my life with all it's drudgery and monotony. It is easier to react with disdain, to be consumed in self-pity and to forget what is/was good. But the more noble thing is to respond to the gift of love that God first offered me.  It is undeniable as I look at my husband, my children, my family, my friends, these last 41 years, heck even just these last 2 months! - God loves me in a most incredible way (that I don't even deserve!) 

I am not saying I went from misery to ecstasy in two seconds flat at this realization. It is, however, helping me embrace the sacrificial beauty and nature of my life as I ease out of vacation into vocation mode.  Now off to tackle that to do list!