So are you liking the French theme I have going with the titles of my posts? It’s just a little service I thought I would provide.
(Do you speak a foreign language? I find it can be awkward to try and teach French to my children, especially since I’m the only one who speaks it and they all just sort of blink at me.)
(They’re coming along pretty well with it, however.)
(Just don’t ask them to spell anything.)
We are almost ready to begin school on Monday—yes, we’re beginning on Labor Day so that the headmaster’s here to intervene on demand—and consequently I won’t have a lot of time for blogging next week. In fact, I don’t know how much time I will have for writing in general because…well, I need to teach my kids and it’s a big, big job. Please be patient with my weekly offerings, as humble as they may be, while I get on track with this new schedule.
(Yes, I compose the shot before letting other people take it.
Yes, I am that obnoxious.)
Meanwhile, since we have not yet started, I do have some time this morning to talk to you (which I really do love to do) and so here I am. Hello. I hope you are well and that this first day of September is the very best September 1, 2011 you ever have.
Because it’s the only September 1, 2011 you will ever have.
So there.
I had an inspiration this morning—one that involved my vocation as a mother. You know that, if you are a parent, your heart is pulled in thousand directions on any given day. If you are not yet a parent, be warned! It is a wild and wonderful ride, nonetheless, and I wouldn’t trade my job for nothin’.
And yet…and yet…
It can be hard not to get caught in the daily grind and as I type this, I’m thinking, “How obvious!” Still, for some reason I feel called to remind you today that every single minute’s a gift.
Maybe it’s getting the news last night that a beloved niece and her husband are divorcing…
Maybe it’s hearing about my sisters’ get-together at my mom & dad’s. There was fun and laughter in abundance, and then Daddy surprised them with a trip out to the cemetery. He’d had his and my mother’s headstone engraved…
Or maybe it’s seeing the prayer intentions online, of mothers who are mourning the children they’ve lost…and in thinking that this—this day, this moment—is the blessed Now that God has given me.
Pray for me. I may never re-emerge.
I know you have your own lists, my friends, and they are probably just as long! For my part, I’m guarding my heart today against worrying about those things that don’t matter…and against worrying about those things that do.
Faith…
Hope…
And much, much love.
These are the things—the hardest things—to which I’m inclining my heart today. Thank you for stopping by…and for hoping & loving & trusting right alongside me. Thank you for the gift of you.
I have no idea what En Garde means!
If you are to give us a lesson, maybe you could tell us what the words mean? Please? I speaka spanish a little. Very little. I was in 11th grade when I learned it.
Your post brought tears to my eyes, especially the part of missing your family get together. I know that is so very hard for you.
Thankful for you.
Thankful for YOU, my dear, and your ability to share yourself so eloquently with us.
The headstone line got to me… been there, felt that. That is SO DIFFICULT.
Yes, I do have my own list… (including a young man down the road now hospitalized due to a farm injury, and so very thankful that his injuries are not life-threatening, which they very easily could have been due to the nature of the injury.) And you are tucked right in there with all that I am thankful for.
Love and blessings~
p.s.-Jamie, En Garde means to be "on (your) guard," I believe…
Yes, exactly, Lori. It's what fencers say as they're about to begin.
Not that I have ever fenced!
Good luck cleaning that schoolroom, and I know you WILL emerge triumphant before Monday!
Enjoy your September 1 and thanks for the reminder!
Margaret, your wise words are always a sweet honey to my soul…and thought provoker for my day. Once again, thank you for the reminder for the right NOW.
Thankful for dear, sweet you today and sending a virtual hug.
BTW, my hubby double majored in college and one of them was French. Trying to figure out a way to use that for the kids to learn a new language and also for daddy to help a bit with the homeschooing 🙂
Thank you for sharing your heart. Although I don't homeschool, life has been a flurry of activity this week with my boys starting again at the Catholic school they attend.
BTW-I am fluent in sign language. 😉
I sort of speak french..I can read it and write it, but not speak it. Is that weird? Although I'm definitely losing it as the years go on and on.
Is that your attic that you use as a classroom? I've always wondered how homeschooling moms of big families are able to carve a school room out of their house….
I took a little French in college. My fav. is ………repute sil vous play.
The spelling it totally off. It means..Please repeat! I said that a zillion times.
Bon Jour!
Tres Bien!
Merci!
You are an awesome homeschooler mama I am sure of it. Happy school room cleaning!
"Repetez" s'il vous plait. 🙂
Not bad, Christine! Those four phrases would serve you VERY well in France.)
I tell my kids, if all you ever say is "Bonjour Madame" (or "Monsieur") and "Merci", the French will love you! They think highly of good manners, and saying hello when you enter the shop is at the top of the list.
Pronunciation is the key here, I was reading it "en Garday" If I would have read it correctly, then I would be ready to fence!!
I am also fluent in sign language, does that count?
You bet it does! I love sign language and wish I "spoke" it.
We're starting school on Monday, too! What better day to start our new "labors."
Be consoled in the fact that your school room is in better shape than mine. We just moved a month ago and are trying to transform one of the bedrooms into a schoolroom. Right now, though, the carpet is half torn out and all of my beloved books and school supplies are in boxes. I have to content myself with the kitchen table and the bare necessities (read: books, paper, pencils, and computer) for the next month or so. Ugh. My perfectionistic self is sighing … maybe next year we'll be more settled.
(My verification word is sworeasi. I have no idea what it means or how to pronounce it, but I could "swear easy" these days (if I were a swearer).
I can understand more French than speak it. I think it was my pépé always correcting my pronunciation that stunted my "growth" in this. "The French don't care what you say as long as you pronounce it correctly. " 😉
I used to listen so intently to my grandparents and papa speaking to one another. Especially during Christmas time. I could always tell when they were talking about presents, lol.
btw, I'm feeling very thankful for you. Your blog is always a delight.
I think the only French phrase I knew well was "Do you have a lighter?" but I haven't needed it in so long I can no longer remember it.
I soooo understand missed family gatherings ((hug)).
I only remember a tiny bit of French from the one year in college that I took it for fun when my Japanese class was cancelled for lack of interested students. I do love to speak in English with a French accent to my kids, though. Indian is also fun.
Don't feel bad about having a hard time teaching French to your kids. I live in Japan, and am fluent (but not very literate) in Japanese, and it's still hard to keep their Japanese up while homeschooling in English!