March Madness Part 2
The rest of the month
Hello dear readers! Did anyone else feel like these past weeks flew by? Just me? I didn’t think so. We are all quite busy in our own ways. You don’t have to have six kids, homeschool, or be a pastor’s wife to feel your life is full. If you missed my post from the beginning of the month, the first two weeks, you can go here and read it. I am liking the format of breaking these posts up into bi-monthly affairs. I don’t feel like I am inflicting you with too much information that way.
The weather is still cold in fits and starts, but decidedly warming up. As I go on my walks in the morning I am seeing buds on trees. Did you know different trees have different colored and shaped buds? I love nature observation and educating myself about the new things I see here in Pennsylvania.
Saturday, March 15
On my walk this morning I spotted a pair of kildeer birds. Actually, I spied one to my right who scurried away from me as I walked nearby, obviously trying to distract me. Sure enough, his mate burst out of the grass on my left when I got too close. I had never seen these birds before and had to grab my identification book when I got back home. It’s always exciting to see new things in nature.
My massive cooking day yesterday turned out pretty good. I made a gallon of homemade granola, the filling for breakfast burritos, brownies, and pizza crusts for movie night. I also browned 3lbs of ground beef for convenience. I ended up having to stop my cooking time at lunch. I am not a cook-all-day kinda person. I get pretty sick of it and all the clean-up after just a couple of hours. Most of what I tackled was easy and fast projects. Pizza and movie night with the kids.
Sunday, March 16
There is a hard and fast storm, almost a tornado, about an hour after church today. We lost power. Thankfully, we had already eaten lunch. We went ahead with going down to the middle school production of Matilda, Jr., hoping that they had power. Only, they didn’t. They ended up rescheduling for next Sunday. Now that my kids are in theater, I really felt for those kids, all geared up to perform, costume and makeup and everything, only to have to cancel. I’m looking forward to finally seeing it and giving those guys a big hand for persevering through tough circumstances.
Monday, March 17
We head out early today to make it to my in-laws in Maryland. I bring along Shaun Bythell’s last book Remainders of the Day to finish while in the car. I have to sit in the van a few minutes after we arrive to finish the last page, but nobody notices I am a few minutes behind. I’m sad to have finished this last diary in the series.
My brother-in-law and his family are all there and it’s a Daniels’ family reunion for 8 hours. We eat and play and talk and talk. The girls all work together and have a tea party with Grandma’s special dishes. We can’t decide if we should raise our pinkies when drinking or not. Dinner is a St. Patrick's Day feast of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. More talking, more laughing. We drive home and roll in about midnight. Delightful and exhausting, but isn’t that the best way?
Thursday, March 20
It’s the first day of spring! My oldest daughter makes a special cake, and we celebrate after lunch so my oldest son can have his slice before he goes to work for the evening.
I also make an art journal page in a single day. I’ve had so many other creative and administrative tasks taking up my mind lately that working in my journal has been non-existent. But because we are home and testing and not running around, I find the time to whip this page up. It helps that I have a beautiful paper with a picture of a dreamy lady from Somerset Studio Magazine that makes this page pop. I only have to add a supportive background to tell a story.
Friday, March 21
The next milestone in my
! My second suit of cards are done. I’m loving how this project is turning out. Even though I realize I’m only going halfway through the challenge with my 52 cards, I think this is a good fit for me this year.We finished up our standardized testing today. I chose a self-proctored, untimed test for all the kids. We tackled a unit a day for three days. I am perfectly pleased with their results. I’m glad to have this requirement met and off my mind.
Monday, March 24
It’s tech week. I have been preparing for this week for months. For those of you not in the know, tech week is the week leading up to performance days for theater. In our case, it’s four days of dress rehearsals and two days of performances. We basically live at the theater and dream theater songs all week long. Our first tech week was a bit of a train wreck. I was unprepared for the distraction, the exhaustion, the disorder of eating and sleeping routines. We will see if all my planning and prepping will pay off.
Wednesday, March 26
I haul my computer with me to the theater today. I meet with my SAQA* group and show them my most recent work. We have a fantastic discussion. So many talented women in there, and so much more wisdom and experience than I. I appreciate soaking in their words every time we meet. Another theater mom sees my Zoom call and we chat about art and connecting with other artists. I love how so many theater moms are friendly and talkative, and you can find a kindred spirit in unexpected places.
*Studio Art Quilt Association
Friday and Saturday, March 28-29
They did it! My three older kids make it through four performances, and they do a great job. They are exhausted and proud, tired and happy. One of my favorite parts of the performance days is the drive home. My kids are so fired up and full of energy and we just chat and chat like friends all the way home. With two teenagers, I treasure the times we establish the friendship we will have when they are adults.
Sunday, March 30
It’s after church and I’m enjoying sitting down today, drinking my first cup of tea in a week. I’m assessing how my plans went for tech week. I think I can say that life went a lot smoother, especially at the Parsonage. Having more sitters to ease the care of little people not in theater helped my husband out so much this time. They had fun even when all their older siblings and mom weren’t around. My meal planning was smooth, too, which I’m glad about. Sometimes my meal plans completely derail, but this time things flowed smoothly. I am grateful. My kids all stayed well-fed and hydrated, which might seem pretty basic, but trust me, for tech week, it’s an accomplishment.
A verse I’ve been pondering for a few days has been Proverbs 14:4, “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean…” This might sound like a strange verse to ponder, but take a minute with it. It might seem nice to have a clean barn, but then you have no work animal. That means no food, livelihood, or purpose. I know when I feel like life is messy and chaotic with so many kids and activities, I remember that it is better to have the kids and the busy life rather than a clean house that is never disturbed. Blessings often come in messy packages and force us to live grace out in real time, rather than neatly packaged and tidy.
It feels like we are going full-steam ahead for the next few weeks. Some of our more normal routines, like family movie night, have to take a lower priority during these crazy days. I look forward to things slowing down in May. At least, I hope. May your lives be full of messy blessings in these next coming weeks!