Sarah did an amazing job entering her preschool class last Wednesday. She galloped in easily and independently hung her coat and backpack on her hook. Then she galloped to put her name in the name jar.
One of Sarah’s favorite poems has a line about “baby fingers stir stewed pear” so I made pear sauce. The girls helped cut chunks of pear and helped stir and mash, but then Sarah never even tried a bite. Oh well. It was delicious.
Sarah also loves a poem by Gareth Owen about jam on toast: “Why is strawberry jam so red? why is toast so brown? why, when I drop it on the floor, is it always jam side down?” I made almond bread, and I made jam from frozen raspberries (cooked with a tiny bit of water and lemon juice until very mushy and with most of the liquid boiling off, then adding a bit of honey). This was Sarah’s first toast with jam in over two years (not that she ever had jam that often before). It is great to get ideas for homeschooling projects just from what Sarah finds funny or interesting.
Speaking of following her interest, sometimes the answer to what to do for homeschooling is so directly in front of me that I don’t see it. I have been wondering how to do a history lesson and then I realized that I could focus on the US flag, which she already loves. My plan is to find blank pictures she can color and also pictures of the flag over time as it changed. We can practice writing “flag.” We can count the stars and stripes. We can look at maps of states as they changed and as this country grew over time. We can find pictures of state flags. We can find flags of other countries.
I have been feeling extremely grateful. I am so grateful for my uncle and aunt who support our program financially, giving me the freedom to pursue my vision for our family life and Sarah-Rise. I am so grateful for our wonderful M. who volunteers with Amy, spending two hours a week of delighted, delightful time with Amy. It is so beautiful to eavesdrop on someone who has such an abundance of joy and space to really be with Amy at her pace and on her terms for two hours. The amazing thing is that I am almost used to how we have this gift of time from many volunteers for Sarah. I am so blessed to also have someone for Amy too.
This weekend I got together in DC with my bookless group. We used to read books together. Now we read whatever we happen to read and share recommendations when we see each other. One friend, Sb, used to be a Sarah-Rise volunteer. She read a favorite SR room book (Press Here by Herve Tullet) to our bookless group. I am moved to tear-prickles in my eyes when I think of it because Sb embodies the three E’s that are a cornerstone of Son-Rise. Her enthusiasm and delight are so 110% and she is so caring and creative and amazing. I was so touched remembering how all of that awesomeness was poured into the SR program in the past. What a tremendous gift.
I think that most of us don’t quite see how wonderful we ourselves are. We so often think that we could or should do better that we don’t see how deeply amazing we are just as we are. Sb and M are two amazing women and I marvel at my good fortune to have them touch my life. To all of my volunteers and helpers, remember that I always see your amazingness, even when you might have a day when you don’t feel amazing.
I have also been feeling grateful for my wide group of friends and family in general. I know many parents of kids with special needs have described feeling abandoned by their friends or family. I have never felt abandoned, not even for one minute. My circle of friends has only grown.
As we are in my cluster headache evasion season (due less to the actual season and more to the increased stress that tends to be present), I am doing more Alexander Technique constructive rest. I do a lot of inviting my tongue to be easy and my eye muscles to let go. This is about undoing whatever isn’t working so that the right thing can do itself.
This morning I am feeling tired and creaky. I am feeling less than stellar. I am worrying that I have said the wrong thing here or there. I am hoping that somehow this will still be enough for today to be a good day. Maybe today will just be a day. Even if it feels awkward and creaky as a day, as long as my girls know how much I love them I think I will count today as a success.
Much love to all of you, whether your day feels creaky or amazing.
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