thankful thursday

Yes, it's Friday. Night. That's beside the point, though. I'm chronically tardy and apparently this is no exception to the rule.

So, my Thankful Thursday - I'm thankful it's Friday! (haha!)

We no longer have school on Friday. I toyed with this idea for a couple weeks, tried it out, and now I have more reasons than ever for being glad I chose this route.

At first, my plan was simply to stretch school into a mostly year-round situation, spacing it out and keeping it from feeling like a pressure-gauge ready to go off as the end drew near. A lot of four day weeks mixed with a few three day weeks and some holidays/sick days and you still have breathing space at the end of the required 180 days. Just not 10 weeks of it. This keeps the consistency of school and busyness in balance, in my opinion.

In the month or so we've been doing this, I have discovered another reason I like Fridays off. It gives me a weekday to be a mom. Not in firm, gotta-do-it teaching mode (some days it's very much like that). Instead, it's a day that's not a weekend where only kid play is expected (it's still our library day which I sift into the school-ness of the week, time wise), chores are still supposed to happen, and it's not just "better because Daddy is home" like a weekend. I can take it easy like today, or we can run errands like other Fridays. It varies.

BUT. Mostly, it's just a normal day. Without school expectations. Of course, Little B spent part of the day voluntarily watching several DVD's on Language Arts and Science, and at bedtime he will likely be picking up (again) the book he's enraptured with from his Sonlight curriculum. Learning is everywhere. Even on the day "off."

time alone

I got some much needed time alone yesterday. Yes, yes, some of it was at the grocery store buying a ton of cereal for 1/2 price since there was a one day special. And yes, the other half was spent getting a filling, complete with my first shot of lidocaine. I survived. Indeed, I felt refreshed for having sat there alone with complete attention on me for a while, not having to tend anyone else's needs. Just mine. Maybe not what I'd call "fun" but it was pretty much worth it for the down time.

Just how desperately pathetic does that make me???? Wait, maybe you shouldn't answer that. . . .

Thankful Thursday

So, I thought I'd try out my concept of "Thankful Thursday." I don't know for sure if I'll stick with it, but I guess we'll find out. If you decide to join me, please leave me a message and I'll come read yours...


Rain.

I live at the edge of a lake (I can literally walk to it from a path across the street). I drive across the dam that makes said lake at least once, and often twice a week. The summer we moved in, three years ago, someone "accidentally over-drained" the lake while sending water to another state for a nearly extinct fish. By five feet. The lake started to look a little...sparse. Boats struggled some and many people were frustrated - a fish over the water supply for our own people? Yes, it's our water supply. I understood that frustration.


And at about the same time, our state entered into a drought. A drought that lasted a couple of years. I found myself praying for rain. Thankful for rain. Loving rain. Whenever we would get it, albeit briefly.


Last year, many skeptics spoke of how it would never come back up, it was too far gone, our water supply was never going to be able to meet our (overgrown area's) needs...etc. etc. I secretly laughed. There are always seasons and cycles to life. "This too shall pass," is one of my mother's favorite reminders. I felt it quite applicable in the matter of our water supply.


This past spring, our lake level was more than 19 feet down. Sparse was a kind word. Barren, more fitting. So many times I wished I had my camera to take pictures for my blog. The erosion was more clear each month as the water levels dropped, then the weeds began to grow and grow and cover it up. The signage in various bars no longer stuck up above water, but now the entire bars were growing weeds. The wall that held water back from a walking path was not only visible to a driver on the dam, but we could see the entire wall - and see where it met the ground below. That day I was amazed by just how low the water levels had dropped.


And then the rains began. It rained and rained and rained. And rained. And rained some more. Not many weeks back, there was a lot of flooding in our area. Each time we crossed the dam, we eagerly checked the digital sign showing the current lake level. We watched in anticipation as the numbers climbed, the shore receded, the weeds became tips above water.


A few weeks ago, our gorgeous lake was above the suggested lake level! The aforementioned sidewalk was indeed slightly flooding on one rainy afternoon. The lake was burgeoning with ripples and waves and boats.


Beautiful.

I am so thankful for the rain.