A Windless Day

Thursday, December 13, 2007
Bangor

Walt and Reed are out doing yardwork today – it looks like they’re experimenting with weaving a little fence out of palm leaves, something that Reed could totally throw himself into. Walt has spent a lot of time the past couple days preparing Christmas cards to send to all our friends and family – and today he vacuumed too. Who knew he had such impulses in him? It’s all a matter of having enough time, I guess. I’ve been busy with the newsletter for the hatchery in Sitka but finished it earlier this week, so I’ve had the pleasure of knowing a check is on its way to my bank account for that. Yesterday I successfully pitched four stories to the Spokesman-Review, so it’s good to have some upcoming projects for the next couple of months. One of them involves going to the Belle Isle Cookery School in Lesbellaw, near Enniskillen, for a weekend cooking class in January which I’m very much looking forward to.

Reed and I had a wonderful day Tuesday. My end of project good mood was enhanced by a very rare, almost completely windless day. The sea looked smooth as glass at times, the first we’ve seen it like that. So Reed and I walked along the trail slowly – with me in an almost Zen-like state of contentment - as we made our way into town to go to the charity shop for a sheet, and then to the pool for a swim. Other people on the trail were cheerful too, so lovely was it to be outside. A brown Labrador named Stella was overjoyed to be running like the wind after a ball her human was flinging for her, and we watched a skipper on his boat very close by pulling up his crab pots, emptying them, and then setting them again.

Wednesday was less than perfect but I couldn’t expect days like Tuesday to happen very often. Reed has learned how to tell time better in the last couple of days and is making good progress with his reading, addition, subtraction, and multiplication. So I guess we’re not total losers as homeschoolers. I am also able to get Reed to practice his violin 6 days a week now. Sometimes we’re good for only 10 minutes and sometimes it stretches out to half an hour – but he seems to be having a better time since I explained to him recently that he’s supposed to make mistakes while he’s practicing. It was kind of a pep talk to me too, a reminder that if I wince or frown when he screws up, that he’ll be more discouraged than motivated. Besides, he knows when he makes a mistake, it’s not like he needs me to point it out, does he?!