Weeds, Camp, Health and Homeschool

I have sore muscles.  I'm probably the only person out there who has sore muscles because I'm weeding 6000 plants.  Last week, not quite single handedly, my kids and I weeded nearly 3 acres of vines.  This week the remaining 2 acres are left to go.  Most people hire this kind of thing out, but not us.  No.  I'm the hired help.

There is something satisfying though about the whole thing.  Even my kids don't mind so much.  You see the plant covered in weeds and then with a little hoeing the plant is uncovered and it looks up at you and almost seems to thank you for clearing away a path for the roots that had been blocking its way to water.  The rows seem to come alive.

I was given multiple options for the kids last week.  All sorts of day camps and even evening youth camps, but we just couldn't swing it and get the vineyard weeded as well.  Yet no one complained. The only thing I can think of is that we replaced it with meaningful work.  Work, yes.  No one seems to love work just for the sake of work, but if it is work with a purpose it seems to be more embraced.

The kids know this vineyard is not just for mom and dad.  It is their vineyard, too.  They know if they help keep it alive, they will benefit one day, too.  They seem to have grasped this concept and are willing to contribute, especially the older ones.  The 6 and 8 year old get in there, but not perhaps with the same vigor.

But there are blips in the road of course.  I went in for what I thought was a routine checkup and now have a D & C ahead of me.  Having never even had a cavity and now facing the word "surgery", I'm not particularly happy about this turn of events.  But the doctor is erring on the side of safety due to my sister's run-in with cancer awhile ago.  From what I've heard it is a straightforward a procedure and I'll be home within hours not noticing a thing.  The results of the D & C could be another matter, but that's out of my hands for now.  Why borrow worry from tomorrow?

This week my oldest is a leader at the worldview camp she starting attending 4 years ago.  Her siblings will all follow suit next week.  It has such an impact on her so long ago, I'm excited to see the impact on the other ones now.  What I love so much is that her first day there she kept looking for her siblings!  She knew they weren't coming until the following week, but she's just so used to seeing them all the time and being with them all the time that she really missed them!  That made my heart sing.

These next two weeks will see me up early making schedules and chore packs for the younger ones for September.  That is a dangerous thing to do as I did that last year and it was nearly impossible for me to follow through with all the driving I did this past year.  However, I will do it again, pretending that life will be "normal" (whatever that is around here).  Even if I don't achieve all that I write down, I do it anyway so that there is some kind of goal!

I will go in with my eyes more wide open this year.  I think last year I went in thinking if I didn't achieve all that was on my list, I was a failure.  This haunted me throughout the year and made me want to send them all away to someone else's homeschool where more work was getting done.  I had to give myself many a pep talk that our life was school even if I wasn't getting all the academics done that I had hoped for.  The kids were taking in all that was happening and we did more school in some ways than I had done in all my previous years of homeschooling.  So every year is different.  I just love being with my kids no matter what happens.  It is so fun to watch them grow up.

I've become a "suburban mom" again.  The kids love splash pads (I don't know why) and so because we don't have a pool I head over to the one in town a couple times a week.  It is my goal every time to talk with another mom.  I've used the kittens and puppies lately to start conversations, "Do you want kittens?  We have lots?  No?  What about puppies?  No?  Ah, too bad...."  and then we start talking about why I have so many animals to sell or give away.  Super funny.  They usually find out I have 8 kids, homeschool, live on a farm.....that's when the shaking heads start, but I love it.  It leads to really interesting conversations.

Now the week is at the half-way point.  I started writing this two days ago and got interrupted.  It is funny how time flies.  We did get some weeding done, but then the rain hit so that just helps the weeds grow!  It's ok.  It'll get done.  Coffee's done......time to enjoy my giant mug of the day.....