Friday, January 4, 2013

Shout it from the rooftops!!

We are SO excited here!  Today was our first day back at school after a very long break.  (We take time off from Thanksgiving to the New Year, instead focusing on practical applications of our skills.  We use math in budgeting and baking and gift wrapping.  We practice our penmanship in list-making.  We learn about music appreciation and composers when we listen to Handel’s Messiah.  We learn life skills when we learn how to keep our Christmas focus in the right places.  And we enjoy the season with less stress!)  Anyway, today was Logan’s first day ‘back in the saddle’ and to start, we pulled out some slightly more challenging work I’ve been saving for the right time.  Guess what?  He BLEW through it all!  Every single page.  Every single problem!  Every word in the short book I had for him?  HE read them.  By himself.  Alone!  No tears.  No frustration.  No whining.  Just the grins and smiles that come from success, and the spiraling excitement when he realized that he really truly could do this!  Now, he’s not going to win any reading or math awards any time soon.  The book was small—11 pages.  It has 16 different words in it, in 21 sentences.  But he DID it!  For him it’s a HUGE step.  The best part?  He’s so excited by his success that he can’t wait to try the next book.  And the next.  And he’s already talking about how he’s going to do more than I think he can before school’s out this year.  For the kid who has approached every lesson with tears and trepidation, it’s a RED LETTER day.

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted, and I apologize.  God has a way of making sure that we truly understand our topic when we are asked to teach.  I am teaching the young moms at church next week, and the topic I was given is time management.  And I have been learning lessons this winter.  Plagued by a mild infection since mid-October, I’ve been under the weather enough to have to evaluate my priorities and understand what’s truly important.  The down time that comes from an ongoing low grade fever and just generally feeling crummy has put significant experience to understanding how those priorities should be ordered.  Fortunately, I am feeling better and am (almost) ready to speak next week.  Even more important, I am grateful for the lessons learned through this and pray that they will stick with me.  Smile

So rejoice with us!  2013 is starting off with a bang.  Great school work.  Mostly restored health for me.  A girl who is excited to head back to WSU tomorrow.  One who leaves Wednesday morning for a semester abroad—in Florence, Italy.  (Such a hard thing for a renaissance era History and Art History major.  We will miss her terribly, but I know when she returns in May she’ll have loads to share.)  One who is back in school, eagerly awaiting her first clinical assignment.  And one who is coming to visit for his little brother’s birthday!  Can’t wait for that…36 hours at Christmas wasn’t long enough to suit this mom.  

I’ll leave you with the words God has given me for this year:

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  ~Psalm 90:12

No comments:

Post a Comment