A poem in remembrance of simpler times....my rhythm and pentameter functions are a bit off this morning, so please forgive me...I am lacking sleep.
BLUE
Ohhh I remember the days of finding all the colors and spelling their names-
Of finding the blue in our world!
Of finding the blue in our world!
And by blue I mean not the sadness and strife,
But of all the things hued azure in our life.
There were papers and toys,
before her little eyes
and many a stuffed animal as well.
The couch was that color
And our glasses were too
why, so much in our home then was blue!
My darling little girl
her head was a whirl
she loved to see color and form.
So much so in fact,
that without any tact,
she decided to bind all she knew.
Miss O found my yarn,
'Twas a bright shade of blue
It called to her, and then she knew.
O went straight to work
Why, was only a moment, or so it seemed
that I left the room when nature's call deemed.
Upon my return, I got a surprise
O had done much with her new found supplies.
We found things tied to things
Paper bits to teething rings,
A dinosaur hung in a noose.
My new turquoise nightie
no longer folded and tidy
was tethered to many blue blocks.
The dog, so it seemed, was bewildered and peeved
from her collar dangled a small toy.
Our living room had become a small web.
My cute little spider
her grin had never been wider
and I had to smile in return.
So much blue to find, so much to unwind
To be honest, I didn't really mind.
She looked so proud of her work
I couldn't be a jerk
And yell at my little artful girl.
We hugged, laughed and cleaned up
And freed all our stuff up.
And then had a talk about not tying stuff to the dog.
The early days of homeschooling make me laugh with joy. It seems that I was much more relaxed back then.
Nowadays I am overly concerned with transcripts, requirements, and quotas. High school is tough business! But this morning I was remembering how much fun we had that day when Olivia decided to show me how much blue she could find, and secure to one room. This happened when she was about three years old. Literally, I took a tiny bathroom break, (you know the kind when you pee quickly with the door open and listen so you can react to any crashing/skidding/climbing over baby gates/crying that may occur when you are relieving yourself. Because it invariably happens then) and upon my return found the entire living room woven together with blue yarn. I call it the Things Tied to Things episode, and when I describe it to new parents, they usually give me the deer in the headlights look. But of course every one else's darling children would never do stuff like that.
We had so much fun that afternoon. Oh, I laughed my head off! Olivia has always had a great sense of color and humor.
This High School thing has the potential to get so serious if I will let it-and I don't want to forget to have fun during this time.
I want Olivia to have the best education possible. I also want to help her to find the joy in everyday life. I fear that her creativity has the potential to suffer if we remove elements of our school that relax and recharge us. Choosing what is essential and what is elective is difficult. I like to encourage Olivia to take charge of her education, but I also like to guide her down paths that will assist her in her adult life-like learning basic accounting skills and such. More than that, I do not want to lose the spirit of our earliest homeschooling days-we consider Olivia schooled at home 'since birth' and we've had some really great, fun, goofy, creative times.
-to be silly while the silly gettin's good
-stock up on blue yarn
Have fun, eat well, and love lots!
Antonia
