Years ago, when we made the heady decision to bring our children home to educate, we didn’t foresee how difficult it would be. Had I stayed with the status quo, there would have been no parent/child conflict over academics or schedules, no sleepless nights questioning my ability to do this crazy thing, no defending […]
parenting
Optimizing Opportunity
Many modern parents feel they don’t have too much to teach their kids. I, for one, couldn’t help mine with calculus or programming. In fact, the world of technology was changing so fast that they were often teaching me. It is enough to cause many parents to step back and rely on “experts” to do […]
New Year’s Relinquishment
It happens every year about this time. People start talking about resolutions for the New Year. They list the things they need to add to their life: more exercise, a new diet, exciting activities, daily journaling, starting the house addition, etc. Many look at life and feel it is not enough. For some odd reason, […]
It Starts at Home
“Everybody wants to save the earth. Nobody wants to help mom do the dishes” P.J. O’Rourke I believe most parents dream of their children doing great things. It is such a delight to see the miracle of development unfold before our eyes throughout childhood. They often surprise us with clear insight that is more mature than […]
Life Lessons from the Sticker Patch
With a large rural acreage, there is always something a gardener is fighting. Sometimes it is a grasshopper invasion. This past year it has been wild hogs and gophers. Currently our battle has targeted the extremely persistent sandbur patches. After several years of serious spraying, we are making great progress against these painful little stickers. […]