Lessons Learned

Things have been a little sketchy here at the Bonny Blue House in the last few weeks. Morning sickness seems to come at odd intervals lasting several days and disappearing suddenly for a week or so. Yesterday was one of the bad days, leaving mom "indisposed" for a large portion of the day. A violent migraine coupled with nausea is a lethal combination. The result was that not too much school got done. On days like these I insist that the basics get covered, math, reading, writing and religion. If it is not too cold everyone is outside for a while as well. Not much else got done though. So what did they learn? Ryan learned to guard his sleeping mother from toddler attacks by engaging them in a sing-a-long to his guitar. It woke me up but fed my soul. He also learned that bringing a blanket to a sleeping mommy and gently covering her earns you extra ice cream at dessert. Katie learned the valuable lesson that she can prepare, serve and clean up dinner for her four siblings. It was scrambled eggs and cereal but everyone was fed, full and happy. She is growing so quickly and becoming such an enormous help to me. Erin learned how to help her little sister and brother dry off and get into their pajamas. She gently combed hair and tidied the bathroom. Wisdom beyond her six years. All five of them joined in to help the babies they are so eagerly awaiting. Helping mom is helping the twins stay healthy and they are so on board with the agenda. So the lessons learned? We are a family and taking care of each other is one of the many ways we serve God. "CCC 2208 The family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor. " I think my children will be well prepared to embrace this teaching of our church, they will have spent their childhoods realizing the importance of helping others and have great experience in taking care of themselves and others. So today was a better day. I woke up with that inexplicable energy that often follows a bad bout of baby sickness. We were able to do a full day of learning in addition to catching up on some much neglected household duties. What did they learn today? Ryan had quite a breakthrough in math, Katie wrote a winter poem and executed a great pencil drawing after studying Van Gogh's painting Bedroom. Erin nailed down the Doxology in Latin. She had been struggling with the last line. All in all a lot was learned this week, some planned, much unplanned, but all of it valuable.