Just a bit whacked

Something happened in blog world. I inadvertently whacked my blog into, well, nonexistence. Everything is gone. I know, I know. I’ve got the word “Novice” spray-painted on my forehead lest I forget. But that’s what we’re doing here… learning about learning. I’m an easy candidate for that.

This week we’re unschooling. It’s a week filled with doctor’s appointments and an unhappy teething baby. All official and constructed learning is off until further notice. Some days/weeks/months are like that, and we’re just rolling with the punches to see what opportunities reveal themselves. It seems necessary and important to give the universe a clear whack at our lives from time to time (and I don’t mean tornados, if any higher source is listening. –Just wanted to clarify.)

Whack #1 –seems to be the International Fair hosted by our local homeschooling community. It’s happening next week. I’m sure they gave us more notice than that, but I’m equally sure that I wasn’t paying attention. Sunburst had so much fun presenting at the Science Fair in February that she’s fired up enough to do it again. She has chosen Scotland, which is dear to all our hearts, and it doesn’t hurt that her Dad plays bagpipes. She has already informed him that he will be her musical sidekick. So later today we’re heading off to the library to check out a pile of books.

Whack #2 –gardening. We got hog wild this last weekend and put in a modest container garden. It’s laughable compared to our 200 sq.ft. veggie-paradise we constructed in Texas, but hopefully it will do. Boy do I miss that garden! And that big house! (sigh) But I must forge ahead and not let myself get too caught up in what had been. We’re here in the Midwest now, and renting at that, so instead of digging and building and all of that, I’m going with containers. The container experiment! I hope it works. Last night it stormed (again,) and today everything is a sopping wet mess. I may have to whack bigger drainage holes if this keeps up. I really don’t have much experience with growing food in pots, so all advice is welcome.

The girls are terribly excited that we’re gardening again. I suspect it makes them feel settled and whole, but I could be projecting here. It definitely has that effect on me. It’s a transient life we’ve signed up for, as we’re only here on a two-year research grant, and then we’ll be moving on again until we land the tenure-track job. It’s a double-edged sword. This way we get to travel and have new experiences, but I think we could all do with a little more stability. Plus, it really sucks to leave your friends behind. That’s the clincher. By the end of it though we should have many, many friends…