As I made breakfast this morning, my mind wandered over the coming weeks and months -- what we need to do, what that means. I realized I was using a family present that I had gifted us a few Christmases ago, and my thoughts settled on the mooncake molds under this year's Christmas tree. Among other things, the new year brings another round of the geography co-op class I've been teaching. We started in Europe and will be sliding over into Asia this week. Those mooncake molds will be just the thing!
It got me thinking about how we create opportunities -- opportunities for learning, opportunities for experiences. Homeschooling and parenting and learning and being who we are all become one and the same -- one big jumble. Was I thinking about geography when I bought the mooncake molds? No, not really. I was remembering the day that Linus and I looked at a cake cookbook together at Costco and how he tried to get it for me for Mother's Day, but it wasn't there any more. And how we looked it up online and found that the authors did some tutorials for cakes and cupcakes. And when we had watched all of those I remembered that I wanted to make mooncakes for book club, so we looked up tutorials for making mooncakes. And how he sat in my lap, so tiny and so engaged. And so now we have mooncake molds. The book club in question has long passed. But I've made room for new opportunities. I've created space for creating.
Last year I used the word "CREATE" as a way to focus. I've learned how vital it is for me to have opportunities to be creative. Sometimes book club fulfills that need -- I've loved learning to cook and bake new things. Sometimes I need to learn a whole new set of skills (starting a blog was that at one time). Sometimes I just need a project that doesn't require a lot of me, but lets me plink away at it, eventually resulting in a little something new and created-with-my-own-two-hands.
Other things needed creating, too. Space for a growing second child. Always content to come along for the ride, it was time to arrange things differently for him. And I'd seen how much he himself enjoyed creating -- but he needed support in doing it his way, on projects he's drawn to.
Worked out great. Through about June. So, for 2016, I'm bringing it back! And this year I'm one year wiser...
It got me thinking about how we create opportunities -- opportunities for learning, opportunities for experiences. Homeschooling and parenting and learning and being who we are all become one and the same -- one big jumble. Was I thinking about geography when I bought the mooncake molds? No, not really. I was remembering the day that Linus and I looked at a cake cookbook together at Costco and how he tried to get it for me for Mother's Day, but it wasn't there any more. And how we looked it up online and found that the authors did some tutorials for cakes and cupcakes. And when we had watched all of those I remembered that I wanted to make mooncakes for book club, so we looked up tutorials for making mooncakes. And how he sat in my lap, so tiny and so engaged. And so now we have mooncake molds. The book club in question has long passed. But I've made room for new opportunities. I've created space for creating.
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| made for me by a friend- another good reason to hang on to CREATE |
Last year I used the word "CREATE" as a way to focus. I've learned how vital it is for me to have opportunities to be creative. Sometimes book club fulfills that need -- I've loved learning to cook and bake new things. Sometimes I need to learn a whole new set of skills (starting a blog was that at one time). Sometimes I just need a project that doesn't require a lot of me, but lets me plink away at it, eventually resulting in a little something new and created-with-my-own-two-hands.
Other things needed creating, too. Space for a growing second child. Always content to come along for the ride, it was time to arrange things differently for him. And I'd seen how much he himself enjoyed creating -- but he needed support in doing it his way, on projects he's drawn to.
Worked out great. Through about June. So, for 2016, I'm bringing it back! And this year I'm one year wiser...
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| Crazy about these picnic placemats with their little utensil pocket! Linus made the teeny jammies & I made the less teeny jammies |
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