What I read:
The best thing that I have read lately is The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron. It is basically everything you need to know about the Enneagram and more. I wish that I had learned about the Enneagram years ago because it really helps me to see why we act the way we do and what we can do to make sure we are meeting the needs of our family members who have a different personality types. To give you an example, I am a Enneagram One wing Two, this basically means I am a helpful know it all with principles. So basically I want to help people not because I think my way is best, but because I see they are struggling and my suggestions will be helpful (This is very annoying to almost every other types…especially sevens and I have two in my family!) My daughter Emma is a type Four. She loves all the feelings and the more drama the better in her opinion. Basically Emma is just fine with feeling sad because it is real and she is okay with that. I as a one, do not like to feel sad and do not like people around me feeling sad. So I try to snap them out of it by offering solutions to their problems. See where this is going? I will beat my head against the wall trying to “fix” Emma when all she wants to do is relish in her sadness. Ian Cron used a brilliant quote from Victor Hugo to sum up how Fours feel about this very issue, to Fours: “Melancholy is the happiness of being sad.” This is complete insanity to me….but it is what it is. So Emma and I have worked out a plan where she can let me know that she just wants to wallow in her sadness for a bit but is not in need of cheering up. Hopefully this will help both of us keep our sanity better:)
Emma (16 years old) is reading My Antonia. **This book has made it on my list of books that are extremely enjoyable and well written, but have devastating and unfulfilling endings (which I hate!) I mostly wanted Emma to give me her feedback on if she felt that the author totally blew the ending in her opinion. I am happy to report, Emma agreed with me 100%. Another book that has fallen in this category is Tess of the D’Urbervilles.
Ben (8 years old) is reading The Last Kids on Earth, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
What I watched: Justified and King of the Hill.
Funny thing that happened this week:
-Our kittens are starting to have their own personalities. Marya is tiny, but independent. While Sonya is mischievous and needy. We blocked off the doorway out of our living room to keep the kittens out of mischief, but if Sonya is feeling neglected by Emma, she will jump the barricade and run up the stairs. The funny part is once Sonya runs up the stairs, she just sits at the top waiting for Emma to get her and then she purrs as Emma takes her back into the living room.
Blessings this week:
-We had our first drenching rain in a long time. It helped to knock down the pollen and brought in cooler, drier air for the day. **Now we are back to sweltering heat and high humidity…but it was nice while it lasted.
Something I was happy to accomplish this week:
-We rushed and got my husband registered to take some college courses. I thought since he had already graduated from this very institution that would make it easier to go back and take a few classes. Apparently not! But we managed to get everything straightened out just in time for the first day of class.
-I cleaned out Ben’s closet and donated all of the clothes he has outgrown. **He is going to be big and broad like his dad.
-We have gotten in a good groove with homeschool this week and I actually read two poems (The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and How Doth The Little Crocodile) I also had Ben illustrate drawings from some of the things we read this week (like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe). Then in history, we have been enjoying watching Liberty Kids and discussing the historical figures and events they mention in each episode.
-Oh and we managed to survive another week in this crazy world as gracefully as possible. 2021 has to be better than 2020….right??!!
Best things I saw on social media:
Stay safe and try to keep on laughing!
The Thrifty Educator 