Letter to my children: Fire Fishing and Wood Ticks

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Letter to my children: Fire Fishing and Wood Ticks

Dragon, you have been dealing with palate expanding to encourage your tiny baby teeth to leave. As a result, there is an entire list of dos and don’ts of food allowances on the fridge. Sometimes your mouth is too sore to even contemplate the oh so finely shaved carrots and apples. You, all on your own, nailed the solution: Fire Fishing with Apples. (Ahem, the official name of course.)

“Momma, what I want to do is to roast an apple in the woodstove to make it soft.”

“Oh, dearest, not inside the house. It is warm enough that we could make a bonfire outside and you could do it there?”

A pause, a contemplative look, a shrug. “Sure.”

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Double Digits and cultivating Grandmother Energy

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Sitting in the waiting room of our local mechanic, I turned to the apple-cheeked, soft white curled woman sitting next to me.

Let’s see what the Universe wants to tell me about this feeling.

“Can I share something with you?”

“Of course, my dear.”

“My daughter is turning 10 today.” Tears flooded my eyes. “It makes me happy sad.”

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Letter to my Children: Hooray for the Jump Rope

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“Four” Dragon stated.

“Yea, I keep stopping, I don’t know why.” Bean retorted.

“You jumped, but it got caught on the back of your leg… Wait, would you stop? I want to go and grab mine.” Dragon moved towards the stairs.

“Yours is the green one.” Bean called out. “It is like neon green, Dragon.”

“Dragon, I just did five… I almost did six!”

“Hold on Bean, wait till I come back up!”

We purchased the jump ropes in March of 2020.

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Letter to my Children: Adulting vs Parenting Hat

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Letter to my Children: Adulting vs Parenting Hat

Dearest Beloveds,

I switch hats throughout the day from Adulting Corinna to Parenting Corinna and vis-a-versa. Adulting Corinna pays attention and gives time to MY wants, desires, thoughts, responsibilities, and curiosities.

Parenting Corinna pays attention and gives time to YOUR wants, desires, thoughts, responsibilities, and curiosities.

I have found during my almost 10 years as a hat switcher, that life goes more smoothly when I wear only one hat when I am with you two - because, as you may have noticed, your mother only has one head.

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Letter to my children: Hay jumping

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Letter to my children: Hay jumping

Dearest Beloveds,

Recently Dragon and I were driving along some country road and admiring a surfeit of round hay bales. Many acres of fields were shorn yet all of the bales were concentrated on one field.

“Momma! Look how close those hay bales are! If they were closer I could jump between them.”

“Yes, you certainly could, that is very true. Would you take a running leap or try to bounce like a bunny?”

“Bounce like a bunny.”

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Homeschool Learnings: Waiting for your Brain to Grow

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Homeschool Learnings: Waiting for your Brain to Grow

Dearest Dragon, you and I are now fully ensconced in the first grade curricula. And, just like your sister, we are having conversations like this.

“This is too hard!”

“I know my love, but they only way to get better at this is to practice, just four more words then we can run around the house for five minutes before math.”

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Letter to my children: Motivation, Rewards, why Zingermans (Visioning) Rocks

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Letter to my children: Motivation, Rewards, why Zingermans (Visioning) Rocks

Dearest Beloveds,

I recently ran across an interview with Dr. Tony Nader and Daniel Pink about motivations and rewards. Your Momma was cringing as I listened to their discussion because it dawned on me that all day long I am offering you contingent rewards. As Pink calls them, an “if then” reward.

“If you don’t eat your breakfast we can’t go to camp.”

“If you don’t set the table, I will dock you one strike. As you know, after three strikes you won’t get your allowance.”

“If you don’t do you math lesson, we can’t read stories.”

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Letter to my children: The Teachings of the School Bus

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Letter to my children: The Teachings of the School Bus

Dearest Beloveds,

The school bus - both incredibly useful and also a huge teaching tool. Who knew?

When we have time, it is joy to meander down the road, looking at the autumn olives and the late blooming iris (poor thing, right before the frost hits). We hold hands. I sing Waltzing Matilda…

“Down came the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred. Up came the trouperrrrsssss!” I hold the note and look over at the two of you, - perhaps I give your hands a squeeze.

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Homesteading Middles: All Hail Green Goats!

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Homesteading Middles: All Hail Green Goats!

Two years ago we cut down trees to have a view of the Hudson Valley for our Tentrr site. As I mentioned recently, nature is all about growth.

Faced with a steep rocky hill we called in the local goat grazing team - not realizing that they are the goat grazing team for the entire East Coast. Green Goats Rhinebeck is family operation that has been doing good work for 17 years.

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Letter to Bean: The Self-Driven Child and Homework

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Letter to Bean: The Self-Driven Child and Homework

Dearest Bean,

As the life popsicle of Meme’s brain slowly melts - certain calcified memories persevere. They form the popsicle stick in this metaphor.

One of Meme’s popsicle stick memories is about not being offered the choice to become a serious pianist. Apparently, Meme’s parents were told that Meme had sufficient innate piano ability to become a virtuoso if given the proper instruction. Meme’s parents declined, deciding they wanted her to have a “normal childhood” (whatever the hell that means). Meme did not know this opportunity existed until many many years later.

Even now, she can no longer remember the name of her sister, where she was born, what day it is, but the piano memory? Sharp and intact. “Corinna, I could have been a concert pianist! I would have loved that!! I could have been so good. I love music!”

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Homesteading Middles: Juicing Apples

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Homesteading Middles: Juicing Apples

“It’s crazy! They take out the pits! They take out the seeds! It is delicious! It is so good!” Dragon sipped fresh juice as the machine whirred on its next batch.

“Tell me why you like making apple juice.”

“It’s fun watching.” Dragon put down his glass and stood on a stool assuming his observing stance - hands on knees, all the better to peer into the moving parts of the juicing machine.

“Because it is fun looking at this.” Bean pointed to the extruding pulp/skin/seeds from the rotating arm. She pushed the plunger down. “I like doing this.”

“I like the watching the stuff - the detritus coming out.”

English Major Momma point!

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