Perfect Timing (& and a Patchwork Post)

It's been a busy, tiring week: end of semester work (all those papers coming in for me to read! did I really assign them all?!); back to regular homeschooling days; planning a special mission-themed prayer service for our church for Pentecost; never-ending housecleaning; trying to re-find my writing rhythm. And of course, continuing to follow my mother's daily email updates on dad, and keeping him and my mother in prayers, even as I try to assimilate my own feelings and concerns about dad's illness.

I was so tired this morning that I told the sweet girl we were sleeping in. We do "relaxed Fridays" in our homeschool anyway, with a focus on art, music and poetry each week. We usually have our homeschool group meetings on Friday afternoon, but we're winding up the year and took the day off (many of the folks involved are seminarians, and it's graduation weekend for them or for their classmates) and I was grateful for that today.

We sort of oozed through our morning with no set agenda. Woke up late after a blissfully good night's sleep, despite my ongoing ear problem. Did chores. Did a few extra chores. Giggled a lot with the sweet girl, who was in a hug-giving mood. Plopped down on pillows in her recently cleaned room (which looks so spacious with most of the floor clutter put away!) and read lots and lots and lots of Jack Prelutsky.

Prelutsky is the sweet girl's favorite poet at the moment, and I'm enjoying him too -- his outrageous sense of humor and his utter delight in wordplay. He is a *terrific* poet for visual learners, since he loves making shape poems, and there are several great ones in It's Raining Pigs and Noodles, our current volume. Our favorite right now is "I Am Winding Through a Maze" where the words themselves wind through a maze, while the poet tries to find his way out. Last year I wrote about Prelutsky's book A Pizza the Size of the Sun (link to my review) but I think Pigs and Noodles will need a review of its own soon.

One of my favorite moments this morning came as the teakettle began shrieking as we were in the midst of a poem. I paused, then said "hold on" as I scrambled to my feet to go turn off the burner. "Whew," my little poetry-loving girl said, "good thing we were at the end of a stanza!" I laughed. Perfect timing.

We spent the rest of the morning drawing while listening to Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, then making paper doll bunnies based on Amelia and Susannah, the rabbits in Marisabina Russo's new picture book A Very Big Bunny.

This afternoon's agenda includes a toe-nail painting session (the sweet girl knows it's sandal weather!) and the making of a (very) belated birthday cake for my husband. Plus all the paper reading and grading I can squeeze in. Then tonight, dinner at the annual Nationality Days street fair. And after S. is in bed, her dad and I get to watch the latest episode of LOST, which came via mail today, courtesy of Erin. Definitely a Friday!