Go Back and Look

Pay attention.

Helen Keller

I recently picked up two beautiful picture books about Helen Keller at the library for the boys.

Annie and Helen by Deborah Hopkinson & Raul Colon has lovely illustrations and excerpts from Annie’s own letters. I love the addition of the black and white photos inside the front and back covers as well as the copy of Helen’s first letter home.  

Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller by Doreen Rappaport also has lovely illustrations, but I am particularly fond of all the quotes of Helen’s own words. The following two specifically struck me. 

[Speaking of the first word (water) “spoken” into her hand:]

“That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, and set it free.”

“I have the advantage of a mind trained to think, and that is the difference between myself and most people, not my blindness and their sight.”

They reminded me of an article I just read in the most recent The Classical Teacher magalog by Memoria Press. Cheryl Swope shares an excerpt from her new book Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child (soon available from Memoria Press). In the article, the author shares this quote by Helen Keller:

“When I read the finest passages of the Iliad, I am conscious of a soul-sense that lifts me above the narrow, cramping circumstances of my life. My physical limitations are forgotten—my world lies upward, the length and the breadth and the sweep of the heavens are mine!”

I just got the shivers.

And I can’t wait to dive into the Iliad with the boys next week!

The Swift Arrow

(Happy birthday to J.R.R. Tolkien!)

One Little Word ~ 2011

I've been meaning to post about my One Little Word for 2011. Last year, I chose the word 'diligence' at the first of January. I was determined to conquer.... something. I was going to be amazing. And in control. And consistent. And astonishingly productive.

And just weeks into the new year, I found out I was pregnant.

2010 became the year of letting go of all control and preconceived notions about what *I* was going to accomplish. Instead, God turned unexpected....well, labor pains.... into unexpected blessings.

After almost a year of physical (and emotional) weariness, God gave me the most beautiful and wonderful baby girl. She has been a joy beyond what I could have ever imagined. I can't even begin to describe what a blessing she has been in my life. God knows. I can tell you that I feel invigorated and cheerful and strong.

Two weeks after Lola Colette was born, Russ lost his job. Under normal circumstances, this would have consumed me with trepidation or hopelessness. But, by some miracle, I have had no capacity to stress out about it. We are in a much better place than most unemployed families, as Russ is also semi-self-employed. So he has been working on multiple projects for personal clients while searching for a new job. I know God will continue to provide for our family. (Maybe you could add that to your prayer list if you are so inclined?)

In the meantime, I am abundantly thankful for the unexpected blessing of having Russ home and available to his family in the first months of Lola's life. He has been able to hang out with the boys, spend time with Lola, and be exceedingly helpful to me. We have been given the gift of time together, and that is priceless.

(Incidentally, I was thinking about the year I was pregnant with Leif. Russ worked some obscene hours that year which was really tough. I sprained my ankle when I was 8 months pregnant in the middle of a very hot summer (and Levi and Luke were 4 and 2), then Leif was a very needy baby, and we unexpectedly bought a house and moved at the end of the year. It was frustrating to have Russ gone so much, but when I look back at our income that year I realize that God was providing for us in a miraculous way. He made it possible for us to purchase and move into our little house in the country.)

All of this to say that I have been hesitant to choose a word for 2011. BLESSING was my first thought, but then I decided that was more appropriate for 2010.

Instead I've chosen LIFE, because I choose to embrace it, with all its ups and downs, detours and scenic routes, disappointments and possibilities, noise, chaos, and little quiet moments.

Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars.

~Henry Van Dyke

To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.

~Emily Dickinson

Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?

~Mary Oliver

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

~Diane Ackerman

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

~Agatha Christie

Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: "I am with you kid. Let's go."

~Maya Angelou


Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive.

~Mel Brooks

Twenty-Four Crowded Hours of the Day

"If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator. He will not be striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours of the day."

~W. Beran Wolfe

The Child We Always Are

You can understand and relate to most people better if you look at them ~

no matter how old or impressive they may be ~ as if they are children.

For most of us never really grow up or mature all that much ~ we simply grow taller.

O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults,

but beneath the costume is the child we always are,

whose needs are simple, whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales.

~Leo Rosten

Find those places inside that jump for joy...

You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on.

~Ray Bradbury

It's possible to forget how alive we really are.
We can become dry and tired, just existing, instead of really living.
We need to remind ourselves of the juice of life, and make that a habit.
Find those places inside that jump for joy,

and do things.

~Anonymous

Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that
if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs,
you got to jump around a lot,
you got to make a lot of noise, because
life is the very opposite of death.
And therefore, as I see it, if you're quiet, you're not living.
You've got to be noisy, or at least your thoughts should be noisy and colorful and lively.

~ Mel Brooks

Jump into the middle of things, get your hands dirty,
fall flat on your face, and then reach for the stars.

~Ben Stein

Nature Laughs in Green

The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.

~Henry Miller

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.

~Walt Whitman

Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so called scientific knowledge.

~Thomas Edison

Faces

I have never been aware before

how many faces there are.

There are quantities of human beings,

but there are many more faces,

for each person has several.

~Rainer Maria Rilke, Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

A Magic Wand

Christmas waves a

magic wand over this world,

and behold,

everything is softer

and more beautiful.

~Norman Vincent Peale

Books Everywhere

TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book. ~Author Unknown

The time to read is any time: no apparatus, no appointment of time and place, is necessary. It is the only art which can be practised at any hour of the day or night, whenever the time and inclination comes, that is your time for reading; in joy or sorrow, health or illness. ~Holbrook Jackson

If you have never said "Excuse me" to a parking meter or bashed your shins on a fireplug, you are probably wasting too much valuable reading time. ~Sherri Chasin Calvo

Elevating the Moments

The daily act of setting down in words one's thoughts, observations, and actions elevates and orders those moments, separating them from the great mass of unexamined life. ~Steven Schnur on keeping a journal from the Editor's Note in Henry David's House

Thoughts on Education

Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards. ~Anatole France

Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality. ~Beatrix Potter

It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person, the enormous interest it adds to life. To be able to be caught up into the world of thought -- that is to be educated. ~Edith Hamilton

You must learn day by day, year by year, to broaden your horizon. The more things you love, the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant about, the more you have left when anything happens. ~Ethel Barrymore

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in. ~Rachel Carson

Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. ~G.M. Trevelyan

Education would be much more effective if its purpose was to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they do not know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it. ~William Haley

This and That

Semicolon hosts the Saturday Review of Books today. Interested in participating? Jump on in!

Speaking of Semicolon, I appreciated Sherry's thoughts on Ben Stein's documentary, Exposed, and the theory of intelligent design. Well said.
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Carole reminded me that we are heading into Turn Off Your TV Week. I don't usually participate in activities such as this, but it happens to come at perfect time of refocus for us.

The boys usually watch a few episodes of shows such as Between the Lions, Little Einsteins, and Magic School Bus daily. We don't have any gaming systems, and they are rarely on the computer. (Me, now, that's a different story.)

This week, we'll keep the TV off. I'll be carrying around my camera (like usual) and posting a glimpse of our life at the end of each day. No dialogue, no links, no tutorials or lessons. I'll respond to emails, comments, and questions at the end of the week. I'm keeping my computer time to a bare minimum.

Need activity ideas for a TV free week? Here is a starter list. Get the kids together and see what you can add!
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For those of you that want a bit of decorating and design inspiration for this next week, please visit this post at Becky Novacek's blog, live & learn. She's a gem! You'll love her advice on decorating and living well in your home. I certainly do! You might even see a few empty frames and handmade canvas wall art...

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The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt. ~Leo Buscaglia

(HT: Ali Edwards. If you haven't checked out her blog, now would be a great time!)

Poetry of April

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.

~William Shakespeare

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night. ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke

Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil.

~Reginald Heber

In honor of National Poetry Month, I hereby submit my entry in SmallWorld's In Just-spring Mudluscious Poetry Contest.

At first I was worried that she was going to require participants to write a poem. I think I failed that portion of my creative writing class. Happily, she only asks that we post any poem evoking images or feelings of spring.

Because I live in the Willamette Valley, this poem by Langston Hughes seemed most appropriate, although I'm not sure of the last line...




April Rain Song
Langston Hughes


Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.


I'm sure SmallWorld won't mind if I post more than one. I wanted to share again the poetry of my niece, Ilex:

Haikus
by Ilex

Yellow harvest moon
Early morning field song is
Calling autumn in

Blue cloud snow falling
Winter is ice cold dropping
Melted icicles

Spring birch trees shiver
The evening breath whispers through
Listen to the wind

Summer cicada
Purple dawn rises above
The garden blossom


And I'll end with this selection:

The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven-
All's right with the world!
~Robert Browning

Contest Details from SmallWorld:

In celebration of "the white cloud's intricate maze, And the blue sky's beautiful sheen," I am hereby announcing SmallWorld's In Just-spring Mudluscious Poetry Contest. It's really quite simple. Just copy and paste this orange-lettered section onto your own blog along with a poem that in some way celebrates spring. (Copy the contest photo above if you want, as well!) Leave me a comment with a link to your contest entry. The poem doesn't have to overtly use the word "spring," but it should in some way evoke the feeling of spring. If you don't have a blog, just leave a poem in the comments.

I'll be running this particular contest until April 10, so you've got plenty of time to find just the perfect poem. I will randomly choose a winner, who will receive a box in the mail filled with some of my favorite spring things (think gardens, good smells, and prettiness, unless the winner is male, in which case, scratch the good smells and pretty things).

Easter Tidings

Awake, thou wintry earth--

Fling off thy sadness!

Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth

Your ancient gladness!

Christ is risen.

~Thomas Blackburn, An Easter Hymn

Sending you wishes for a Glorious Easter

from our family to yours!

Poetry of Spring

Spring has returned.

The Earth is like a child that knows poems.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

Got Me Thinking Today

"Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist.
Children already know that.
Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed."
~ G.K. Chesterton

"We talk of lost ideals, but perhaps they are not lost, only changed; when our ideal for ourselves and for our children becomes limited to prosperity and comfort, we get these, very likely, for ourselves and for them, but we get no more."— Charlotte Mason


(HT: Higher Up and Further In)

Valentine

Reading: Saint Valentine retold and illustrated by Robert Sabuda

Eating: Heart-shaped Rice Krispie Treats with red sprinkles and Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Sodas

Happy Valentine's Day!

Muse, bid the Morn awake!

Sad Winter now declines,

Each bird doth choose a mate;

This day's Saint Valentine's.

For that good bishop's sake

Get up and let us see

What beauty it shall be

That Fortune us assigns.

~Michael Drayton

Joys of Life

Reading through For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, I came across this passage today. It reminded me of my recent post about fulfilling interests. Macaulay is quoting Charlotte Mason:

We should allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and 'spiritual' life of children; but should teach them that the devine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their continual helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life.