May 10, 2007

Resistance is Futile


We had a happy day here this morning. We have two days left to school and I was all set to have a solid day filled with schoolwork. Well you know all about the best laid plans and where they head.

A neighbor friend brought over a toad she had caught and there went our morning. This was the first one of the season and a much anticipated event for Ciaran. He has been almost sadder since he has heard them but not seen a frog or toad in the wild yet.

Our friend asked if the kids could come out and play with the toad - this all before our school day had even begun. I knew better than to resist, resistance is futile in this situation.

I mean really if I said no, like they would have worked? The joys of the flexibility of homeschooling - even when it is mom who has to be flexible. It was well worth it. They spent the entire morning out in a beautiful sunshiny day while it was still in the 70's and not yet the 80's.

Ciaran especially was excited. The kids spent the morning creating a habitat for the toad, gently holding him and watching the toad jump all around the lawn. They even collected worms, potato bugs and box elders for the toad to eat. The kids also took turns jumping on our neighbors new trampoline getting out some of that energy.

There were of course tears when it was time to go back inside and tears when the toad was released back into the wild. Though I am guessing we will likely see the same one again in the near future. There was resistance to coming back inside but this time the kids resistance was futile and they had to come inside for lunch, settle down and work.

The incentive of course is to be free of school after tomorrow, so that is a pretty big incentive to settle down and continue their work. The afternoon settled into a normal routine and all was going well until I had my next "resistance is futile" moment. This time from Serona.

I will concede that for whatever reason our house does not have the best cross ventilation and sometimes when I open the windows I am convinced it gets hotter or at least more humid. How long we can go before air conditioning is always a struggle in our home. I would like to make it until at least June or at least until it hits 90 but we seem to never make it.

During an instant message chat (the way Serona and I talk all day long) I got the "Well if you turn on the air conditoner I'll come hang out at home, otherwise I am going to a coffee shop." So once again "resistance is futile" and this year we made it until to 86 degrees and May 10th before the AC comes on.

Now I poke fun at Serona but I also concede that our whole family does benefit from the air conditioning so I will not tease him too much :) It just feels so weird to me to turn it on in May - when I just turned the heat off about 3 weeks ago.

So resistance is futile, no matter who you are. There is some circumstance where you concede to the other person involved for whatever reason. Today was my day for concession. You know what - it was a good day. I am sitting in a cool house and I have happy kids and a happy husband so not only is resistance futile but sometimes it could be foolish.

1 comment:

  1. Tenniel,

    I am a long-time silent reader of your blog, but I just had to tell you how much I love this post. It pretty much sums up being a wife and homeschooling mom. I feel like the sooner we realize that last statement of yours the happier we will be! I think I will use this idea for a blog entry of my own... and maybe a scrapbook page while I'm at it :) Thanks for writing!

    Trish
    Savannah, GA

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