It Is Finished

I do believe I just felt a massive weight roll off my back.

I’m done with my work-from-home job! I just wrote my last policy newsletter. I hit the send button and waited exactly eight seconds until I saw the e-mail with attachment disappear from my outbox.

The timing of quitting my job is very providential. I’m looking at Clara right now, sitting at my feet. She just went from sitting to rocking back and forth on her hands and knees. She is going to start crawling at any given moment. And then I really won’t be able to sit still for very long.

Twice in the last week I’ve pulled Meredith’s hair bands out of Clara’s mouth. How on earth am I supposed to keep track of all these small objects Meredith leaves around? How do any second-born children survive childhood?

Anyway, praise the Lord I’m done. I can’t even believe it right now. I think I will go open all the windows in my house and clean. I’ve been neglecting my house like something awful and I’d like to take advantage of the beautiful spring day through my open windows.

After that, who cares? I’m done! It is finished.

Kids' Author Kick

These days we are really enjoying Shirley Neitzel’s children’s books! We love the endings. They are funny and unexpected. We tend to find a book we like and then get all the books by the same author. We are currently reading Sam McBratney, Anne Rockwell, Shirley Neitzel, all the Curious George Books, and all the Paddington Bear Books.

Probably Meredith’s most-requested book right now is Curious George Goes to the Beach. She’ll spend hours playing pretend “beach” by herself. She spreads out a blanket (for a beach towel), piling her toys on top of it, and then pulls out the ottoman for a pretend “raft.” Whenever she leaves the room where her “beach” is she points to her messy pile and sternly warns us: “Do NOT mess up my beach!!!”

Anyway, we recommend these four by Neitzel.

The Dress I’ll Wear to the Party
We’re Making Breakfast for Mother
The Bag I’m Taking to Grandma’s
I’m Not Feeling Well Today

HA, HA!!

I was in a very deep sleep. I was dreaming. In my dream, I was on the phone with my boss and was trying to recollect the last name of someone I know. I was just on the verge of remembering that person’s last name when … Kevin pounced on top of me and woke me up. He was laughing.

I was annoyed at first but then I remembered … It’s April Fool’s Day and Kevin had probably just fallen into the trap I’d set for him. Yes!! It was a success!! It was beautiful!!

The only part that I regret is that I wasn’t there to eyewitness it.

I had sewn the leg holes of his underwear shut. Because he has bad eyesight, I could just imagine him, getting out of the shower, no contacts in yet, and struggling until he realized what had happened.

HA, HA, HA!!

Also in commemoration of April Fool’s Day, I made a dirt cake and took it to a play group I attended this morning.

As I was driving, trying to balance the dirt cake on my lap, I suddenly realized that dirt cake probably isn’t the best food to take to a play group—I could envision gads of chubby-cheeked toddlers smooshing Oreo cookie into the carpet. Nice, Amy!

Thankfully the hostess was very laid-back. And it was a big hit!

God's Harvard

I finally read God’s Harvard by Hanna Rosin, about Patrick Henry College.

If you are a conservative Christian, especially a homeschooler, and you want to know how the average secular Joe views what you believe and do, you must read this book! It was enlightening, to say the least.

This book really took me by surprise. I thought I would probably disagree with Rosin’s perspective in most instances but I found myself agreeing more often than not.

Of course the book is tainted with her view that it’s entirely bizarre to want to “reclaim culture” for Christ. No doubt the author took the most outlandish quotes (which, of course, are the more interesting ones) to put together her story. I felt like things could have definitely been presented in a more reasonable light. But that wasn’t Rosin’s goal. Having said that, I did feel like she was at least trying to be fair and she did say many good things about the kids at PHC.

In any event, this book really made me think about what I believe on a deeper level. In addition to Patrick Henry College, the author also addresses certain “movements” in homeschooling, such as ATI, David Barton, and courtship.

It was weird to read about some of the people I used to know—I started working for HSLDA the week before the first class at Patrick Henry started. Our lives intersected a bit and I became friends with some students and administrative staff and acquaintances with numerous others.

On a personal level, this book also brought to surface the person I used to be. When I was single and living on my own, I was a fairly ambitious person. I used to want to live in D.C. and work in government or public policy. One of the young women in this book reminded me of that old Amy.

It just so happened that, on the day I was reading about her life, my life was SOOO stay-at-home-momish. It was one of those days where I felt like I had been doing laundry non-stop for three days. What happened to that young woman I used to be, so full of life and energy?

It also didn’t help that my single 26-year-old sister had just been in town, full of vigor and adventure, without a care in the world, and with a fresh California tan.

Then there’s me. There are times these days that I feel so old and haggard.

Ultimately I wouldn’t change my life for anything and I’m really glad for my family and my current calling. But, at the same time, I won’t say that there aren’t disadvantages and everything is rosy all the time.