And breathe, damnit

Hi there, sorry I’m all breathless. I’ve got a house in repair mode, a house in half-packed mode, a four year-old getting feted on Sunday, and a 16-week fetus demading that I at least think about sleep sometime around nine. Plus Halloween costumes.

The electrician started today and finishes sometime next week, I think. The drywall guy and the roofers both come next week. Patrick finishes yanking ceiling tiles and painting, and then we move in next weekend. If I am very lucky, I come over here on the 31st to clean, and then we’re done. I agree, we’re coming in hot on this one. Much hotter, in fact, than I would have liked, and it is making me really cranky. Not losing-shit mad, just….damnit. Frustrating.

On the plus side, we have a small detente in the education arguement. There is a middle ground between the high-scoring but not very… exciting public school and my combining classical and unschooling approaches at home, and it is Montessori. It galls Patrick that we moved here and I still don’t like the schools, but you know what? Aside from the alternative charter school which is supposedly difficult to get into, I am skeptical. I hear what one friend’s older child is doing in his first grade class and her difficulties with the teacher. I read the financials for our local school’s PTA and realize that art is taught by volunteer parents, as is science, and as a result very little science took place in the classrooms last year. That there is no music after kindergarten.

I have a lot of family and loved ones who teach. I have no problem with teachers. They are doing the impossible every single day. The system not may not be broken, but it’s not enough. And we are both privileged and fortunate enough to have choices. Why can’t we use them? Because we’re turning our backs on something we support with our taxes and votes? Because we’re saying it’s not good enough for our kids?

Well, maybe it’s a bad fit. I think it is, and frankly, I spend the most time with Seamus, actually take classes with him, and am teaching him to read. I think I can make that call. What I want is the best education we can offer our kids. I think I can do that.

But if Patrick doesn’t want to understand what home education can mean in the 21st century, then we can explore the spendy middle ground. I like Montessori education, and do some of it at home already. So hey, let’s check it out.

Sorry, did I gloss over the four thing? Yep. He turned four last weekend. Per his request, we took him to the Grand National Rodeo at the Cow Palace. I did my homework, and the GNR falls under the purvue of a larger association that has collaborated with the American Humane Association to develop the rules for how animals are treated. Plus California has banned some rodeo events, so as far as rodeos go, it’s one of the more humane ones.

We gave him a fancy dress (also per his request) for his dress-up box, some books, and I stenciled a ton of new shirts to replace his outgrowns. There was a new vintage truck, and a few other things. I splashed an ice cream cake with food dye so he could have a “rainbow” cake, and it was all good.

Time to pack a bag, walk the dog, and go. Pediatrician’s appointment, followed by dinner in the city.