A visit with Honest Abe

Towards the end of the school year, Andante's teacher assigned a fun, several-week long biography project that culminated the week before school let out for the summer. Each student selected an historical figure to learn about and present to their class. They had to choose an appropriate level biography to read and then give a 10-minute presentation in character to the class, including costume and artifacts. It was one of Patience's favorite assignments a few years ago, and we understand the purpose behind the assignment well. Dante remembered it and thought it would be fun to do and got into it right away. However, our dear second-born found this assignment a bit daunting, perfectionist that he is. To summarize, he chose a book he really liked and stuck to it tenaciously despite how difficult it was to work with (no index, no table of contents, and over two hundred pages). He was behind from the get-go, and truly was in way over his head most of the way. So much for "fun" and "appropriate level." Balancing his homework and research with baseball and simply getting through the last few weeks of school was a tearful and stretching process, and this assignment sent him into a tailspin.

We stood by him, engaging with him at every step, and worked to help him learn to address his struggles, his challenges, his desires, and his stubbornness. It was difficult to know when and how to help without doing the work for him. We succeeded, as did he. It was a very hard time, but one full of great fruit in character, relationship, and learning as well. My shy child was anything but intimidated when he stood up on his "stump" and gave his speech. I helped him by typing up his notes in bullet format so he could read them and so that he didn't lose his place during his talk, and the content and the order were all dictated by him (and he had very VERY strong opinions about what he wanted to do and how!). He was creative and thorough, but did a good job deciding what to and not to share with his class. He fielded questions, in character, with poise and confidence. He maintained eye contact throughout his speech, he did not hurry or lose his spot, he knew his material, and I was incredibly (incredibly) proud. I think we were also greatly relieved when it was done. Bravo to our slow and steady boy! You did it!

Summer has begun

You have to love summer in Vermont. We do for sure. So far we've enjoyed swimming (including lessons), strawberry picking, several teeth falling out (note the obsession with pointing to the empty space in Constance's case), board and card games, and cooking with fresh fruits and veggies from the garden or the CSA.


We've tried out the new fondue pot (a broth fondue and a chocolate fondue so far), made homemade jam (Berry Cherry and Blubarb), and even made our first strawberry rhubarb pie (complete with homemade crust!).


Dante was proud of that especially and Patience and Papa Bear are begging us to make another one. We have had two birthdays, enjoyed fireworks, s'mores, the youth retreat, dinners out, and special visitors. What gifts each of these things is to us!

America

Some 25+ years ago in July, I left my country to be an exchange student in Geneva, Switzerland. This changed my life in a thousand ways - all for the better. I have befriended online the grown daughter of an acquaintance from years ago who is just completing a stint in that same place. She has reminded me of so much of what I love about Europe, and especially Geneva. That said, her words this morning describing "being American" and her love of her country resounded so vividly to me as I read them, because they are the words for the very sentiments I discovered during my time abroad, and which I still have today, so many years later. It's very similar to the way one understands "There's no place like home" when one goes away, or in the way that I discovered, after all my moving around growing up, that I was actually, in truth, "an Easterner" (and New Englander more particularly), after living in California. I couldn't get away from it, and I didn't want to - it was me. Not better, just very much who I am!

The truth is, I love the whole of the United States now in a way I could never have experienced if I had not left her for this year and a half. Eleven days ago on July 4th, I connected to the celebration of my country in a way I've never felt before. In the past, I always enjoyed the fireworks, but that's about it. I didn't have a strong sense of belonging anywhere, so naturally I couldn't connect to this celebration on a deeper level. Spending a year away has granted me the gift of "belonging." Some people leave the country of their birth and find belonging in another country. Much like the spirit of adoption, they are grafted in and a new country becomes their true home. On the other hand, the majority of us will always belong in the country of our birth, whether we're given the gift of appreciating it or not.

I've received the gift. In five weeks I'll be stepping off a plane in the United States, this time to stay. I've always thought it was super silly when people get off a plane and kiss the ground, but now I understand. The asphalt will be hot enough to fry eggs in August, so I think I'll still pass, but I finally understand the sentiment.

I still have no idea to which state I belong. I used to think it was Virginia, but now I'm not so sure. What I do know is that I belong in the United States of America and it's the most wonderful feeling.

America is not better than all the other countries. There are many other countries which deserve equal respect. To say America is the best would be like saying "my family is better than your family." I never want to have that attitude. Nonetheless, America is an amazing country, one to be proud of and worth fighting to protect. Whatever America may experience in the coming years, for better or for worse, I want to be there to experience it with her.

First Piano Lesson

Dear little Constance had her first piano lesson last Tuesday with our beloved piano teacher. It is so delightful to watch her learn new things, and she is ready for this new endeavor. Music is one of her loves. She'll have a handful of lessons over the course of the summer, enough to get her comfortable with the keyboard and practicing daily so that it's familiar come fall.

A Photo Book of our April vacation

From our vacation to Curacao in April, we created our first Photo Book at Shutterfly:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Enjoy!

Note from Shiloh: If you click on the view it larger button, it sends you to Shutterfly. You can view it there w/o signing in. To get the largest and most readable view, once you are in the slideshow, click "full screen" AND "single page", both located at the top right of the screen.

All done

It's been a few weeks, but here are the photos of the garden that is done being planted. The first picture is what I got done the first day or two of June: I staked the tomatoes, planted the beans/beets/carrots, and planted and staked the cucumbers.

On June 4th (a Saturday), we juggled baseball and it seems like 100 other things amidst PERFECT weather, and I got the rest in. I think I put in an hour in the morning, and three hours in the afternoon, and got all the flowers, beets, leeks, carrots, and more planted. It sure felt good.

Then, June 6th (Monday) I planted in the "community plots" the winter squash and pie pumpkins I'd grown from seed (they look good), and a couple days later, I got a nasty sunburn putting in the rest of my flower seeds for all to enjoy (again, in the "community plots" which would otherwise be weed-beds, so we've got corn, pumpkins, and winter squash there to keep the weeds down). Pretty cool.

Everything is now growing well, we've been back to water and weed on occasion, and we're very pleased with it all. So far, so good. And it's time to enjoy it since the hardest part is done!

Gardening 2011

As yall know, I love to garden and we've been busy at it despite all the rain.

I got a call (surprise!) on Mother's Day telling me they were able to get the gardens tilled and staked inbetween storms and we were ready to go. Yay! Here we are the next day - a before and after shot. Before is the "bare plot, 5/9/11" shot. We spent about an hour there and dug a trench around the perimeter.


A few days later (Friday, 5/13), we came back and dug the rest of the "trenches" to make our six rows. Kind of like raised beds.



Then it rained and poured. For a week.

When we came back, our trenches were more like moats.

It's important to note that this is the fifth year I've had a garden here and while I've been told there are wet lots (and we used to have one of them), I've never had this problem before. It's incredible.


It took me two HOURS to get one row covered in plastic (Friday 5/20). ONE ROW. It was like playing with playdough or making bricks out of mud. I also spent some of that two-hour chunk of my life trying to drain the moat (or at least give it an outlet and let it drain itself - slowly). Vivace and I played with rocks and bricks in the mud and I showed him how a dam works - that sort of fun thing.

Sunday 5/22, I took the younger two along and they helped and kept me company while I covered another three rows. We played fun rhyming games, sang silly songs, wore boots so we could play in the mud, they helped dig and plaster mud over the edges of the plastic as much or as little as they desired, and lay what cardboard we could find to keep weeds from growing (as if they wanted to in that slime). We also planted the tomatoes. Yay! Happy tomatoes. That took us three hours. It was harder-than-usual work.


The next morning (Monday, 5/23), it hadn't rained yet, despite a forecast calling for it, so Vivace and I went back again and finished the last two rows of plastic in just an hour and a half. Amazing how much easier it is when the mud starts to firm up! We are now ready to plant the rest of the garden - when we can find time and the rains hold off. So far this week, they've held off despite the forecast, but we haven't had time to get back there.

We have some gardens here at home too. The little kids and I planted our small home veggie garden and my flowers on 5/11 in the early evening (didn't take long). We have sugar snap peas, beans, spinach, and mesclun planted. It's not the sunniest of locations but it usually gives us a few things right out back which we like, and is fun to watch on a more frequent basis. As of today, one row of snow peas is several inches high, and the other hasn't even germinated, so we think they won't grow - oh well. The beans are just starting to come up. (Not enough sun to promote quick growth).

In the flower boxes, I use "Repells-All" that worked for keeping squirrels away last year and I actually used more of it this year, in a way I presumed would be more effective.... but something nocturnal and I seem to be in a war for WHO will WIN. This picture (click on it to see a larger version) was taken a couple days ago and it shows that whatever it is (not a squirrel I'm sure - maybe a skunk?) had dug out ALL SIX boxes. I've had to completely replant these plants about 5 times now - and it really is different behavior from the squirrels. The past two nights have been better - not sure why (nothing has change to my knowledge) but I have to check them every single day to be sure they're still in their pots!