Integration

These days I'm never quite sure where to put my posts. For awhile, the Enki posts were predominant and it made sense to start posting the non-homelearning posts somewhere else, hence Red Dirt Life. My first blog was Sustainability in the Suburbs, which I deleted in a fit when I really shouldn't have.

Anyway, my grandmother is here with us for a stay, probably 2-3 weeks. To make a room for her we moved almost everything that was in the office into our bedroom (it's a big room) and emptied the bathroom so we could get it functional (it's been far more useful to me as a closet). It is amazing how spacious a 12 X 12 room is with just a twin bed, a nightstand, and a filing cabinet (well, there is also an exercise bike in there).

We always seem to make the best of everything. We've been talking for years about changing the office into a master bedroom and making the current master bedroom a family/music/learning room. Now we are halfway there! I am looking forward to moving our bed and dresser in and having a bedroom that is only a bedroom.

Of course, Grandma may decide to stay longer, or to come back, or to move in for awhile. We're open to any and all of it. One wonderful benefit of both home learning and of having simplified our lives is that we have the time and flexibility to welcome Grandma for as long as she wants to stay.

Now, Grandma just got here last night. Papa came home for lunch today and asked me, "Have you found any rhythm yet?" (Have I mentioned how much I adore this man!) Well, of course we haven't. We're integrating what Grandma usually does at her home with what we usually do at our home, only she isn't at her home, and she's a widow now, and her rhythm is changing. We also have to change, to be open to her rhythms.

We did start the day with breakfast. It's nice how meals create the basic structure of the day. Grandma usually reads her morning paper, so T-Guy and I took a short walk to buy her one, and then we read for a bit. Grandma likes The Price is Right, and my boys don't usually watch TV and are thus captivated by anything, so I put that on for them and had a nice hot bath, finishing in time to see the Showcase Showdown. Then Grandma read a book while I made pom-poms for a baby hat and did laundry. We had lunch with Papa, and now we've settled into quiet time, which is a big part of our rhythm.

I'm not sure how we graft another person into our lives so suddenly. It isn't a vacation-type visit; it's a let us be with you while you grieve visit. Grandma isn't accustomed to living with young children, the boys aren't accustomed to having to accommodate an older person with mobility challenges, and Girl-Dog doesn't know what to think about any of it (her response is to take a nap, something I think we could all use). Papa and I are missing each other a lot; with three trips up north over not quite three weeks, and now having a visitor, our time together has nearly disappeared.

Our lives have been upside down for nearly a month, and we need rhythm like we need fresh air and clean water. So now we step back into the dance, slowly, with a new partner, and we find a way to make it work. Some things will have to be put on hold, and we'll do some different things that I never imagined (The Price is Right every morning?). There are constants that provide natural structure; the garden must be tended, the boys must be read to, meals must be cooked, food obtained, laundry washed. For all of our differences, we are bound by the fact that we are all human.

Posting my be sporadic, or regular (depending on how I choose to use my quiet time). I'll probably post between all three blogs, depending on my focus for each day.