Thanksgiving and self defense

Life is a beautiful thing. As my children grow and experience more of it I can't help but see it from a different perspective myself. Things I used to stress over and take so seriously (and still do from time to time) just don't seem important in the face of life's greatest blessings- people to love.

I am truly thankful this year for the many people who have touched my life- for the gift of knowing them, the pleasure of loving them, and the knowledge that they are safe and happy. Cailyn made my week by expressing an expectation that she would be feasting with her siblings; an honor I don't take for granted. I don't think I gave much thought to holidays with my family at her age, I was far more interested in "my own life." I feel blessed beyond words that her life naturally and comfortably includes us. So all six of my children sat down at my table, accompanied by Joey- Cailyn's long time beau- and gave thanks for the privilege of being family.

Jon is off having an adventure of a lifetime, with his parents and brother- a blessing that we are each grateful for as well. His fondest Thanksgiving memories involved his family's annual trips into Mexico, something he has missed the past two decades. So this year they are all traveling to Golendrinas (Cave of the Swallows) where he and Chris (along with some friends) will rappel 1200 feet into an immense cave- then, of course they have to climb back out. Fun!

We are having mucho fun ourselves. Orion, Rheannon, Rowan, Willow and I spent some time working on an obstacle course in our pasture. We found, rather the dogs found, a snake while we were there and Orion educated us on the five defenses of the Puffing Adder.

All Hallows

I love Halloween. I love the crisp autumn nights, the changing leaves, the early dark and the opportunity to be someone remarkable (if only for a few hours). Halloween in Texas lacks most of the elements I most enjoyed as a child but the magic is alive and well in my children's imaginations, if no longer my own.

I took the easy way out and pulled on Dad's buckskin shirt. I have mixed feelings about doing so because people are always so impressed but the accomplishment isn't mine and I feel like I'm stealing credit for what I know was weeks of hard work. I did braid my own hair and for me that's an accomplishment that warrants some recognition.

The kids never cease to surprise me. Willow was a butterfly princess- not to be confused with a fairy princess, princess fairy, or any variation thereof (all prior manifestations of our Halloween Willow). Rowan began the night as Darth Mahl but had a reaction to the face paint that necessitated a quick change into Ninja man. Orion's costume is open to interpretation. He wore a sheet and a roll of cellophane- (at least for the first half of the night- I won't tell you how he finished the evening). Rheannon made an awesome David Bowie and I'm fairly impressed she even knows who he is. They all had a great time and consumed pounds of sugar and endured days of lectures about how "we are going to get serious about the food we eat and quit with all the garbage." Orion is the master of the yeah-mom eye roll that lets me know I'm not being taken seriously. We'll just see about that..... yes we will.

Butterflies and photographs

Somehow I managed the impossible. I got all six of my children in one place at the same time and most of them were clean. It's amazing what they can do when sufficiently motivated. I am pleased to say it does not take bribery to motivate them but they generally respond to a request from a family member for help. This time it was a desire to take portraits to surprise their dad for Christmas. The portrait part we managed; the surprise part, not so much. I failed to make the point to Auburn that it was to be a secret. In my defense how was I supposed to know she had suddenly decided to talk to grown ups?

We went down to Blue Hole and had a wonderful time. The monarchs are migrating through and the trees were alive with fluttering wings. Rowan tested the water solubility of his leather shoes and Willow experimented with natural dies on her white dress. Orion dangled precariously from a tree and Rheannon threatened to flitter off with the butterflies. Cailyn and Auburn managed to keep everybody roped in and together took some very nice photos- Orion probably won the prize though because he photographed Auburn and not only got her to smile but actually laugh. (not that Auburn is a sour person, she's charming, delightful, and even silly- but also 16 so those qualities are reserved for non family members).

All in all it was a wonderfully priceless day and I am glad to have the photos to prove it.

Titan of the trees

With the return of school the older kids are all busy with the details of their own lives. This leaves Rowan, especially, feeling lonely and bored. We found a great book at the library about really messy experiments and have exploded grapes, launched nickles (instead of the suggested tomatoes), crushed cans, dropped watermelons, and basically added to the overall disarray of our environment. But sometimes throwing eggs or hurling bananas at your mother just don't satisfy a kid's more primal needs. So I finally decided to reclaim a bit of our Blue Hole heritage and, with some friends in tow, we trespassed on our old stomping grounds.

Willow, Cicely, and Clovis stripped down to their bare bottoms and dived right in but Rowan decided to get wet one garment at a time. Mostly he lurked around the edges- something that paid off when he caught a tiny frog- and then decided to do some tree climbing. He was quickly joined by an admiring group of lesser skilled tree huggers and we both realized that Willow needs some serious arboreal experience if she wishes to remain in this family. By her age all the others had found their ways to the top of more than one precarious perch and little Miss Thing couldn't seem to grasp (literally) the concept of tree scaling. Lucky for them both this particular educational inadequacy piques me, so we'll just have to make regular visits to the wilds of Blue Hole to polish our tree climbing skills.

P.S. My own private Kudo to the always lovely Vera, who wasn't quite up for skinny dipping but didn't hesitate to strip off her shoes and conquer the "snake" tree- skirt and all.

Education, anxiety, and dreams of flying

Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. I was perhaps the weirdest kid in the world, I loved going back to school. Though Texas hasn't been very obliging with Autumn weather, summer has officially come to an end with a return to school. My kids seem to have inherited my unusual attitude about organized education and have enthusiastically returned to academia. Auburn is starting her senior year at the Katherine Ann Porter charter school, and she loves it. Orion made the decision to go back to the public junior high instead of homeschooling as he had planned. He loves his classes, is excited about playing the saxophone again (especially because this year he's likely to be first chair) and he's ecstatic about being chosen to be teacher's aid to his favorite teacher. Rheannon returned to the Montessori school thanks to her very generous teacher and administrator; and she loves it. Rowan and Willow are still home schooling and for the first time Rowan is really excited about learning new things.
Despite my earlier statement about loving the return to school, I found that I wasn't very excited about it this semester. I could be graduating in December but instead of being relieved to be so close to done I was anxious about how I could manage with all my other obligations. Ultimately I decided to focus on a mere four things- starting my massage business, home schooling the little kids, writing a book/screenplay, and parenting all of my kids. I know it seems lazy of me but what can I say, I've always been lazy.
Orion has renewed his interest in making and breaking things that fly. He discovered video of an ultralight model plane and is certain he can build one. He looked into the cost of the parts and discovered he could buy a model airplane for less and after he crashes it (and if history is any judge this should happen very soon) he can use the parts to build another plane. He ordered the plane and asked every day (EVERY DAY- 10 to 20 times a day!) when it would arrive. Thankfully it appeared on our door step exactly on time- lest the stress of waiting cause my 14 year old son to suffer a coronary or worse an unfortunate strangulation at the hands of his irritated mother.

Orion loves several things passionately; fishing, flying, building things, breaking things, and his all time favorite past time- opening things. So the arrival of something he could open, build, fly, and break could only be topped if he somehow manages to figure out how to fish with it. Does he look excited or what?

driving, diving, and barefoot play

More big changes around here. Auburn bought a car- a little Geo Prism, got her lisence, and learned about insurance and registration. She's a good driver and a responsible young woman so I don't worry too much about her out there on the road. Actually Cailyn pretty much broke me of that habit- she blazed a wide trail and I'm sure one day her siblings will thank her for having worn me down before they got to dating/driving age.

The other kids are spending as much time as possible in the water- it's regularly over 100 degrees here. Orion gets taller everyday and can catch 4 knots- this is an accomplishment that has profound meaning in his life. "Knots" refers to the number of times the ring-swing chain is knotted, thus making it shorter and the reach to catch the ring harder. Locals know all about "the ring" and the history and culture (including lingo) that is associated with it. Jon grew up "catching the ring" and sharing that part of his childhood with his kids has been important. Our big girls are part of a very small female contingent of ring jumpers and I'm proud to see Rheannon joining that group.

Houston, Baby!

Virginia had a Microsoft conference in Houston and invited the kids and I to spend a few days with her. Cailyn was unable to go, at the last moment, a fact that disappointed everyone. Still the other kids had a great time. I think Auburn was in her element- it took her two seconds to notice every detail of the skyline, a remarkable occurrence as she once asked me, "when did we get goats?"- uhm... over a year ago. I'm glad to note that she's not too refined just yet, she still had enough country girl in her to flop down in the grass and roll down a hill with her siblings.

They all were quite at home in the heated, rooftop pool, enjoyed the end-of-conference firework display, contemplated fine art at the Museum of Art, ate like I hadn't fed them in weeks, and played hard anywhere and everywhere they could. I did enjoy watching them like that, they don't get much opportunity these days to just play- especially the older kids with the younger ones. What an amazing group they are- kind to each other, helpful, considerate and very bonded. We are so fortunate. And Thank You Virginia for the wonderful vacation.