in pursuit of wild things

Other than my horrid trip to the dentist the week went well. I have to go back in a couple of weeks to have cavities dealt with and then again in a few more weeks to have the rest of them drilled out. O happy day…but it is totally my fault. I am as terrified of the dentist as I am of butterflies and clowns…sadly that isn’t sarcasm. Butterflies are terrifying. As terrifying as the dentist and creepy clowns. I just might need help.

I kinda hate right now that I chose “brave” as my word for this year…

The older three kids went with my husband to a UK basketball game at Rupp Arena this week. The game didn’t start until nine at night! The kids had a blast with their Dad and I spent the evening with Littlest dancing and reading books. Littlest even made me read my own book out loud to him while cuddling in bed. We were both soundly asleep long before my husband and the older kids were home. Our following day of school had a really late start and was exceptionally

short…math only. We were supposed to go to co-op but the cold snowy weather ended up cancelling classes. Our co-op is nice but I do not like that it is in the middle of our school week. It just feels so disruptive. I’d prefer it be at the beginning or end of the week but not in the middle. We barely have time to get home, chug down dinner and head off to midweek church services. Too hectic! I told the kids to enjoy co-op while we were participating because we likely wouldn’t rejoin next fall.

The rest of our school week went along smoothly. We love our new routine, the days are full and productive. Right now we are learning all about Chaucer and pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. I told the kids about the time I went on a pilgrimage (Yes I did!) with our parish priest, a lay sister, a couple of senior ladies from the Altar Society and a nice boy that I went on a date with who later joined the priesthood. I could totally write my own modern Canterbury Tale!

This week I took the dive and started my own bullet journal. I have a school planner, Brave Writer Alliance planner, blog planner (not really…just stuff for the TOS Review Crew) and everyday planner. It is just too much and I haven’t been able to find something that I could use to combine all this information into one portable book. I spent a few hours studying spreads, layouts and designs on Pinterest. Today was spent creating my first few layouts. Bullet journals are fun and addictive…on my way to being a junkie.

I finished a couple of books on my reading list this week. The first was Grounded by D.B. Bass. It was okay and I really liked the chapters on comparative religion but ended up skipping the ecological chapters. My next book was a collections of poems from Y. Komunyakaa in his book The Emperor of Water Clocks. I know he is a Pulitzer Prize winning author but I was not enthralled. It was just the same old post modern “all that is beautiful is ugly” set to jazz undertones. Blah! Blah! Blah! He is skilled at producing impressive visual images in

the mind (if you know mythology) but I have no desire to mull over such images in my tender soul. I want beauty. I want to read beautiful words. The critics promised beautiful words in this collection of poems. The critics lied to me!!!!

I am kind mad about the lies. The critics promised gorgeous blues but all I ended up with was disjointed and jaded jazz. In poetry and in music blues and jazz are not the same entity!!!!! I am beginning to think that buffoons who have no concept of the definition of the words they employ write for literary journals.

I’m going to just let the rant go and move on with my life…

Lent started this week. I didn’t do much to prepare for this season. I’ve felt lost this past few months. My faith is lost in translation. The word “church” makes me edgy. I don’t ever want to go but once I end up at church I am usually happy to be there. I did pick up a book for Lent called Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright. I’m only a couple of chapters into the book but it is bringing me comfort. I want to cry because I have felt so adrift from my faith for so long. This book is just stripping away all

of the garbage attached to Christianity and letting the Gospel message shine like a beautiful beacon once again.

Right now, snow is falling. I love the silence of a blanket of snow over the earth…even in a neighborhood. The reflection from the street lights reflect off the snow making the cold night a little brighter than usual…winter’s promise of warmth just around the bend…spring on the horizon. My faith is barely an ember, its own winter’s promise. Finally, in winter’s stillness I see faith’s reflection.

Linking up with : Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

at Christmas Eve candlelight service

ready for the movies!