Sagetribe- Adventures From Our Village

The Joy of School- A Beginning

This boy

this sweet, sister loving, Lego master, sensitive, fighter for justice, hater of oranges and raisins, and lover of P.E., math, and reading comic books boy,

did something really cool last week.

We are proud of him- he learned how to read, create fractions, tell time, tie his shoes, he played hard, walked to the park everyday, made friends, taught and helped his peers, learned the "art" of Pokeymon, and most importantly he ENJOYED HIS DAY. 

This is so important! Really, for me, it is the most important.

Without joy learning doesn't happen.

I believe in the idea of school- a place of nurturing where children, small and big, come together to be immersed in new things and create.

Oh, but as we know, this isn't always the idea of school...some believe kids just need to do as they are told and get "through it".

Maybe those people loved the school they went to or never struggled, which somehow I doubt. It makes more sense that they just have some morbid sense of the world that it sucks. 

It doesn't matter where a child goes to school, there should be joy; there must be.

So on this day, graduation from what used to be considered the last fun year, we know and will do everything in our being to ensure, it is just the beginning for Clark. There are no illusions here. There will be struggles and challenges. My days are spent helping teenagers find joy and then success in school. I know how it goes. I know there must be joy. 

Here's to 12 more years, Clark! 12 more years of finding your passions, learning and playing hard, making friends, helping and being helped, and most importantly, enjoying your days. 

A Week...

This girl

This girl, who is so brave,

and perhaps quite in love with her doctor, due to the number of times we've been into see him recently, has now, in a matter of one week, had

a nice dose of poison ivy which spread all over,

and

a chin that needed to be glued,

and 

a busted head in need of a staple,

oh, and a croup type virus with a lovely chirpy cough that makes her eyes tear and my heart jump in my throat.

I'm thinking she should be done with sickness and accidents for the year, but of course it doesn't work that way, and with this one, my adventurous, does her own thing, and "doesn't have to" do what she doesn't want to do, 

I'm guessing it's only the beginning.

Meaning we can never move or we'll be packing Dr. S and his fam. up with us :)

So thankful for good doctors and friends! So, so thankful!

A Book for Mom

Today I received one of the best gifts ever, a book written about me from the not so wee one, whose perspective made me laugh out loud, quite loudly, in public, and maybe shed a tear or two. 

According to Clark-

I'm special because I'm a good reader.

He loves it when I cook dinner.

He wishes he could buy me a crown (I do too, I mean, why shouldn't I have a crown!).

It bugs me when his sister screams (oh, yes).

My favorite t.v. show is Cars 2 (of course- how could I not love things about secret agents :)

The very best thing I cook is cereal...or as he spelled it surreal, which his father thought was quite right when describing my cooking (not sure how to take either of those!)

And do you know why I'm so good at cooking cereal? It's because I put it in a bowl and pour milk on it (jealous of my skills, aren't you cooks out there!)

But perhaps the best page, besides the cover as seen above, which I think bares a very close resemblance to me, was

This list...it made me day, my week. While I strive for these adjectives daily, there is one... I struggle with at times.

I'm so thankful he sees it in me enough to think of me in this way.

And I'm so thankful that my surreal cereal cooking rocks!

One for the memory box for sure!

Recharging

- a new spot to discover

-friends who happened to be there too

-a couple more weeks to hike with my love

-thinking about how I will hike with two, alone...

-thankful good friends won't let me be truly alone

-frogs not scared by squeals (or maybe too scared)

-snack breaks with cheddar bunnies and dried seaweed

-poison ivy keeping the wee one in her carrier (b/c when Mama says NO, it's fun to do the opposite)

-snake skin found and taken for treasure table

-a quiet reminder to say a quiet "thank you"

-Mama's 25 year old Cabbage Patch loved again 

-a weekly recharge: ready for due dates, meetings, teenagers, and the unexpected. 

-a chance to slow down

 

Attitude

Saturday after dinner, we took the kids to Red Mango, a make your own yogurt bar, and then for a walk on campus. Clark was not thrilled. He wanted to go to a park. A park that was across a busy, graduating town. We decided to deal with

which thankfully was short lived. I reminded him about his "rocks" and shrinking them, and within minutes of him finding his way to 

he informed me that he had in fact changed his attitude and was quite content,

which I knew would come about because we four re-charge when we're outside. 

We need to be  terrorizing finding bunnies, running, standing on our heads

doing "nastics",

and sometimes we can even be still...

even if it is just for a moment. 

Spring Rain

 

Last Night the Rain Spoke to Me 

by Mary Oliver

 

Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying, 
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud, 
to be happy again
in a new way
on the earth! 

That’s what it said
as it dropped, 
smelling of iron, 
and vanished
like a dream of the ocean
into the branches
and the grass below.

Then it was over.
The sky cleared.
I was standing
under a tree.

The tree was a tree
with happy leaves, 
and I was myself, 
and there were stars in the sky
that were also themselves
at the moment
at which moment
my right hand
was holding my left hand
which was holding the tree
which was filled with stars
and the soft rain –

imagine! 

imagine! 

 the long and wondrous journeys
still to be ours.

We've Been

jamming to Phineas and Ferb songs 

"104 Days of Summer Vacation..." (I wish!)

"Gitchy Gitchy Goo, Baby!"

and learning how to snap, while Mama figures out her NEW camera!

The wee girl is doing EXACTLY what the brother does

with a little more sass.

We've been conferencing with parents for too many hours to count, making tortillas from scratch (no need to buy them...easy and they rock), getting massages (thanks M and D G!), and getting over fevers and rashes, which have thankfully been very mild. 

We've been rearranging furniture, putting wee people back in their beds over and over, turning the heat on and off and on and off, and reading poetry in a room full of lovely women. 

The whole foods class wrapped up this week; next week my writing workshop ends, and in five weeks school is out for summer, and I say goodbye to three seniors and our building (OH YES, my school is moving again!)

Thankfully the goodbyes are all good things and thankfully new cooking and writing classes have already been signed up for. The heat will be turned off for good, the rashes and fevers will pass. 

We've been trying to maintain some grace and order while the crazy end of school days creep up, and remember that soon these crazy days will pass and new crazy days, without a big guy, will be here. No need to wish these days away. They are good, mostly calm, and when all else fails, we have a new toy to capture it all with!

Thankful!

 

Well, Hello Again- Grilled Porks and Rainbow Chard

So maybe it's this cold I'm fighting which is keeping me from sleep or the fact that we're back to eating greens and I'm feeling all foodie, or maybe when I log into my site and see how many of you read these little diatribes of mine (THANKS!!), it just makes me so !!!!!; whatever the reason, here I am again, with another really easy meal that one of my two kids loved, and I'm not really sure it's fair to count the two year old because, well, she's two and was in a characteristically sassy mood; she was NOT going to eat THAT. 

And THAT was sauteed onions, garlic, potatoes, and rainbow chard with a little fresh rosemary, served over seasoned grilled pork chops. 

That's the recipe...Just cut, sautee, season, and grill. 

Keep reading if you want the detailed recipe with photos.

Except it's not that easy if you're like me and can't seem to light the grill. Then you have to wait until the Big Guy gets home from working at your daughter's day care so he can try to light it, fail, and then end up throwing a lighted stick into the grill. 

So, maybe you'll eat even later than late, which you would have done even if you hadn't had trouble with the grill because you promised your son that he could take the money he got from being a Psyc. lab guinea pig to Target to buy the latest Batman Lego set.

And maybe while this dinner was in fact quite lovely, the small person who was temper tantruming all over the house because she didn't want to eat THAT, made you think that maybe had you had the guts to just throw the match and get dinner on the table earlier, maybe she would have eaten THAT. 

Maybe...

But regardless, you should go to the farmer's market on Saturday and buy some rainbow chard.  And you should also get your meat directly from a farmer because while it may be just a little bit more pricey, when you see how thick the cuts are and you taste how much better the meat is, you'll just sink you teeth into it and not really care who or what is throwing themselves at your feet insisting that they should be able to eat a forth yogurt instead of THAT. 

Here's the recipe if you'd rather skip over all this and just make the food:

1. Four local, boneless pork chops (We love http://www.schachtfleecefarm.com/- also found at the farmer's market)

2. Season with salt and pepper, olive oil, and either sage, rosemary, or thyme

3. Grill

4. Heat oil in pan on medium high (I used coconut oil- a new fav. but olive oil works)

5. Add chopped onion and garlic

6. Add seasoning (salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, sage, or thyme)

7. Add cut up potatoes- continue to cook and stir when you remember 

8. While the veggies are getting cooked down and wonderful, wash your chard and remove it from the rib. I didn't do this the first couple times we ate chard or collards and it was very chewy! Then rip the pieces into smaller pieces and soak/rinse/soak/rinse to clean. 

9. Add chard to pan, turn heat down and let it cook down into the onions and potatoes. It will turn bright green and reduce a lot. 

10. Serve THAT! 

 

Big 6

A whirlwind of activity life has been since the Big 6, making me thankful now, four days later, to have some quiet time to shift through that big day. 

The Big 6

was filled with thoughtful (perfect Clark) gifts

sisters not so sure why they weren't having a party

Batman comics, snacks, and seven other Batmans to run crazy with

a sugary city under attack

a beautiful day to run outside, throw balls, and play tag- a Pop and a Mimi, great friends, lots of laughs and lots of silly. 

Thank you to everyone who helped make the BIG 6 so special! I thought five was big- no SIX...six is BIG!

 

SIX

This wee person,

who made Clark and I grow up and embrace childhood at about the same moment, 

who defines love and fear,

who continues to teach us more than any book we could read or degree earned,

who has helped us find our paths and stay still, even when it's hard,

suddenly went from being 

to being...

and we are so thankful!

Thank you Monkey Man- for the laughs, the snuggles, the lessons, and "family hugs!".

Thank you for the questions we're not smart enough to answer, the kindness you radiate, for the patience you exude, and yes, even the Lego masterpieces, every where.

Thank you for your sensitivity, your heart, and your sense of right and wrong- You are, as a doctor once told us after you were born, "A magnificent hunk of child."

Happy 6th Birthday, Clark. We are so proud and thankful for YOU!