Different is Good

Different isn't always good. For example, if your husband tries a bite of your new shrimp-fried-rice recipe and says, "Hmm, it's different," that's not so good. But today, different has been good to us.

I know, it's dark and drizzly. It's Thursday. Not Monday, not Friday, not even Hump Day. But today was a good day. I mean, I'm writing my blog at 3:13pm. I hear no screaming or whining. The house is... well... a mess... but I feel an incredible sense of accomplishment today.

I think switching up our routine really worked well. We didn't quite make it to the book store before 9:00am. But we did make it by ten. We stationed ourselves at a table in the cafe, laptop fired up and hot beverages in hand.

With a little bit of prodding (by me) and some help setting up the internet connection from the barista, Asher was on his way to completing an online lesson about geometric symmetry. Cady completed a whole lesson of math, wrote a letter to her Grammie, worked on her "Princess Book" and read aloud from "Dick and Jane and the Vampire." (Which, by the way, is an excellent spoof on the Dick and Jane primary readers!)

By 11:30am, Asher completed a fourteen-sentence blog post about World of Warcraft. (Hey, we have to learn to pick our battles). Then, with my homeschooler's discount card in hand, we roamed the store for new books.

When we got home a little after noon, Asher spent a good chunk of time hunkered down on the couch with his new "Calvin and Hobbes" book. Cady and I sat at the counter making bottle top magnets and jewelry. Then we all gathered for a game of "Lego Magick." We played three rounds and only had one bout of tears! (I win!)

Now the kids are nestled under blankets while the rain beats down outside. They are watching "Robin Hood." (Good period peice for the Middle Ages? Maybe. Doesn't matter anyway, it's a good story.) Tonight we're going to finish our Medieval Town project with dad...but he doesn't know this yet. He won't mind, especially once he samples the brownies the kids made!

Hopefully this different will become the new normal.