school daze

the other day i was on the elliptical at the gym and i noticed a situation through the window beside me. school had just gotten out and all the Abercrombie and Hollister covered kids were making their way to the afternoon hangout at the Y. one of the kids had some art work that he was bringing home from school. it was made with construction paper and some sort of translucent paper that made it look like a detailed stained glass. i noticed on the back bottom corner there was the emblem of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo art competition. you could tell the kid was proud of it, and he had every right to be.

i watched as he stood and visited with his friends who were all about my oldest son's age, then one of his friends started razzing him. he snatched the kids' creation, laughed at it, and held it up out of his reach and verbally ridiculed him. finally he handed it back, but the look on the artist's face told it all.

i think everyone who grew up in public school had a similar incident. doing things well is sure to bring the scorn of your classmates.

i felt really sorry for the kid and the whole situation got me thinking. how much of my personality was shaped by a vicious peer-group? generally i didn't fall into the group of kids getting bullied because i was somewhat rough (because in an animal-like environment, one can be mean or be eaten), but i can still remember trying to find ways to be cooler or funnier or more stylish. i can remember being so concerned with what others thought of me that it hurt. i remember the ends of summers spent planning how i was going to 'be' that school year. how horrifying was dressing out in gym class? how mortifying was the ill-founded rumor? remember all of the things and ideas one needed to be 'acceptable'?

my parents formed me, but my peer-group raised me.

all these things in mind, what sort of people are my children going to be? they may have 8 hours a week in their peer group, not 8 hours a day. the vast majority of their communication is with adults. there is no pressure to be anything they are not. i honestly can't get my head around the whole thing. their experience is going to be so opposite mine.

they are fortunate beyond reason.

the strange place between eclipses

my mind is on fire. i can't stop it, even my dreams are more interesting lately. i am obviously in the throes of an awesome celestial alignment and my thirst for knowledge and thought is insatiable.

school has went very well this week; Galilee has made good progress in reading and is getting really good at her basic addition facts, Asher volunteered to tell me what 6 + 3 equals without figuring and he's actually participated in penmanship the past couple of days, and Daylon has whined much less about doing math. ah yes, the momentary bliss of a rewarding week.

however, i haven't cleaned house all week.

i've worked out everyday at the Y after school, and as of this week's weigh-in i've lost 21 pounds. woohoo!

back to the lack of house cleaning...i'm reading 4 books right now. i usually can't find time to read one book, somehow time has made itself lately.

i'm reading:

this is such a cool book. i love historical fiction and this one is really a bit of a stand alone in the genre. it takes place in the 1340's in a small German village in the Black Forest called Oberhochwald, which later becomes known as Eifelheim after it's disappearance. so far, an alien spacecraft has landed in the woods and some of the people in the village set up communication with the aliens. it's really interesting that the people never really consider that these 'people' are from outer space despite the fact that they have voice translators and 3d picture screens and things that people of the 14th century could have never dreamed of. i guess theoretically China was as far away as Jupiter in their mindset.

i'm also reading:

i've read this one before, but it's a real challenge and i missed alot the first time. it takes place in the distant future of England. there has been a nuclear holocaust and language and society have broken down. it's written in the broken language that the people use by one of the few people who is able to read and write, Riddley Walker. Russel Hoban is a true genius; not only because of the use of language, but the way he takes events of the past and weaves a mythology (complete with folk songs) of the remnant society is amazing and thought provoking.

i've been waiting on this one from amazon for two weeks!

my grandmother used to always tell me that we were English, German, and Pennsylvania Dutch. i thought this was my claim to Scandinavian blood until i was 30 and found out that it was just more German...ah well, that's fine with me. but i really, really want to be crafty and i'm so not. well, not only is hexwork in my blood, it's really alot like drafting! woohoo! hopefully next week i can get some supplies and get started. if i get good, yall can expect some custom hexes for Yule!

and last but not least:

now this book is real new-agey and pretty touchy-feely, but i've got a bit inspired by it. i believe in the chakra system and i've been toying around with the idea of incorporating chakra meditation with the runes. first i have to really decide what runes correspond with which chakra (and possibly ask advice of those more seasoned than myself), but i like the idea of healing the chakras with runic energy. any thoughts?