A few days ago I posted this on FB: "Great Spirit, please support me in these last days of school. Please help me to not only get through them, but ENJOY them as these moments in my children's lives are fleeting. We are joyful and sad and grateful all at once. Please give them the support they need as they journey into the next stages of their lives. With thanks, Amen and Aho."

Here I sit.  4 days later.  On Monday, Thursday seemed so far away.  I have spent the week laughing and crying and talking to my fellow parents.  That is, when I am not cooking, cleaning, running errands for the kids. supporting the Moon's field day, taking her for an end of the year lunch with friends and oh - not to mention - trying to run a business and prepare for a house full of people for graduation.  

Did I mention that The Sun, my oldest, is graduating from 8th grade tonight?  I know.  8th grade.  Big deal.  It is a big deal.  It signifies his move to high school. His moving away from us and becoming more independent.  And, it means he is leaving the next of the small Waldorf school where he has mostly been since his days in the sweet Parent-Child circle with me beginning at the tender age of three.  

It is bittersweet this day.  I know tonight will be hard.  For me, for him (he is so excited and so sad all at the same time).  Last night I had a nightmare that seemed to go on forever. I rarely remember my dreams these days but when I do I know to pay attention as it is important.  Noah and many children were locked in a school.  It was a big public school.  Not his school.  The "authorities" came and locked them in...then they locked us in.  Most of the dream was spent attempting to escape.  I'll be thinking about this throughout the day.  The meaning.  The take-away.  

If you are a dream interpreter, let me know as I have a glimmer of the meaning but can always use some help.

I'll leave you with an image of Noah on stilts at the annual Elves' Faire, a Waldorf tradition (by many names).  Today, I will tell him that his time at his school is not truly over, his relationships not coming to an end as long as he tends the flame and keeps it alive.

Hmmmm...what flames should I tend today?

1. Make a decision to create sacred space in your home, your sanctuary, your refuge from the world and share this idea with your children on whatever level they can understand.  As I have walked these many years on my spiritual journey and have had the opportunities to study so many traditions with so many masters - including the sacred art of Feng Shui, I have been reminded over and over again that my home is my sacred space. This does not mean you must have an altar or it must look and feel like a Buddhist temple or a church but it should be where you feel safe, relaxed and yourself.  It is difficult to feel any of these things if you are sleeping with all of your laundry.
2. Keep Your Home Neat and Clean.  Yes.  I mean you. You cannot expect your children to keep their room clean or make their beds if you are not setting that example.  I'm not talking about making your home look like a Pottery Barn ad.  What I am talking about is just keeping it tidied up.  Walk through the house each morning and evening before bed and tidy up.  It will make life much easier each day and will help the kids know how good it feels to be in a clean space. Promise!
3. Remember LESS IS MORE.  I'm going to tell you something absolutely true.  We rarely eat fast food.  Why am I telling you this?  Because I do not allow things like toys from a fast food box into my home.  Even if we have a weak (busy) moment and pull into a Sonic I can promise you that no food is ordered that comes with a toy.  We are mindful of what toys and books our children have and believe in SIMPLICITY in those regards.  Just say no to the excess.  It's really that easy and it will bring peace to your home.
4. Be organized and give your children tools for organization.  You cannot expect your children to put their things away if there is not a designated space for said things.  An open bin or toy box is a recipe for disaster.  When he was younger (okay, he still plays with them), my son played with three types of toys.  We have Playmobil, Legos and wooden trains.  I have designated bins and spaces for all of these things.  Why does that matter?  It allowed for easy clean-up and kept him from melting down because he could not find [fill in the blank] piece.
   
5. Purge regularly.  Every 6 months I do a clean sweep of the house.  As diligent as we are in regards to toys, paper, food in the bedrooms, etc. it is AMAZING what sneaks in.  I cannot imagine what would happen if we did not adhere to simplicity and cleanliness.
6. Teach your children how to put things away.  This sort of goes hand in hand with Number 1 and setting an example but really, children must be taught how to clean up after themselves.  When they are really small it is singing a clean up song and putting their toys (the very few toys) into appropriate bins.  As they move into late toddlerhood and preschool years it is continuing to work side by side with them (think of the developmental side by side play) to help them pick up. By the time they enter Kindergarten there is really no reason for them to not be able to clean up  on their own (provided they are not overwhelmed by the amount of toys they have or the lack of organizational materials).
7. Tell your children to clean their rooms.  This is where it gets real for the school-age set.  Tell your children to do it and mean it.  (Gasp!) As a general rule, children need EXPLICIT instructions.  "Little Susie (or Teen Susie), clean your room."  There is no room here for discussion and that is okay.  Really.  I give you permission as the adult to teach good habits to your children.  We want to hold them and coddle them.  I know!  I have those urges too.  There are times we can do that.  But, we are not doing our children any favors by allowing them to be slobs or not help in the home - especially in regards to their own rooms.
   
8. Stick to your guns.  It seems like this is the same as Number 5 but that is for them.  This is for you.  Do not waiver.  You need to decide what level of cleanliness you need in your home  for you and your family to be healthy and happy and to be able to think of your home as sacred.  Once you make that decision stick to it. "No, you cannot go outside.  No, you cannot read your book.  No, you cannot play on the Wii, text your friends or do your nails.  You can clean your room and when it is finished let me know so I can determine if you are ready for free time. "  I know this seems harsh but looking for a mate to a shoe is no fun if it is buried under a pile of dirty laundry when you have to be at school in 15 minutes.  At least it does not sound like fun to me.  Sticking to your guns can be hard but these life lessons are what help build strong adults.

There are really some great resources out there in the library and on the web for  assisting you even further.  The article that prompted the initial blog post was from Living Well Spending Less and...well... I went back and read it and was really great.  It's definitely worth taking a look at.  Another great resource is Kim John Payne.  I had the pleasure to work with him over the course of two years through my son's school.  His work on simplicity is fantastic.  Click here to read one of his blog postings on what he has dubbed Simplicity Parenting.
Now put on your big girl panties and get to work.  You can do it!

​Hi guys. Well, we are in our 4th season of soccer. Noah really enjoys playing and is very excited to be on the purple team this season - his lucky color. The kids really do little more than run around trying to kick the ball at this age. There are one or two on each team that are real go getters, but for the most part it's all fun.

Can you believe that my baby lost his first two teeth today? Not the usual way of course. Tooth number one has been loose for a little over two months. Meantime, the new tooth has come up behind it. Then, a second tooth loosened up and lo and behold, did not loosen much and a new tooth had come up behind it. So, today we went to the dentist. I was very nervous that he was going to freak out before we went, but I told him about the Snoopy nose that the dentist would put on him that would make him giggle. That was all he needed to hear. Unfortunately, he did not giggle and that made him sad.

But, the visit went well. Both teeth were pulled, he received a prize and I took him for a Frosty as he needed something that did not require a straw to ingest. All in all it went well. Now, he is sound asleep with two teeth under his pillow dreaming sweet dreams of the glitter and magic of the Tooth Fairy. I know he won't be disappointed.

As for me, I finally broke down and cried at bedtime as he got ready to read The Tooth Fairy book. I cannot believe we have a child losing his milk teeth. He is growing up so fast. It is days like this that I am so thankful that we have made the decision to keep him home with us instead of sending him to school.

That's it for tonight.  So, look for the kid with the missing front teeth and be sure to ask him about his Tooth Fairy visit.

Peace Out.

​I copied this image from www.yahoo.com. It is an image from the AP. A kid in California took a gun to school and the school was locked down. This was at a Baccalaureate School which is sort of like a magnet school but not. The police searched all 1200 students and the school. These police state images of our school systems burn me up. This is what I am talking about. I would be furious if this happened to my kid. Think this sort of thing doesn't happen all of the time? It does. My niece was involved in a small incident a year or so ago. Let me frame it by saying it was really bad and the parents handled it. And, let me say she is at the top of her class academically and a a cheerleader and learned her lesson. With that said......she was interrogated by a policeman and the principle of her magnet school where she was a 7th grader for over two hours. She was NOT ALLOWED to call her parents. After getting a thorough tongue lashing from my sister, she was basically told that they do not have to call her and that she has not rights in this incident. Police state folks. Police state. When your child is in the public school system you basically have no rights to them. They are essentially wards of the school while they are there. You think I am crazy. I know you do. But, it is true. Okay class, all together, say "George Orwell."

​Well, here we are looking at taking Noah to Bonnaroo for the third year. I have to tell you, that it rocks taking a kid to this incredible music extravaganza. He totally hung in there both years. We have the good fortune of working in a booth to raise money for the Manchester Art Center and Community Theater (which unfortunately burned to the ground a year ago during the run of Charlotte's Web.). Noah hands out drinks while take the money. We don't let him hand out the beer, but he knows his sodas well.

This year it will be a real challenge trying to decide when to go. The lineup includes Allison Kraus and Robert Plant, Pearl Jam (whom I saw in 1993), Jack Johnson, and my personal faves, The Allman Brothers Band. I'm sure others will be added as the concert nears.

​Noah particularly loves getting to walk around all day without a shirt, riding the ferris wheel and the great kids section which featured a magic show last year. Above you'll find a father / son photo during a break in the kids section. See you in Manchester folks!