I Want to Remember

I've heard homeschooling compared to a black hole. Everything gets sucked in. This is definitely true in my life as well. My days are spent schooling, cleaning, cooking, caring for my kids, and running errands. That doesn't leave much time for anything else, especially blogging.

In the midst of this chaos and busyness, there are parts of life I want to remember. I am afraid that if I don't write them down, I will forget. Like when H puts on several pair of underwear at a time, or how S dances and claps his hands when AJ plays "Grand Old Flag" on the piano and sings to it. I want to remember that H is the first one to help if I am doing anything in the kitchen. It doesn't take long before I hear the chair scooting across the floor as he pushes it from the dining room into the kitchen, saying, "I want to help, Mommy."

I want to remember K dancing to "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam" as I try to sing S to sleep, even though she should be in bed herself. And H breaking out in poem when he sees the moon... "The moon has a face like the clock in the hall, She shines on thieves on the garden wall." I don't want to forget S crawling toward me, saying, "Mamamamamama," or his proclamation of wanting to nurse, "Nu nu nu nu nu." I want to remember K crawling into bed with S when he starts crying, trying to calm him by snuggling with him. And H standing with his legs apart and his arms out, trying to "trap" people from passing by, even though he weighs only about 5 or 6 pounds more than S. He is so feisty and full of passion.

I want to remember AJ crawling around on the floor, trying to get S to chase him, and succeeding in getting him to laugh. And AJ playing the Demo song on the piano and galloping around the fireplace as part of his "dance" to the music. And AJ telling me the best part of co-op is science because he has me as his teacher. And H telling me he is happy with me right after I told him I am not happy with him. Then his asking if I am happy with him after he has obeyed and the hug that ensues.

I want to remember H talking about the air show for weeks and AJ riding his new bike around the cul-de-sac, singing "God Bless the USA." I want to remember their spontaneous patriotism in the Safeway parking lot on Columbus Day when the flags were flying. They burst into the national anthem and all sang their heart out.

I want to remember K glancing up at me as I enter the dance studio toward the end of her class, and how she is obviously distracted by my presence as I see her looking at me instead of focusing on the task at hand. I want to remember how she loves to read past her bedtime, and how she devours books. I want to remember that AJ turned his light back on to do his sentence workbook when he should have been trying to go to sleep.

So, while many of my posts are for others to learn what is going on in our lives or to record the unique experiences we have encountered, this one is for me. I want to look back and smile as I remember these fleeting days. Because time does indeed fly by quickly.