"A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potientialities." - Charles de Gaulle. As of this post, Luke has achieved the rank of Staff Sargeant in the Lorain County Civil Air Patrol, a program I can't recommend highly enough. CAP …
Author: GriffithsKL
The Lesson Losing Teaches
Actually there are several lessons taught by the strict and Spartan teacher, Losing. Our soccer game yesterday inspired this post, but I'm hoping that it will get us through this rebuilding season, ie, losing season. I try to be a cup-half-full thinker. Losing teaches: 1. I am a work in progress. No one is finished …
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
I want to tell you about someone who loves me. He has loved me all my life, from the time I was in my mother's womb. He loved me when I was frail and helpless and messy and when I said silly or ridiculous things; still he loved me. He did not abandon me when …
My Sister’s Response When I Bemoaned my Consumer Status
Recently I tried to get a "real job." Not that what I do right now isn't work. But most of what I do is pro bono, gratis, charity-- you know, housework. A too-good-to-be-true opportunity came my way, so I dropped everything summer and spent five hours updating my 20-year-old resume. I somehow managed to …
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Homeschool: A Weapon of Crass Destruction
First difference between summer and school: Summer. Kids: "We're bored. Amuse us. Divert us. Spend money on us." Me: Can't you go play Legos or find something to do for just a little while?" School. Me: "Kids? Where are you? It's time for school... Kids?" chirp... chirp... So school has begun, and I can't …
The Dangers of a Life Without Cable TV
I hope they didn't throw any poo today. My friend's email ended with those words. No jk. No lol. I'm dead serious. This highlights the reality of our existences raising boys. I came home from a lovely walk with my husband to find my boys and her boys (all between the ages of 8 & 12) …
To The Woman I Rear-Ended Today,
The answer to your question, "What the hell is wrong with [me]?" is that I'm flawed, human. Thankfully that obvious and inescapable fact no longer plagues me as it once did. It used to be such a burden, trying to appear just so, to wear the masks of got-it-togetherness, brilliance, wit, savvy. I never felt …
Learning From Experience
Recently Luke (12 years old) was given an assignment to relate an experience in which he learned something valuable. The catch: the lesson could not come from a book. Funny that we now consider experiential learning to be the exception rather than the rule. Curve ball coming: when have you learned something from your life? …
Good Morning
Upon waking, I sip my coffee either upstairs or downstairs, depending on which living space is less messy. Today was a toss up. These are my slippered feet and my PJ's; that is my cat, and this is what my view usually does NOT look like in the morning. Warning: this may sound like …
We didn’t like that anyway.
"We didn't like that couch anyway," my son said with the glazed look of a soldier recently returned from a violent front. In our family that sentence is code. It means: The dog just ate x. I was in bed reading. I didn't believe him at first. Mostly because my son is joking 90% of …