tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post94993538822305353..comments2023-10-11T04:09:53.564-07:00Comments on materfamilias writes: Family, Life, and Rich Repercussionsmaterfamiliashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-9403601752127618222014-09-22T05:39:18.600-07:002014-09-22T05:39:18.600-07:00That's the thing about family, alone time isn&...That's the thing about family, alone time isn't really a part of the picture, but pulling yourself up from exhaustion for that all-too precious time seems to have its own restorative power. (She says as being available to meet some unexpected family needs is piling onto an already all-too-busy week)Mardelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04850551308931710502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-45952801526590380802014-09-20T06:32:35.504-07:002014-09-20T06:32:35.504-07:00I think/hope that the balance comes in knowing tha...I think/hope that the balance comes in knowing that one chooses, somehow. There are many demands in my life I could say "no" too. But "no" comes with its own set of consequences, doesn't it? And I know it will have its day (another way to achieve balance, just move along the timeline a few years!) Thanks for the luck! I wish you the same as you juggle, work, husband, grandchildren, moving. . . .materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-11613201800920042742014-09-20T06:30:05.446-07:002014-09-20T06:30:05.446-07:00And it's such a pleasure to knit a baby blanke...And it's such a pleasure to knit a baby blanket -- mindless and meditative, the garter stitch. . . .materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-24661666299116612412014-09-20T06:29:27.480-07:002014-09-20T06:29:27.480-07:00Memories as balancing, that works for me.
And you&...Memories as balancing, that works for me.<br />And you're right that focussing on the demands of the classroom can be a relief -- and/or a definition when the rest of life gets amorphous. I'm so glad you enjoyed the post -- hope your father's situation is at least stabiliising.materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-3349450116710058602014-09-20T06:27:49.868-07:002014-09-20T06:27:49.868-07:00Yes, those afternoons in the car, I remember them ...Yes, those afternoons in the car, I remember them well -- luckily I didn't have a 20-mile round trip! <br />But you're right, in the long run all the travails pale into insignificance. . .materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-74239860323998537632014-09-20T06:26:32.132-07:002014-09-20T06:26:32.132-07:00Oh, the juggling! As for your last sentence, I'...Oh, the juggling! As for your last sentence, I'd say I'm fine in the classroom as well, except that if I haven't done enough prep, the performance becomes more demanding -- and I think it's the performance aspect that really tires. A "treat" is a good idea, even if it's as simple as buying your way out of one little chore. I've built in a few for this weekend. Ugh to the 5 classes -- I'm "only" teaching 3, having scored a Release for some committee work (which, obv. comes with its own demands)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-15127613337414323562014-09-20T06:23:56.943-07:002014-09-20T06:23:56.943-07:00Yes, there are also occasions for helping -- well ...Yes, there are also occasions for helping -- well repaid!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-67935558191584364412014-09-18T23:16:01.255-07:002014-09-18T23:16:01.255-07:00Life.........family........they require us to exte...Life.........family........they require us to extend and expand, as they do. I think that congratulations must be in order!! <br />I am a poor one to be giving advice. I haven't yet managed to create that perfect balance. I feel such a fraud when I ask potential volunteers 'What do you do to create balance in your life?' We Nanas can't do it all, though we think we can, and our children believe we can. A little balance, though, would be a very good thing. You can achieve that, from what I know of you. It's just hard because it means that the focus has to be on you - just you. Good luck!Pondsidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407539138546412482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-29778735471757041292014-09-18T13:31:41.829-07:002014-09-18T13:31:41.829-07:00Congratulations to you all !
Yes , every grandchil...Congratulations to you all !<br />Yes , every grandchild has to have his own granny-made blanket and this will be very snuggly .SmitoniusAndSonatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11210817141287881808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-65153636828561884062014-09-18T11:42:52.807-07:002014-09-18T11:42:52.807-07:00At the moment my absorbing family issues are takin...At the moment my absorbing family issues are taking care of an elderly father, but when I sat in the hospital watching him sleep it brought back the memories of him when I was a little girl. I think memories are a way to help us keep some equilibrium at times. <br /><br />Keeping up with classes well (fresh ideas, good grading etc) is hard to balance when family needs/demands are high. Sometimes it's hard and sometimes it's a relief to get in the classroom where I know what I am doing and think I can make a difference. Love this post!<br />LynnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-70108188770490816792014-09-18T08:19:58.806-07:002014-09-18T08:19:58.806-07:00How richly satisfying, to cuddle you little grandd...How richly satisfying, to cuddle you little granddaughter! The rest pales into insignificance. I don't know how you find the time to blog with so much to do! Love your reminiscences of the challenges of small children. When my youngest son was born, I had a 20 mile round trip to the older children's school for a term, and he would invariably wake up from his afternoon nap halfway through the return trip and bawl for the rest of the journey, greatly to the chargrin of the rest of us, confined in such a small space. Happy days!Catherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01588437065757203375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-11852739352627552892014-09-18T06:33:46.826-07:002014-09-18T06:33:46.826-07:00My necessary "treat" to myself this morn...My necessary "treat" to myself this morning was to send lunch money with my three rather than pack--just couldn't find my way toward the preparations with grading coming in (5 different classes this semester!), a MS. I'm copyediting, and the general responsibilities of being a parent and partner. Being in the actual classroom is fine but the prep and the grading are challenging!Miss Cavendishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17461488799928956875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-68044067307770244892014-09-17T09:37:07.114-07:002014-09-17T09:37:07.114-07:00Isn't there just? So many more books to read a...Isn't there just? So many more books to read and poems to love...<br />Cerinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-13573929218046326682014-09-17T06:31:38.715-07:002014-09-17T06:31:38.715-07:00Beautiful lines there on holding a baby. Sigh...
...Beautiful lines there on holding a baby. Sigh... <br />Am guessing having four children means there will always be many occasions for helping, and receiving love from them and their own children.Duchessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09986153653120526776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-84331182389697757342014-09-17T01:34:34.324-07:002014-09-17T01:34:34.324-07:00Perhaps I shouldn't say "spoil" but ...Perhaps I shouldn't say "spoil" but "pamper". That's waht I meant, anyway.Eleonorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-8916530530398018712014-09-17T01:27:25.801-07:002014-09-17T01:27:25.801-07:00So much to learn from one post (and its surroundin...So much to learn from one post (and its surroundings)!<br />Of course I knew about the importance of blankets in the trade between Europeans and the First Nations, and I had heard of the Hudson Bay Company, but you made me look up and learn what a Hudson's Bay point blanket is. Thank you.<br />Also thank you for the link to Sonya Huber's Shadow Syllabus. "The real world" isn't the real world. So very true.<br />And I love the Wayman poem. Everyone who teaches has felt the same at some moment or other. <br />Congratulation on the good news!<br />All the best for this busy week. After spoiling your students, don't forget to spoil yourself.<br />Eleonorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-14828670104962813802014-09-16T20:34:44.771-07:002014-09-16T20:34:44.771-07:00I'm only discovering Thomas because of the coi...I'm only discovering Thomas because of the coincidence of my reading Robert MacDonald's The Old Ways, which refers to Thomas walking as (at least in part) a response to his depression. Then, by coincidence, a colleague in our Creative Writing department has been writing about him. I love that kind of synchronicity, don't you? "Adlestrop" was new to me, and his "The Lane" -- that quiet intense rural countryside, so poised. . . . the sounds against the quiet so piercing or compelling or . . . .birds, sky, green. . . I'm just learning it. So much wonderful stuff in the world, isn't there?!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-65348109756095558332014-09-16T20:31:34.359-07:002014-09-16T20:31:34.359-07:00Yes! And thank you!Yes! And thank you!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-43331073482103941312014-09-16T20:31:19.918-07:002014-09-16T20:31:19.918-07:00Thanks for reminding me of the flip side -- I can&...Thanks for reminding me of the flip side -- I can't bear to imagine if they were too far away for me to be busy with them, and yet they do occasionally talk of that possibility, one by one. They're still young, after all, and who knows where careers will move them. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-82569432063230342292014-09-16T20:30:13.466-07:002014-09-16T20:30:13.466-07:00That's it, precisely. It's exponential, sy...That's it, precisely. It's exponential, synergistic -- a bit overwhelming at times, but also intensely rewarding!<br />And yes, you're an alert reader. We're absolutely overjoyed, heart-burstingly, yes!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-8474270645811448442014-09-16T20:28:36.396-07:002014-09-16T20:28:36.396-07:00Hug gratefully accepted, thank you!Hug gratefully accepted, thank you!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-22016798224997377602014-09-16T20:28:14.585-07:002014-09-16T20:28:14.585-07:00I didn't blurt DUH, but there might have been ...I didn't blurt DUH, but there might have been an eye roll! ;-) That's the one given, isn't it, life changing?! Keeps us on our toes!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-24179947435193509742014-09-16T11:29:03.970-07:002014-09-16T11:29:03.970-07:00Adlestrop.
And breath...Adlestrop.<br /><br />And breath...Cerinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-24154115313433614982014-09-16T10:19:40.197-07:002014-09-16T10:19:40.197-07:00Ah, yet another grandchild? Wonderful news!Ah, yet another grandchild? Wonderful news!Patriciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05504513116873595049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-33097206955389015902014-09-16T09:16:54.550-07:002014-09-16T09:16:54.550-07:00Last night, an older man at my group was sharing o...Last night, an older man at my group was sharing one of the challenges that had recently occurred in his life. Two of his young adult grandchildren were going to live elsewhere. Perhaps they would each meet and marry someone in their new countries and he would not get to see them as often. The busyness comes and goes as does the enjoyment of the subsequent generations. Your students will learn from a teacher who brings forth a wonderfully rich and full life and you will find the necessary alone time. The time to one's self provides the energy and enthusiasm to fuel the other parts of life. Take care!Madame Là-bashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16703782237948233124noreply@blogger.com