the melange of the week

Alright, now that I'm back on call and the whirl of gaiety is finished, leaving me time to blog. And what a whirl it was:

*Monday---I had 15 kids (aged 5-13) and one dad sitting fairly quietly on my dining room floor for a nearly 2 hour Japanese tea ceremony that the moms and I did our best to recreate from our 16th century Japanese history unit. The kids behaved so well, even the boy, that I never would have realized how long they sat unless one of the moms hadn't mentioned it. We served a 6 course meal: rice and salad, soup (called the Nimono course), grilled fish and/or spring rolls for our vegans (the Yakimono course), cups of hot lemon water as a palate cleanser (Hasiarai), a 'mountain' and the 'sea' on a tray---the Hassun course, which we made from strawberry oat bars that one of the moms made, and blueberries. (maybe not so culturally accurate, but good!) The final food course was pickles and more rice (in case anyone was still hungry, I'm thinking). We finished up by passing a bowl of jasmine tea (koicha) around for everyone to smell and to taste if they wanted to, then gave them cups of green tea (usucha) for the end. I'm not sure the kids would recognize a true tea ceremony after experiencing ours, just like the Kitaro music I had found at the library the day before to play during the ceremony didn't do justice to classical Japanese music. But they sat so well I know that they absorbed something.
After they went home, I went in to the office that evening to teach a class on breastfeeding.

*Tuesday---We started out the day by driving through the snow to go to piano lessons. ( I now get to experience and appreciate what my mother did during all those years she sat through my piano lessons. I hope that she enjoyed watching and listening to me as much as I do watching the kids.)
Sorry to mar a sentimental moment with complaining, but back to the driving part. Having grown up an 90 miles NW of here, I have little patience with people who are afraid to drive in snow. I mean, there's driving slowly and cautiously---10-15 mph less than the posted speed limit, but the people that drive 5 mph should just stay home. Even though I didn't take Physics in high school (it conflicted with French) I know "a body in motion stays in motion.." (although I just looked it up to find out that it was part of Newton's first law). Therefore, IMLTHO, one has to drive with a certain amount of speed to avoid losing control. One must be cautious, but fearful drivers are a menace!
So, to avoid using words that are currently fascinating the Boy, I started driver's ed with the kids, telling them, "Two of the keys to driving in snow are keeping a safe distance between your car and the cars in front of you and applying your brakes sooner and more gently than usual, tapping them repeatedly to slow down." And doncha know, the Boy was listening. He recited this, nearly verbatim, to his dad that evening. (The kids and I picked the 'Savant up from work that night, to save him a longer-than-usual ride bus ride.)
We decided to stop and get some groceries. While we were standing in line at the local (meaning non-chain) store, someone came in and robbed all three registers without drawing much notice from any of the customers, even me. How? Well, the 'savant was unloading the cart while I was busy denying the kids their hearts' desires of candy and cookies, so I wasn't really paying attention to the cashier. What I did notice was that he was standing there while the thief was getting his drawer out, but the thief was standing behind him and I just figured that it was another one of the clerks cashing out his drawer and getting ready to take his place. I did ask the cashier, ( a gangly teenager with acne) if his line was open, and he just held up his finger to 'wait a moment'. So I started to help with unloading the cart and waited patiently, still heartlessly denying the boy ice cream until I heard the cashier say, "We just got robbed." after the guy had left the store (which I also didn't notice).
I immediately flashed back to my own experience getting robbed at gunpoint while working in a clothes store nearly 20 years ago and was surprised at how much it still affected me. However, I was able to empathize with the cashier and commend him, as well as the other two for keeping so calm. Since we were there, one of the owners asked us to stay and give a statement to the police, although we couldn't ID the guy. I got a call from one of the detectives assigned to the case on Thursday as a follow-up; they had already arrested someone and he was wrapping up his report. The detective led me through the little that I had noticed and was gracious considering the paucity of information. As we were chatting, he told me that they had gotten everything on video and the guy had passed right by the Girl on his way to the third register. That, I didn't need to know. (she didn't notice him---in fact, neither of the kids knew what was going on, and still don't seem to realize how scary it could have been--- Goddess bless that beanpole cashier!)

Wednesday---was a little less busy than usual since we didn't have a midwives dinner meeting. I did take the kids and our Wedsnesday night guest (a friend of the Boy's who stays the night so I can take him to homeschool gym the next day) to the store to pick up some brown bags, stickers, scented pencils to make goody bags to give away for Valentine's Day. Since we see many of our friends at gym class, I knew that there would be a variety of treats. So, I figured that I would avoid adding to the sugar carnage by giving out pencils, and that the kids' goody bags could hold all the other treats that they would likely be getting. (Hear that, all you people who are skeptical about homeschooling and inevitably confuse 'socialize' with 'socialization'?; homeschool kids have Valentine's Day parties, too!) Sorry, dear readers, I had a bittter moment there. It's not meant for you; I just had to vent for a moment.

Thursday---gym class, with the accompanying merriment, then French class. The kids are taking the roles of le renard, le Petit Prince et le narrateur while reading the chapter where the fox explains "apprivoiser" to the Little Prince. (Uncle Scooter will probably appreciate this most, one has to have read The Little Prince to really understand what a big deal this is. If you haven't, I suggest that you do...with care.)

And thus ended my week of off-call. Yes, it was a lot like other weeks, although the 'Savant and I enjoyed some more of the cheap champagne for our Valentine's Day celebration after the kids went to bed. And, I wore sandalwood most of the week. So I am refreshed and really looking forward to my next birth. She had a lovely, 'butter' homebirth with her first baby a little over two years ago, so I am sanguine about this one going the same way. With that, though, I really should get to bed in case she calls later tonight...