Day 23--Christmas Eve

This is what I live for ... cooking together, watching a sappy movie together, laughing, joking, eating; I love my family.

Day 22--The Right Thing

Sometimes the right thing isn't the easy thing.

Day 21--How-Not-To Homeschool #1

Don't be swayed by every piece of advice that comes your way, no matter how well intentioned; trust your gut.

Day 20--How Not-To

I've been mulling over the idea of putting together a list of "how not-to" tips on homeschooling ... I have plenty of first-person material.

Day 19--Camelback Mountain

One of my favorite things about Christmas is our decades-long family tradition of giving only gifts that have been made, bought used, or recycled; this allows me an excuse to get a little creative every year.

For my middle sister's family

Made from scraps of fabric, mostly silk

Close-up of the scraps

Another close-up of the sky

Camelback Mountain, 

the mountain by my sister's house,

which is what my gift was supposed to look like 

(heavy on the "supposed to")

Day 18--Renewed appreciation

This exercise of writing a thought in one sentence has given me renewed appreciation for Mark Twain and Yogi Berra.

Day 17--I'm sorry, I was wrong

"I'm sorry, I was wrong" is one of the most powerful statements, and one that frequently raises the speaker in the eyes of those spoken to.

(Posted a day late due to internet problems)

Day 16--Measure of Success

You don't have to help thousands to make a big impact; great successes can be measured on many scales -  one world, one country, one people, one person, one hour, one kind gesture, or even one tender word.

Day 15--Warm Fuzzies

One of my favorite warm activities of the season is staying up late with the kids watching Christmas movies.

Day 14--Group Decisions

One of my least favorite things about making group decisions is that rarely is there any one person who's completely happy.

Day 13

Half the battle is won by just showing up.

Day 12--Happy birthday, Mom!

Happy birthday to the woman who shaped me, by doing things right, making mistakes, showing me great things, hiding me from bad things, giving me TONS of love, giving me the best father ever and two fabulous sisters, letting me be me, and most of all just being herself - I love you, Mom!

Day 11--Seat-of-My-Pants Vascillations

I vacillate daily between "Oh no! I'm pushing my kids too hard! They'll learn everything they need to know before college, and I need to relax so they can continue their love of learning!" and "Oh no! I'm not pushing my kids hard enough! They won't learn everything they need to know before college, and I need to work harder to make sure they know everything they need to know to continue their love of learning!' (otherwise known as homeschooling by the seat of my pants).

Day 10--Laugh ... Later

Give 'em enough time, and those pull-your-hair-out mistakes become cherished family memories, that will make everyone laugh in the retelling ... a few years from now.

Day 10--Something to Remember

Technically, the glass is always full.

Day 8--Just a Few Hours Late (no computer access)

It's better to die living a full life than live dying from regret.

Day 7--This Is Why They Pay Editors

This remarkable poem is oddly fascinating and perfectly appropriate, given my current love affair with All About Spelling ... and I'm relieved that I knew how to pronounce all the words I'd heard of (I'm not up on my Greek), especially considering that I used to get paid to edit other people's work.

Day 6--Something to Add to Yesterday's Post

I realize now that I missed a crucial part of yesterday's thought, which should be added to the end: "... and learn."

Day 5--What I Need to Do More Of

Listen and laugh.

Day 4--Rules, Love, and Hate

I have a true love/hate relationship with rules--I hate that they're necessary, but I love them when they're needed.

Day 3--This Is Harder Than I Thought

Putting a meaningful, coherent thought into just one sentence is a much harder task than I expected it to be.

Day 2--One of the Few Things I Miss

One of the few things I miss from my pre-kid life is spending a drizzly day curled up on the couch with a snuggly blanket and an engrossing book, still comfy in my pajamas in the afternoon . . . napping and reading . . . napping and reading. . . .

Day 1--Don't Set Your Kids Up for Failure

Recognize, value, and embrace your kids' strengths, and support them by putting them in situations that encourage them . . . rather than setting them up for failure by putting them in environments where you know in advance that they won't thrive.

30 Day Commitment

Considering that it's been a year and a half since my last post, I can pretty well guess that I don't have any followers anymore. Well, that's just fine and dandy. This is just for my benefit anyway. But anyone's welcome to tag along for the ride.

I was listening to a TED talk a while back about a 30-day commitment: a commitment to do one thing every day for 30 days that will make you feel good. The author did simple things--taking one photo each day, for instance--and harder things--cutting out processed sugar, for instance. I thought it sounded like a great idea, so I thought I'd give it a try. (With something simple, anyway ... I'm not up for anything that requires work. I'm too lazy for that.)

So here's my simple plan. Write a one-sentence blog post each day for thirty days. Since December has 31 days, this first day of the month doesn't count. (If you haven't noticed, it's more than one sentence.) My guess is that I'll probably skip a day or two here and there, and maybe I'll lose steam a week into it. That's fine too.

While I'm making a pretty-sure-I-can-do-it commitment to doing this for 30 days, I made an absolutely-sure-100%-certain commitment a while back that I'll spend more time enjoying life and less time beating myself up for failing with stuff that doesn't mean much to me. So if this one-sentence blog thing doesn't work, then so be it.

Life's too short for spending time doing things that don't lead to happiness.

Let's see if I remember to post tomorrow. I'm a bit out of practice. Ha.