Amy’s Humble Musings » The class clown

Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008

My kids love each other. They really do. Sometimes they don’t like one another, but you can’t have everything. There is some friendly sibling rivalry between our oldest two. My oldest son is the jokester of the family, but his sister, Abigail, doesn’t always find him amusing. For instance, here he is expounding. He’s quite verbose:

Oh, and am I the only one with the mid-winter homeschooling blues? Yeah, mine start in September too, but anyway. I busted out laughing on the first line of this journal entry. Here’s my nine-year-old:

All in all, not a bad day today. I know that the more I laugh and the more I take myself less seriously (EDIT: Holy smokes! “the more… less seriously” I’m teaching writing?), the easier things become. Here’s to keeping it real.

19 Comments

I love the first line! It sounds like my brothers!

Comment by Rhonda (January 15, 2008 @ 6:22 pm )

Tell MacGregor that out here in the country you get to take out both the “trash” and the “compost”. Double jobs, different locations. And then you get to spread the compost on the garden bed, which you have dutifully noted as a future job on the lines below his funny composition.

However, he may discover that if he gets a tricked-out Swiss army knife for Christmas, he can use it to carve things and then sell them. And it appears (by the looks of my own similarly aged boys) not to be a job at all, even though there’s pay involved. Weird, how boys think.

Comment by MrsBurns (January 15, 2008 @ 8:35 pm )

Thanks, I needed that. As an only child who had an only child–sibling arguing is something difficult for me to take. I remarried several years ago and we have a total of 3 kids ages 10,10, and 14. The picking and arguing drive me nuts! But it helps to hear others talk about it and realize that it’s not just my kids and they are normal :biggrin_wp:
I love how your son lets you know right off that “this won’t be long”, great!!

Comment by Kelli (January 15, 2008 @ 9:17 pm )

Love his first line! A sense of humor goes a long way. I tend to be tense and serious while my husband is the laid-back jokester. I’ve come to appreciate his way of lightening everyday life.

Comment by Barbara H. (January 16, 2008 @ 8:44 am )

Very cute.

“Mid-winter homeschooling blues” have set in here at my house big time.

Comment by Robin in New Jersey (January 16, 2008 @ 8:51 am )

Mid-winter blues are in full swing here. In fact, I’m sitting at my computer under a comforter with a space heater at my feet. I need inspiration to push away from the computer and do something educational… or at least productive… or at least something that requires me to use more than my finger muscles.

SPRING! I NEED SPRING!!

Comment by Lady Why (January 16, 2008 @ 9:19 am )

How funny! Thanks for that much needed laugh.

Comment by Birdie (January 16, 2008 @ 12:25 pm )

Lol that really made me giggle.

Comment by Sarah (January 16, 2008 @ 2:34 pm )

If I were Abigail, I might emphasize the “fear” factor. Not as a taunt, of course, just as a reminder. If he wanted her to be seen as ONLY a problem, he should have elaborated. I like the ram/goat depiction AND how he casually mentions that learning to drive the tractor is one of the jobs that he MIGHT not mind so very much.

Comment by Patti (January 16, 2008 @ 3:00 pm )

Hi Amy, a funny story in relation to this comment on your link ‘Admitting I Need Help’,

The reason I don’t do this often is because someone always “one up”s me. “Ohhh, my son only slept 10 hours last night instead of his regular 12. I know how you feel.” Meanwhile, I haven’t slept 2 hours in a row all week and my husband is out of town.

I was chatting with an experienced mother of 3 older children and mentioned that my third baby actually slept in comparison to my first two who just didn’t understand night time which made having a new baby hard to enjoy. She mentioned that ONE TIME her oldest son had been woken up by her husband who was doing renovations to the garage and he wouldn’t go down after that and it drove her crazy. I was blown away and the ‘one time’ just kept ringing through my head. Hang in there Amy and I SO hope your husband will be home soon to allow you some needed rest. It’s tough-I get it…but not to the extent of carring for 6 children on no sleep. My mother in law has been such a blessing in my family life. She’s the life-line that I can call when sleep is needed. Boundless servanthood…eek-hope I will follow her example!

Comment by mel (January 16, 2008 @ 8:00 pm )

YES–I have mid-winter homeschooling blues! We just finished the semester and I am pooped. Having a Junior in high school has beaten the tar out of me this year and my 5th grader is getting into math that makes me have to use my noggin in the mornings. Glad to hear I’m not the only one though!

Comment by ladiesofthehouse (January 16, 2008 @ 11:55 pm )

Oh, Amy, you are so going to enjoy moving to the country. All that fresh air and room to RUN and explore for all your little bundles of energy. We live surrounded by fields, woods, and a creek. My children, the boys especially, spend hours just exploring, “hunting”, fishing, building forts and barges. It helps with those school blues. Because you know that they’re actually learning something when they do all those things. It’s great. Hope that day is soon here for you!

Comment by Amanda (January 17, 2008 @ 11:09 am )

Thanks for the laugh! Sounds like one of my sons.
http://theballardsblog.blogspot.com/

Comment by Tiffany (January 17, 2008 @ 2:42 pm )

Now, these are the kind of posts I like most!! Very good…
Check out what Cassie’s son said to her..
http://homeschoolingfour.blogspot.com/

Comment by Ruth MacCarthaing (January 17, 2008 @ 3:14 pm )

Regarding the frugal link in your sidebar:

“…you see furniture on the side of the road and you realize it’s in better shape than your own.”

“……you price compare thrift shops for the best bargain.”

“……you do a cost per pound analysis on the tomatoes from your garden.”

Heh. Heh. Heh.

Not that I recognize myself or anything….Nope. Not me!

Praying for you, Amy, as you hold down the fort!

Comment by Anonymous (January 18, 2008 @ 3:26 pm )

I loved his journal, especially the drawing at the bottom. My 8 yr. old thinks he has to draw on all of his work

Comment by Tanya (January 19, 2008 @ 9:38 am )

My little brother would’ve said the very same thing of me. When he was about six, he told my mom I was a tyrant. When I challenged him on that, thinking he had no idea what a tyrant was, he busted out with the right definition! It still makes us laugh, but I doubt he’s scared of me anymore, now that he’s 9 inches taller than I am.

Comment by Sarah's in the Midst of IT (January 19, 2008 @ 12:13 pm )

Oh your blog is the very essence of encouragment and joy! I pray the Lord will bless you and your lovely family, and that he will continue to reveal himself to you in beautiful, unexpected ways.
Cheers!
- Jo

Comment by Jo (January 20, 2008 @ 3:14 pm )

I have to agree with your son. If I made a list of the jobs I enjoy it wouldn’t take me long and would be a very short list!

Comment by Stephanie's Mommy Brain (January 21, 2008 @ 8:02 pm )

The class clown

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