Bird feeders and curious kids

Yesterday I used a post hole digger for the time.  Whoever invented that thing is a genius!  I wouldn't want to dig a hole without one. While I was engaged in this activity, my neighbor boy appeared at the fence, and we had a typical conversation.

Cole: Hi!
Me: Hi, Cole.
C: How do you know my name?
M: Because I'm your neighbor. I've known you since you were born.
C: I'm five.
M: I know.
C: Whatcha doin'?
M: Digging a hole.
C: [logically enough] Why?
M: Because I'm going to put this post in it and put a bird feeder on top of the post.
C: Why?
M: Because birds are awesome, and they need to be fed, and they're fascinating to watch.
C: Oh.
M: [after finally getting the hole deep enough and planting the post] Do you think I should have screwed on the bird feeder before I planted the post?
C: I don't know. Daaaaa-aaaaad!
M: No, no, that's ok.  I'll just get a ladder and screw it on. 
C: I have to go inside now.
M: Good idea.  This might not be pretty.
C: Why?

Indeed it wasn't pretty as I maneuvered the ladder various times, trying to get some even footing on the rocks and then contorted myself all kinds of ways to get the drill at the right angle.  But I got it done and by the time I put everything away and came back inside, there was already a bird perched on the feeder, which was very gratifying.

 I had to make some repairs on this old bird feeder, and Marty inspected my work.

 This toad hopped over to see what I was doing.

Changing that old story

My new positive, Christian, vegan friend asked me what is the most difficult thing about eating more fruits and vegetables.  I told I don't really like vegetables very much (a little-known fact about me).  She said, "Perhaps you can change that old story and start looking for evidence that you love to eat vegetables. What’s your favorite vegetable and why?"  I asked if onions and garlic count, because I love the way they taste and smell and I almost always start every recipe with them.  She said yes, they count.  Then I remembered that I like roasted vegetables, like potatoes, asparagus, even brussels sprouts, so I ended up saying I guess it's mainly just raw vegetables that I'm not crazy about.  She said, "Look at that!  You like vegetables."  

Later in the day, I was teaching about meter and rhyme scheme in English.  Noah was grumbling about how he hates poetry.  I showed him the exchange I had with my friend and suggested that maybe he could change the old story that hates poetry.  He said, "Yeah, but I don't even have onions and garlic."  I figured he would enjoy limericks (who doesn't?) because they're short and funny, so I taught him the meter and rhyme scheme and gave him some examples.  I left him an assignment to write one while I went to get Sarah.  I told him to at least write a poem of five lines and follow the rhyme scheme but not to necessarily worry about the meter just yet.  He agreed that he could try that.  When I got home ten minutes later, he had written this little gem:

I want to kill myself.
Poetry's bad for my health.
I don't give a frick
about this limerick;
Please put this back on the shelf.

He even admitted that he had fun writing it and kind of sort of almost likes poetry.  :)

The struggle is real

I'm assembling another "bar style" meal and thinking about the struggle of the last two and half years.  Tonight it's a chili bar.  First, I cook the celery, add diced tomatoes and kidney beans, and remove all that from the pot and keep it in a separate container, because Sarah won't eat chili that contains those objectionables.  Then I cook onion, garlic, and peppers, and add crushed tomatoes and seasonings.  This is the main base that everyone will eat.  The worst part is cooking the nasty meat.  I think about rainbows and unicorns while I do that in the microwave for the people who feel they can't live without meat. Also on the bar are: cooked rice, refried bean dip that I made a few days ago and thought it would make a nice addition to my bowl, and a bag of cheese that I threw on the bar while thinking again of pleasant things.  We do a lot of bars anymore.  It's how I survive in this family as the only vegan.

When I first realized that eating animals was completely unnecessary, I was relieved and happy and excited to tell other people that they too can be free of causing suffering.  I naively didn't expect all the pushback.  Not a single person was relieved and happy.  Instead, they all went right on eating animals.  I've thought a lot about why people do that.  I think it comes down to some combination of three reasons:
1. They've always done it and can't conceive of not doing it.
2.  They like the taste, and that's more important to them than the lives of animals.
3.  They don't really believe that all their nutritional needs can be met by eating plants.

I'm no longer relieved and happy and excited, because living like this is terrible.  I feel like I'm an inconvenience and annoyance to everyone.

Just when you think you've heard them all....

In the 16 years that I've been homeschooling, I've fielded all kinds of questions from skeptical strangers, but today I heard a new one.  "I don't know how you can homeschool.  What do you do about P.E.?"  She seemed truly aghast at the thought, and I almost laughed.  P.E.? Really?  Of all the things I've stayed up at night worrying about, P.E. has never been one of them.  That comes so naturally I don't have to give it a thought.  We hike trails, walk around the neighborhood, play basketball in the driveway, rollerskate in the basement, lift weights, run (well, Noah does; I don't), rake leaves, sweep the garage, shovel snow, do workout videos, weed the garden, etc etc...
Then she asked, "Do you meet the state requirements?"  She was very concerned.  I assured her, "Yes, we do." 

Next on her mind was...
Woman: What if they ever have to go to public school for whatever reason? Would they be able handle it?
Me: My daughter started public school in 8th grade, and now she's a freshman at the public high school.  She's handling it just fine.
Woman: Is she behind all the other kids?
Me: No, she sits in the front row.  (I even gave her a wink to let her know I was making a little joke.)
Woman: I mean...academically?
Me: She gets A's and B's.
Woman: That's amazing that she was able to figure it out so quickly!
Me: Well, she did learn things at home...
Woman: But wasn't she overwhelmed being in a class with so many other kids?
Me: No.  She is very social and loves being around lots of people. 
Woman: Well, my cousin's wife's brother-in-law's daughter's husband's ex-fiancee homeschools their kids, and they are always home. They wouldn't know what to do if they had to go to a class with a bunch of other kids.

Thankfully our time together was up at that point, and we drifted away before I could learn the fate of every remote homeschooling situation she knows.