10 Days of Thanksgiving (HOME)

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

I just want to thank the amazing Karen for her wonderful idea and prompt.  This is the time of the month when inspiration leaves and I am swamped with work and life.  So, I am happy for any topic idea and I love this idea of 10 days of Thanksgiving.  I feel blessed and lucky everyday.

I feel most blessed when I am sitting at home snuggled up on my couch with a kids on either side of me.  That is home.  Home is my children and my husband.  We are so fortunate to have a good roof over our head (no matter how much work it still needs) that is currently warm.  Yet, the physical structure isn’t what makes it home–its everything else.  It’s my husband, my kids and our pets.  It’s the clothes on the floor after a long day of playing and being together.  It’s the dishes in the sink after a homemade meal where we sit around the table and talk about the best parts of our day.  It’s the balls randomly on the floor after an impromptu game of catch.

I use to wish that our house was cleaner, but then I realized it isn’t because we live in our house.  We have fun in our house.  We do arts and crafts, then cook, then play a game.  Our house is a product of our lives and I wonder what I would have to sacrifice to have a house that matches that of my family and friends who don’t have two active kids who are always busy.  And what I would have to sacrifice isn’t worth it.  If it means less time with my kids (which is already limited because of school and work) then it just isn’t worth it.

Home is my family.  I am so happy to remember that. Because the next time I trip over a ball, instead of cursing, I’ll remember it’s there because we are living together.  And in the grand scheme of things the only thing that really matters is that we are together as a family–not that my house is spotless.  My house gets messy as we make it our home.

 

 

Nothing

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

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Cookie is our sweet cat–who is definitely part of the pack. She is always around. She is great with the kids and they are mostly good with her. She is our lover cat. She loves to snuggle and get lots of attention.

She will still be her when the kids go off to college–at least when Noah does and that is a bit crazy to think about.

Can you tell I’m grasping at straws here? I am exhausted from our weekend and my brain is working I what feels like 1/4 of its power. So, I’m blogging about the cat.

I’m going to re-evaluate and be back tomorrow with something of substance.

Weekend

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

Today was a real weekend day. One where we got to knock something’s off our to do list and enjoy some quality family time. Life has been so busy of late that I feel like today was one of the first days in a longtime we got to not only do, but we really got to enjoy each other.

And tomorrow–we have noting on our calendar. No where to be. I can hardly believe it. Life seems to be slowing down and I am going to enjoy it.

Thankful That I Have Options

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

Today is one of those days where it just hits me: how lucky I am to have found the school I have for my kids.  The amazing things they get to do make me wish I was in elementary school again.

On a walking field trip last week, Zoë’s class picked up pumpkins and other gourds to observe and study in class.  Yesterday, the kids decided they wanted to bake one of the pumpkins.  Then today, the class decided to use the cooked pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie.  So, one of the teachers made a quick trip to the store for supplies and they make a fresh pumpkin pie.

This all happened while Noah’s first grade class was on a field trip to the schools 28 (or so) acre extended class to help plot out the future orchard and find the sugar maple trees the class will be tapping for fresh maple syrup later this winter.

All of this is led by the interest of the students.  All of their learning is ground in experience.  I could not be happier that my kids get to learn in this type of environment.  That they not only learn but they do.  They don’t only learn how maple syrup comes from trees, they get to tap trees and collect it.

I think about this amazing education (that we are able to pay for) and I think why aren’t more schools like this?  Why don’t more schools valuing doing and experience?  Why aren’t more schools harnessing the interest of kids to deliver curriculum?

I am thankful that I can afford this type of education.  But I think everyone should get an education this good–it doesn’t have to be exactly like the one my kids get–but the quality should be the same.   Every kids should have not just access to–but should have a quality education experience.  Every kid should be taught to think and to create and to experience learning.  So, while my kids are lucky, I will continue to work to ensure all kids have access to a quality education.  Because education is a fundamental right. I can’t be happy just because my kids are getting a first class education.  My kids and their school as a whole are a small piece of the population.  Just because I know my kids are being served well doesn’t mean I can just sit back and not worry about the 10s of thousands in my own city not being served.

We are all in this together.  We have to ensure that every kids is being educated.  We have to pull together and not stand for a system that doesn’t education a huge % of the future work force.

I don’t exactly know how we do this, but I do know that I am lucky to work in education and get to see the potential in the new options that are being created for kids who are being served the least.

It’s easy to turn our back when we are fine.  But until everyone is “fine,” we have a lot of work to do.

 

 

 

Yale School Of Drama Has Nothing On Our House

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

“But mom, I can find one of my short sweaters.”

“They are probably in the laundry”

“THEY HAVE BEEN THERE LIKE 100 YEARS!” says the 5-year-old in her whiniest voice with the tears welling up in her puppy dog eyes.

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“Mom, where is my _______(crumpled up piece of paper with 6 other crumpled pieces of colored paper glued to it, the leaf I found outside to give to you, or any other completely random thing).”

“I don’t know.  I might have thrown it away.”

“BUT MOM THAT WAS MY MOST SPECIALEST THING EVER.” cries the 5-year-old about EVERYTHING.

Mark my words–she just might make it onto Hoarders.

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There is a lot of drama at our house and not just from our 5-year-old.  Noah generates his fair share of drama, but I am working to respect his privacy a bit (not completely) but enough.  He doesn’t really know much about this site, but does know that sometimes I write stuff other people see.

There are a lot of tears (many fake) and a lot of dramatization of EVERYTHING.

So much is made into an over the top big deal.  It is hard not to laugh when your 5-year-old is having a fit because her hair isn’t right.  Seriously?  Does she have any idea that it’s only going to get worse as she grows older.  Or when she also throws a fit because the one thing she wants to wear (regardless of the closet full of other stuff) is dirty and has been for “LIKE 100 YEARS.  DON’T YOU EVER DO LAUNDRY.”  Oh you just wait little princess–you are getting to the age when you can do your own laundry to some degree.

It’s hard to not just laugh when you 6 1/2-year-old sits on the couch and whines “I am cold” over and over.  I know he wants a blanket–but seriously, ask for one and don’t get mad when I giggle a little (so that I don’t stab anyone).

When they are being dramatic in that annoying, I want to punch someone way, they are being dramatic in the “Listen to our band” way.  Which is incredibly cute.  They love to perform and put on shows.  I remember doing that as a kids and I love watching them.  But then Zoë will launch into her solo.  IT GOES ON FOREVER.  FOREVER.  She will sing the same lyrics over and over and over and over and over and over and over while she twirls and twirls and twirls and twirls.  You get the idea right.  She has yet to learn that  you leave your audience clamoring for more–not make them want to scream ENOUGH ALREADY.  But I love that they like to perform and that they are outgoing enough to want EVERYONE to WATCH ME!!!!

The school they are at really fosters this creative side and I am happy for that.  Mostly :).

There is rarely a dull moment at our house and if there is I have to wonder what the heck is happening.