Starting off in Delaware

We used our time wisely this week while staying with Captain in Delaware and learning about Wilmington and its suburbs. The twins also did some homeschool in the mornings and took their resumes around in the afternoons. They went to 4-5 places for lifeguarding jobs (at country clubs and swimming pool associations). They were brave about cold calling, interviews, and they were both offered a job already! They can work full-time this summer at the outdoor pool at the University of Delaware (Newark campus), and the manager said he would use them this fall for the ice rink/skate school/concession stand indoors.
I also did a few interviews with tutoring centers. There was a great discrepancy in cost and quality among them, but I am pleased that "Back to Basics" can offer me steady hours right away this summer.

Parting Thoughts

The invitations have been sent...

the posters have been hung...

Bachelor of Arts in Music

Piano Concentration

Minor in English

Cause for Alarm

Captain learned a trick with his defibrillator on his first week of work, and he laughed as he proceeded to show it to us today. He originally discovered it in the restroom, where he was adjusting the name badge on his shirt. It was a magnetic name badge (which is convenient, especially for women who don't appreciate having stick-pin holes in their garments later). However, it was closer than 6 inches to his device. Therefore the device sensed a magnet blocking its ability to defibrillate you, and set off a long-beep. Not too quiet. Not too loud. But a noticeable alarm. I wasn't laughing, but the twins thought it was cool.

A Secret Graduatiion

Meggar will hopefully graduate tonight. She will play Chopin, Mozart, and Debussy. Seveeral pieces. No one will be there--except the head of the department and her piano instructor! This is her preliminary senior recital. They want to ensure she is ready before her public performance. She claims she is not nervous, but I will be praying nonetheless.

Steady, Old Hands

We stopped by the Center this weekend, and the twins each took a turn in the simulator.  This one is old (i.e. paid for) and burns no fuel, so to speak.  Playmaker went first and acted like it was old hat to land a medium-sized corporate jet. Even Sniper had a good turn around the pattern and made a good landing (though not as soft handed as his brother). Later in private, the other instructor told Captain how good the twins did compared to some clients he has seen with 500 hours of logbook time who thump it down on the runway because they aren't used to heavy airplanes. Well, well. Just chips off the old block, I'd say.

The Way of the Cross

Stations of the Cross are a common prayer service on Friday nights during Lent. We were invited by the Beckmeyer family to watch their kids in Living Stations. It was phenomenal! This is first time I had heard of it. St Anthony of Padua parish (in the Italian section of the city) originated this Via Crucis tableau in 1959. Such a tradition! There were children from ages 4-17 doing the pantomime scenes, while an adult read in the background. The teen Christ and his apostles were very smooth, and that made for excellent contemplation for the audience. The Roman soldiers and Pilate were super serious and tastefully realistic.  They raised the cross on a tall platform between the altar and tabernacle. Amazing. The closing scene left only the two candle bearers with the priest in the dark church. In the vast quietness, I felt even more alone. Of course, our family has been living very close to God while acknowledging our total dependence on Him as we try various paths and see which one works out.
The twins and I came here to visit Captain for a week, and it was appropriate to begin our time together in Church. With homeschoolers. I was thinking how stunning the church was--easily the size and contents of a great cathedral in other cities. I am reminded how Jesus gave everyone free will and forgiveness. That is our role during Lent, too.

How Can There Be Too Many Books?

I held a book sale today in the parking lot where homeschool families meet for a weekly afternoon co-op. It was sunny and successful! Now I wish I had kept count of how many books I started with, or how many I actually sold (lots were priced at 25¢ and several at $1). I started with 16 boxes full. Which is amazing since we only have 6 book cases at home. I must be pretty organized with those 30+ shelves. Anyhow I tried not to be sad about the "good" books going to other homes. Especially since there was $400 in my pocket. Mostly I focused on the other "Sonlight moms" as they talked about their favorite readers, and which ones made them cry in front of their kids! A group of us stood there and could almost quote lines from "One Hundred Dresses" and "Billy & Blaze" and "Little Britches" and "Wheel on the School." But the biggest impression upon me was how many of these books Meggar has read. True, she was the child who stayed in my homeschool the longest, so she had the longest benefit from my standard 30-minutes of read-aloud time after lunch. She is also an avid reader herself. So that when I add up all the school books, library books, read alouds, and then her own shelf of interests and "pleasure reading," it gave me an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Now that's enough to make a mom cry.