Small mercies

I swear, if it weren't for the fact that Mom's Night Out is tonight and the Ka(y)t(i)es and Michelle and Virginia and Kathy are going to be there and some other friends and some new people, I think I would just. Give. Out.

One of the biggest problems with homeschooling is that life keeps happening concurrently along with all the assignments and the trial CDs for foreign language software that keep showing up in the mail and needing to be tried out and the worries about which math curriculum to choose for algebra and did we put enough postage on the envelope that was to carry Meelyn's Right to Life essay...sometimes it is overwhelming. Especially when last week held an unexpected job loss and a pleasant job gain and twenty-four hours of throwing up and adjusting to being a one car family with a two car life. I am so excited about my husband's new job (frankly, I'm thrilled that he's out of that last place), but I could be a lot more excited if I could get the look of thrown up bean burriots out of my head. If you know what I mean.

On the other hand....

I was just about ready to go back upstairs and crawl into bed earlier this afternoon when I looked out the dining room window and saw a fat robin sitting on the bare branch of the burning bush, not two feet away from me, separated only by the glass. Spring rain was falling down from a sky that was as soft and grey as a rabbit's fur and the little bird eyes were so bright, its breast was so red. It sat there, sheltered by the eaves of the house, bobbing up and down on its twig, then sang one clear note and flew away.

Now that was a calming sight to see.