Revolutionary War

When I think of most parts of American history... particularly some of the major events we study in school like the Civil War and the Revolutionary War... my first thought is always, "not a good time for black folks." From that perspective, those are not eras that you'll see me getting in line to recount or relive. So, when Venesa mentioned the prospect of going to a reenactment as part of our homeschool experience, I was (let's say) less than enthusiastic. But it was school, and so I was down to do for the sake of education.  And we did it... and a funny thing happened: I actually enjoyed it (oh snap!).

Sometimes it only takes one person to make or break an experience, and with this one we got lucky. We ran into a reenactment actor that simply took the time. He chatted with us, took us around, explained things at the appropriate level, brought the experience to life for the kids with a dress-up and gun-toting opportunity... and most of all, greeted us warmly and took an interest in our education and experience. I guess I'll never know if our interaction with him was serendipitous or par for the course (e.g., perhaps they're all trained and willing to make themselves that available)... but I can say with certainty that it made all the difference in the world for us. Combining the trip with time with friends (another home school family) didn't hurt either. It gave the kids the companionship and occasional distraction they needed to stay engaged. In all, it was a good time. I don't exactly feel the need to go to another reenactment anytime soon... but I'm glad we went. Good job, mommy.

Get Along

10-second mark.

1 minute.

Six minutes: Rock-Paper-Scissors... shoot.

Mission complete.

Simple Pleasures

"Daddy, can I sleep on the floor?"

For weeks I'd get that question every night, and every night I'd give the same answer of no. When I look back, I'm not exactly sure why the answer was always no. It could've been as simple as how absurd the notion seemed to me. I mean, we have more beds than people in our house (by a nice margin at that)... and so I just couldn't understand the need or fascination with sleeping on the floor. Or perhaps I said no because I knew they'd likely stay up longer rolling around on the floor than they would in the bed... and by 8pm every night I only had one final mandate for the day: get the kids to sleep.

And so, my answer was, "No... not tonight, love."... and they'd respectfully say okay. And the next night, we'd rehearse the same script again. And again. And again. Relentless little buggers. Well, I guess their resilience paid off because eventually... even though they never questioned my answer  (such good kids... sometimes I lose scope)... I finally took the extra half a second to ask myself... well, why not?

And when no good reason came to mind, I finally said it: Sure! Why not! Sleep on the floor! And Naomi's face lit up like we were going to Disney World. And Jasmine joined her. And they both just laid there grinning. And I grinned back at them; somewhat feeling bad that I didn't say yes earlier... but also glad that I didn't miss the opportunity to let them indulge in such a simple pleasure. It won't be long before I am wishing they were kids again and still able to joy those little gems of happiness that money can't buy. I've gotta keep these priceless moments at the forefront of my mind as a reminder to let 'em have it. Because life is short. And our time with them is even shorter. Hooray for simple pleasures. May they hold on to them forever.