Homeschool

Many of my friends don't know this, but I was homeschooled for all of elementary school (except Kindergarten, if you count that).

When I tell people this, they usually express sympathy that I wasn't able to take part in the wonderful elementary school memories that most children have. Little do they know, I had an amazing homeschool experience! I feel like I not only had more fun than they did, I also was able to establish who I was--without trying to be like my friends. Don't forget that I also had less schoolwork than they did, so I also did not get sick of school and school work. My siblings and I were not allowed to watch TV, so I was able to develop my creativity, as well, with little structured time during my day.

An average day for me went something like this: Wake up, eat breakfast. Play "My Little Ponies" or Barbies (we had tomboy Barbies) with my siblings. Do a page of simple math problems because Mom told me to. Write in my journal so I could play outside. Play orphans, princesses (of course tomboy princesses) or horses outside with my sisters (mostly Heidi, two years older than me). Eat lunch somewhere in there with the rest of my siblings. Build a cool house for our toys out of whatever materials we had on hand -- blankets, the ladder that went with the bunk bed, waffle blocks, or wooden building blocks. Eat supper with my family. Read a book--some of my favorites were the Anne of Green Gables series, anything by Marguerite Henry (she wrote Misty of Chincoteage), and the Black Stallion series. Go to bed.

When I got older and was in 4th or 5th grade, I would also read a chapter from a science book and/or a book about pioneer America.

Of course, there were variations in this loose schedule. Mom would take us on field trips--I remember going to the SC state museum in Columbia, Swan Lake in Sumter, Historic Camden, and the Boykin Company Store where we watched brooms being made as they were a century ago. We also had working days where we cleaned up our rooms or worked on a big project such as deep cleaning the basement, re-arranging the storage room, or re-organizing the laundry room. One of my favorite projects was making pear preserves, and they were delicious!

When I started public school in 6th grade, there were a few gaps in my education, but I learned quickly and had straight-A's my first 9 weeks. I was very enthusiastic about this new experience, and even enjoyed doing my homework! Even though I didn't feel like I fit in with the other kids, I knew who I was and who I wanted to be. I remember at least two instances where someone tried to tease me about some of my quirks, but it fell flat because I didn't feel injured at all.

I also feel like I have a much stronger relationship with my siblings as a direct effect of homeschool. We spent a lot more time together because there was more time to be together. My older sisters would also help me with my schoolwork, giving us even more time together.

The only thing I would have changed about my homeschool experience was the amount of social interaction I had. I didn't really know how to make new friends or talk to someone that I didn't know very well. This was a difficult obstacle for me to overcome, and I had a hard time with this up through high school. I still sometimes have to make a conscious effort to make conversation! I think that is just a natural part of my personality, though.

Quilting with Grandma Izzy

I have really wonderful grandparents, on both sides of my family. My mother's parents left a legacy in the (small) town I grew up in--many people I met knew of my grandparents and admired them.

I lived just a short walk down the road from my maternal grandparents, so my siblings and I would go over to their house often to visit, to be babysat, or to help in their garden. I even took piano lessons at their house!

One of my favorite things to do at Grandma Izzy's house was work on the quilt she was currently working on. I was the youngest of all my sisters coordinated enough to do the stitch work on the quilts (no, they were not tied quilts!), and while we quilted, Grandma would tell stories. Boy, could Grandma tell stories! Unfortunately, I don't remember them, but I do remember how much I enjoyed spending time with her and my sisters. Eventually, we made one quilt for each sister except for me--I think people were running out of steam by the time they got to me, and I don't remember telling anyone how much I wanted a quilt.

Quilting with Grandma was something I looked forward to and enjoyed doing with my sisters. I could feel her love for all of us, and I loved the family bond that came from it.

Play with me!

Austin has a new game that he plays with Levi. It's called "Hot Air Balloon." Austin carries Levi around in this big bucket and sometimes there's "turbulence" and Levi comes down for a landing. Levi loves it!

Well, the other day they were playing this game, and when Austin's arms got tired, he put the bucket--with Levi in it-- down on the floor. I wasn't watching very closely because I was doing something else in another room, but all of a sudden I hear Levi saying, "Da-da-da! Da-da!" I am convinced that he was calling Austin back to play with him some more. I called Austin's attention to it, and Austin gave him some more fun rides. Those two make me so happy!

Fever :(

The saddest thing EVER happened the other day: Levi had a fever. He cried and cried, and then cried some more. This crying wasn't any ordinary crying, however. No, no, no. This crying was "Mommy I'm in pain and I don't know what to do I just want it to go away" crying. Thankfully, I had some baby Tylenol on hand that I could give to him. It helped enormously, but I didn't think to give it to him until he had been really really really sad for a while.

He woke up multiple times two nights in a row because of the fever. The second night, Levi was awake for an hour and a half just crying while I tried to comfort him. I never realized how much a little sickness could affect a baby; usually I'm able to calm Levi in just minutes. I think part of the reason he finally did calm down was that the Tylenol kicked in, not anything special that I did. However, I did let him play with my phone for a while and I also sang to him in high and low voices. He thought the low voice was very interesting.

One of the strangest things on this second night was that Levi wouldn't nurse, even though he was hungry. I ended up giving him little tidbits of bread, and he calmed down and went to sleep after that.

What's in a Name? My experience with nicknames

When I was born, my parents decided to name me Catherine, after someone in our family tree. She was a great-aunt of mine -- or something like that. I'm not sure when they decided to call me by my nickname Katie instead, but I know it was in my first few months of life or before.

When I was little and being homeschooled during my elementary school years, everyone knew to call me Katie. I knew I had another name which was Catherine, but that was used only when Mom was mad at me. I thought it was a really ugly name, too (thankfully I've gotten over that by now).

When I started public school in sixth grade, I started to understand some of the inconveniences of having a "real" name and having a nickname. Note that I say inconveniences and not trials, difficulties, or setbacks. It's not bad having a nickname, just kinda irksome.

Let's make a list of things that are inconvenient about going by a nickname:

1. When you're called at the doctor's office, the bank, school, or anywhere else that you use your "real" name, it takes you a second to realize that they mean you.
2. Your "official" and "real" name doesn't feel like your real name at all.
3. Sometimes you forget and sign your nickname instead of your "real" name on official documents. What do you do then? Scribble it out? 
4. You're asked how to spell both your "real" name (if it has variations) and your nickname when you sign up for anything new (or start a new class/school year).
5. People ask why you spell your nickname the way you do, considering your "real" name.
6. You have to keep track of which accounts/people/places/companies know you by your "real" name and which ones know you by your nickname. When you get confused, it doesn't cause any real problems (at least not for me...yet), but I've gotten some suspicious looks at my bank because my driver's license says Catherine and my bank account says Katie.
7. I don't think it's cute that my official name is Catherine but that I go by a nickname.

So, like I said, inconveniences. But super common inconveniences. They happen all the time, especially in adult life.

For example, I decided to go by Catherine starting at the beginning of a semester when I was in college just to avoid the whole thing. It didn't work, but that shows how much it bothered me.

When I signed the lease for my current apartment, I accidentally signed Catherine instead of Katie (Austin put Katie on our checks, so of course that's what I need to sign). I just signed Katie in parenthesis above where I wrote Catherine, but I was still a little miffed about it. I commented on it to the apartment manager, and found out that she also went by her nickname and had never, ever used her "real" name for anything. She seemed a little bit more upset with her parents for using a nickname than I was. Granted, they made up her "real" name while her nickname was a pretty common name, and she wasn't named after anyone.

So, I'd love your comments! If you have a nickname, let me know your feelings about it. If you've given your child a nickname and feel like sharing, let me know why you did (and PLEASE don't feel attacked by this post. It's just meant to flesh out understanding of nicknames for people that don't have them. I don't judge you for giving a nickname to your child, I promise).

"Summer People"

This past summer, Austin and I were "Summer people." We were in an area just for the summer. When we arrived, no one knew us, and we didn't know them.

We decided that although we were in a position where we weren't really expected to invest much time or effort into our ward, that we would! We requested our records on our first Sunday there, and introduced ourselves to people. We made sure that everyone knew that we were happy and willing to help. We paid tithing and fast offerings. We came to a ward building clean-up the first month we were there, and the first ward temple trip that came up. We made it a point to attend church activities. We had the missionaries over for dinner regularly, and gave them a few rides. We got to give an investigator a ride, too! People became comfortable asking us to serve in the ward even though we didn't have callings. Austin was asked to teach in Priesthood at least twice. He was also asked to give (and did give) a talk.

I played prelude one Sunday before Relief Society started and was asked to fill in for the regular RS pianist while she was gone on vacation for a few weeks. It was a wonderful blessing. I made friends in Relief Society, and fellowshipped a new member. She would hold Levi while I played the piano, and she really seemed to enjoy the opportunity to serve. I got close to another member of the ward whose children are mostly all grown up (but not married yet), and she loved playing with Levi. I loved having the opportunity to enjoy Relief Society without being distracted by keeping Levi out of trouble.

When we left, many of the ward members told us how sorry they were to see us go. The bishop's wife told us that when the "Summer people" leave, they usually don't mind so much. However, she said she was sorry to see us go because we had been so involved in the ward and because we cared so much about the ward.

We felt so good about our summer experience with that ward when we left.



Now, let me say this: even though the ward didn't mind much when the other "Summer people" left, they were still very welcoming to everyone. It was an incredibly friendly ward and I was impressed at how they handled the situation of having many people there just for the summer, who wouldn't be able to hold callings or do much for the ward long-term. We loved the Christ-like attitude of that ward.