Whatever the reason, 19 year old me has been hanging around a lot. 19 year old me was fearless. Never met a challenge that couldn’t be faced. Never met a person or a situation that intimidated her. Took on projects and adventures without blinking.

Now I blink a lot. Is this wisdom? Have I simply grown beyond youthful delusions of grandeur? Over the last 20 years I’ve taken up smaller dreams and lived a life simultaneously more full and more diminished than 19 year old me could imagine.

Eight is much larger than the family of one (me) or perhaps two (a husband) that 19 year old me pictured. I’ve grown more humble, more patient, more slow to react to situations. All changes for the good. And, yet, wistfully I think of meeting each day with drive and determination, eager to bend its events to my plans- characteristics I’ve sacrificed to become all of those things mentioned above.

I’m hoping the next 20 years will be a time of balancing the first 20 years of my life and the second 20 years. I’d like to bring back some of the dreams and drive without sacrificing the calm and peace that I’ve gained. I’m revisiting plans from a long time ago and seeing how they can fit in with the new, improved version of my life. I’m deciding how who I was and who I am can coexist.

Maybe this is what a “midlife” crisis looks like. Hey, at least I haven’t bought any cars or run away from home to work in Vegas.

George, my dear husband, was laid off from Hewlett Packard in May of 2009. Thus, began a new journey. After much prayer and soul searching, we decided not to return to the ranks of other-employed and to enter the world of self-employed. We started a company together, MantyWeb Designs, which led to the next change.

I transitioned from the world of at home, at the beck and call of my children with time to go on field trips, cook, bake, clean (okay, who am I kidding? I didn’t find time for that even back then), read out loud to the world of, “Bwa ha ha! You want dinner?”.

Some things have stayed the same. We’re still homeschooling, although now George and I juggle those duties between the two of us. We’re still happily married. Yay! The kids still seem mostly happy, except on whiny days, which they certainly still had even back in the “good old days”.

For the most part, it’s been a real change for the positive. I really enjoy working outside of the house, building the business, meeting with clients and working on such an immense project with George. In some ways I feel more myself than I have in years. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the years of being home with my children, but there’s a lot about the stay at home, homeschooling world that’s not the best fit for my personality. I always felt a bit like a fish out of water, and I feel more at home with a foot in both worlds, rather than immersed in home.

On the other hand, some days I really miss being able to focus on just one thing. The other day George and I sat down to do some long range planning. Part of this planning was sitting down and writing out your “ideal day”. When I was done, I decided my ideal day had 42 hours because I felt like there just wasn’t enough time for everything and everyone. On the up side, I did discover that there were some parts of my “ideal day” that I was missing that I could have right now with just a little bit of rearranging.

I’m still working on figuring out how to integrate it all together. Not in the “Super Mom, I can be all things to all people all the time” way. But in the “I know my priorities, but today’s priority might not be tomorrow’s priority, and some things that seem like they ought to be priorities may just have to go by the wayside” way.

It’s been a huge lesson in letting go. For someone who has controlling tendencies, it’s been hard but so what I needed. I almost made myself sick after meeting with the first few potential clients waiting for them to get back to us. Now I know that it may take people MONTHS to make a decision, and there’s not a whole lot I can do to change that. On the other hand, some things that seemed so completely out of our hands before now are within our control (to an extent). Where before we had to wait on corporate headquarters to determine whether George’s salary would increase, we can now get out there and make more calls, meet with more people and improve our bottom line.

If you’ve read all this, wow, I’m impressed. But I wrote it because I needed to write down the journey thus far. Maybe you’re in the same place. Whether you homeschool, or not. Whether you work outside the home, or not. Mom, or no. Wife, or no. I bet today you’re trying to juggle it all.

I wish had a cute wrap up with some sage advice that would make it all fall into place and simple for myself and for you. Unfortunately, for us all, I don’t. I do feel better having written it all down. So, if you think it would help you to get it all out, feel free to write back in the comments and let me know what you’re trying to juggle these days.

At election time we look at our lawmaker’s voting records, but how do we really know that they truly voted for the things that are on their record?

Even though it’s not part of the official La Salle Odyssey exhibition, the first floor of the museum is dedicated to the exploration of Texas, especially encounters between European explorers and their interactions with the native Texan tribes. It also houses many of the artifacts from La Belle.

You can download a museum guide for more information. If you’re visiting as a field trip, you’ll want to visit the education part of the museum’s site and download the cards that go along with the exhibits.

If you’re going to Austin, there are lots of places to visit, in addition to the Texas History Museum– so many that I’ll have to dedicate a complete post to that subject later on. For now, I’ll just say that the museum does have a cafe, and it seems to have a pretty decent assortment of choices. Since our trip to the museum is probably just going to be a day trip, we’ll probably just eat there. But look for my future post on Austin as a multi-day field trip.

The museum looks like it’s pretty small, so we will most likely combine this with one of the other museums in the area– probably the Texana Museum in Edna, Texas. The museum’s website does have some educational materials on it, including a vocabulary list and a timeline. The museum has other exhibits, covering Matagorda Island, the Karankawa Indians and a couple more items that may be of interest in our studies.

It’s likely this trip will also include some birding, since Matagorda Island is a great place for seeing some rare birds. We’ll also check out Indianola, which had the La Salle monument. We may also see Half Moon Reef lighthouse, which has been moved onshore and is no longer in use.

This will probably be a picnic day, since I haven’t been able to find any really interesting, appealing places to eat. There is a Pizza Hut and a Sonic, so we won’t starve Maybe we’ll take a picnic to Matagorda Island or if we go to the Texana museum, we could have lunch at Lake Texana.

Here are the basics on the museum:

Open: Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Cost: Adults $3.50; Children $2; under 2 free

The La Salle portion of the museum consists primarily of an exhibit about Fort St. Louis and 7 cannons brought from France by La Salle (my 2 year old’s favorite part of the Alamo was the cannons, so this should be right up his alley). There are also some artifacts recovered from La Salle’s ship La Belle.

The museum website contains numerous learning activities, as well as a page which lists extra resources for learning more. Most of the additional resources for kids are concentrated on archaeology, but it’s still a start.

I don’t really expect us to spend a whole day at the museum. Generally, my kids are only happy in one location for a couple of hours. But it seems a shame to travel four hours roundtrip for two hours at a location. So, I’m looking into other things to do in Victoria.

The forerunner is the Texas Zoo for two reasons. 1) We have a zoo membership at the Houston Zoo that will get us in to the Texas Zoo for free. 2) It’s a zoo, and my kids (like most kids) love zoos.

Other possibilities are The Children’s Discover Museum, a walking tour of Victoria’s historic homes, McNamara House and the Nave museum.

We’ll be eating lunch there, which provides even more choices. The most economical choice is packing a picnic lunch. There are a couple of nice places where we could go to have a picnic. One is Riverside Park. If we go to the zoo, that would be really convenient since the Zoo is located in Riverside Park. Of course, if we decide not to pack a lunch but still want to picnic, we could stop at Fossati’s delicatessan, the oldest deli in Texas (in operation since 1882; at its current location since 1895; still operated by the Fossati family). If the weather prohibits a picnic, there are many restaurants in Victoria. If we go that route, I’m leaning towards Furr’s. It may not be the most historical choice, but it has a buffet, and I’m almost assured that my somewhat hard to please when it comes to culinary matters children will find something that they will actually eat. Of course, we might have to stop into the Rosebud Fountain for a milkshake before heading home.

Other Victoria attractions:

The Old Mill
De Leon Plaza

Links about Victoria’s history:

City of Victoria
The Handbook of Texas Online
Texas Escapes

So, this year I’m planning to concentrate on 7 museum exhibits dedicated to the explorations of La Salle. These museums are Museum of the Coastal Bend in Victoria, Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History in Corpus Christi (naturally), Texana Museum in Edna, Matagorda County Museum in Bay City, La Petite Belle in Palacious, Calhoun County Museum in Port La Vaca, and The Texas Maritime Museum in Rockport.

We’re going to do basically one per month. My husband may join us for a few trips, but many of them will be day trips with my Mom (Corpus Christi is the farthest museum at 3.5 hours, so a day trip is doable). Anyway, I’ve decided to report my planning here– you know admission fees, hours, where to eat lunch, etc. So, if you’re interested in homeschooling, or Texas History or just are curious to see where we eat lunch, check back often.

For example, one of the areas where the United States was accused of being un-family friendly is in the area of breastfeeding. There is no federal legislation guaranteeing the right of a woman to breast-feed at work. But there are state laws on the books about breastfeeding. I don’t know how many of them (if any) protect the woman’s right to breast-feed at work. But I also don’t know many women who are bringing their infants to work with them. Do these laws include pumping? How much of a problem is this in the nation’s work places?

I also don’t know how much I really want the federal government really mandating a lot of what companies do. If they’d mandate caps on how much they can pay their CEO’s compared to their lowest paid workers, that might be an initiative I could get behind, but how many sick days employers are required to give. I don’t know. Would there be exemptions for companies under a certain size?

As it stands, every time the federal government does something to “protect” the people, it seems to have negative effects. Wouldn’t it be nice if companies would just create a family friendly environment without it being legislated?

Now, I agree that some of what is being taught in those curriculae is pretty goofy. BUT I taught special education, and the ideas taught in Everyday Math would have been PERFECT for my students. They could have used more instruction in calculators, as they really had learning difficulties that made memorizing times tables and learning long division practically impossible.

Obviously, I think that the average student should be able to learn to multiply and divide. But I think Everyday Math could have its place.

Did you know that 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur, Sudan? Each day, they face threats that are hard for us to even imagine including rape, disease, and starvation.

These people need our help to put an end to the genocide and they need it NOW.

Please join me in taking the first step to stopping the violence.

Sign the Save Darfur Coalition’s petition urging President Bush and the UN Secretary-General to take immediate steps to stop the killing.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of millions of people in the region who desperately need outside help.

The Save Darfur Coalition is urging the international community to prevent further killings, displacement, and rape by deploying the UN peacekeeping force that has already been authorized, strengthening the understaffed African Union force that is already in Darfur, establishing a no-fly zone, increasing humanitarian aid, and ensuring access for delivery of food, medication and other essential supplies.

Please do not stand by while the violence continues – you can make a difference.

Go to http://www.SaveDarfur.org to get involved.

Then please forward this message to your friends and family and ask them to join you.

If you’d like to make a donation to support the campaign, you can do so here.

Thank you for your help

———————————————————————————————
Donate to Help Save Darfur

Help build the political pressure needed to end the crisis in Darfur by supporting the Save Darfur Coalition’s crucial awareness and advocacy programs. Click here now to make a secure, tax-deductible online donation.

———————————————————————————————
The Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of over 175 faith-based, advocacy and humanitarian organizations whose mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of more than two million people in the Darfur region. To learn more, please visit their website.

Want to know more:

SaveDarfur.org has a post called “Background” that’s worth checking out…

DOWNLOAD: Policy Talking Points (Updated 1/22/07)Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over three years. At least 400,000 people have been killed;…

Personally, I think this is why it’s a good idea to bring a carseat on a flight. If they don’t want to sit, too bad. Strap ‘em in. On the other hand, I can understand a small child feeling overwhelmed, overtired, hungry, etc. when having to deal with air travel. Who knows how long they had been at the airport already? But I also know that if I was sitting on the flight with my own children, and they were being pretty patient, I wouldn’t want to wait an extra 15-30 minutes while someone else dealt with their child?

So, what do you think? How much leeway should parents of small children be given when loading an airplane?

Dear children,

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are
taking My name out of the season. Maybe you’ve forgotten that I wasn’t
actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of you’re
predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a
time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being
remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily
understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own.
I don’t care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate my birth just,
GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Now, having said that let me go on.

If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn’t allow a scene
depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and
put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers
did that there wouldn’t be any need for such a scene on the town square
because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday
tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees.

You can & may remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine
if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching explaining who I am
in relation to you & what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that
one, look up John 15: 1 – 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my
wish list. Choose something from it.

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is
being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home.
They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me
all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don’t have to know them
personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards
his staff sent out this year, why don’t you write and tell him that you’ll
be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice
hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can’t afford and
they don’t need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and
why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind
them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own
life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don’t
know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile it could
make the difference. Also, you might consider supporting the local Hot-Line:
they talk with people like that every day.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the
holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile
and a kind word. Even if they aren’t allowed to wish you a “Merry Christmas”
that doesn’t keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on
Sunday. If the store didn’t make so much money on that day they’d close and
let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary,
especially one who takes My love & Good News to those who have never heard
My name. You may already know someone like that.

9. Here’s a good one. There are individuals & whole families in your town
who not only will have no “Christmas” tree, but neither will they have any
presents to give or receive. If you don’t know them (and I suspect you
don’t) buy some food & a few gifts & give them to the Marines, the Salvation
Army or some other charity which believes in Me & they will make the
delivery for you.

10. Finally if you want to make a statement about your belief in and
loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don’t do things in secret that
you wouldn’t do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are
one of mine.

P.S Don’t forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me & do
what I have told you to do. I’ll take care of all the rest. Check out the
list above & get to work; time is short. I’ll help you, but the ball is now
in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you
love and remember.

If you try this at home, let me know if it works. I’m planning to try it tomorrow.