The beauty of homeschooling, I'm coming to find, is that learning isn't confined to some place or some time -- almost every moment is an opportunity for a small child to learn. I'm coming to think more and more that this is as it should be -- it's more natural to family life. "Learning in the heart of the home," as Elizabeth Foss says.
Last week I took the girls to visit a lady from our parish who was recently diagnosed with bone cancer. It's a real shocker, because she was always extremely active. She was one of the "church ladies" -- one whose presence was almost required to make anything a proper church function. :) She was the church choir director's right-hand-(wo)man, and that's how I got to know her best, since I sang with the choir for a couple of years. Another friend of mine termed her affectionately "a cranky old bear," and she was that -- I always thought it ironic that her name meant "lamb." But you couldn't help but love her, even while you gritted your teeth -- she was so hilarious in her crankiness.
I was really encouraged to visit her, since she went from being totally active church member to totally bed-ridden in a nursing home. I brought the girls with me -- Miriam had painted a picture earlier that day for her. They mostly just stood around and looked cute and shy while I talked with my friend. It was good to see that, despite that she can't ever get up again and that any movement is painful, her spirit was still there, although she's gentled a bit. (Just a bit.) :) Her acceptance of her suffering was really beautiful -- at one point she looked at the crucifix on her wall with love and spoke of how she knew that her suffering wasn't anything compared to what He suffered. And then she said, "But then sometimes, I start to think, enough is enough already!" Who was it who said, "I think I could be a martyr if they killed me real quick"? I feel the same way -- a slow martyrdom, or death by cancer, would be a real test of faith. As we were approaching her room, I overheard her crying to the nurse that her arm hurt and that she just couldn't ever feel comfortable. But when I asked the nurse if it was okay for us to visit now or whether we should come back, my friend called us in right away and seemed happy to see us.
So we had a good visit, and Miriam was full of questions on the way home. I think the topics we covered included the nature of bodily illness and death, the fall from grace and effects of Original Sin, the four last things, God's mercy, the Sacraments, the redemptive value of suffering, the purgation of sin, and the importance of the works of mercy, to name a few. It was a 20-minute car ride so we had lots of time. :)
I realized that moments like that afternoon were grace-filled for everyone involved -- for my friend, to have some visitors from the outside to talk to; for my children, to learn about all these important life questions and to plant some seeds in their minds & souls; and for me, to see the interaction of suffering and grace, as well as to be reminded of the important things myself. I had had a terrible week, so this was a good way to end it -- to remind me of what blessings I have in my life, not the least of which are the gifts of my faith, and of good health in my family.
-homemade Christmas cards
-little elves to help decorate the tree
-a Christmas Eve spent barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen
-a vomiting 5 3/4 year old excited about her new sunshiny nightgown
-two very groggy (and therefore extremely well-behaved) girls at Midnight Mass
-a Christmas morning present-opening frenzy...
-and its aftermath
-a scrumptious yet non-labor-intensive Christmas feast
-and two lovely girls (who got dressed just before dinner) with their favorite presents, one of which was broken 8 hours after it was unwrapped.
