I
have totally bombed as a blogger! I think about writing. I plan to write. I
want to write. But somehow I just don’t do it! Then something happens and I
think, “I should blog about that.” But I should have blogged about something
that happened before that, I don’t really have time to do both and anyway somehow
the timing is off…etc. Oh my! We all know where that well paved proverbial road
is going!!!
So
I’ve spent some time rethinking about blogging…what my purpose was when I
started. And I’m not quite ready to give it up. I like sharing my life with my
friends and family—many of you at a distance. I think I’ve settled for Facebook
instead, and I so appreciate the connections it has made possible, but some
folks in my “target” group are not Facebook folks. Plus I like cutting and
pasting my blogs into a word doc so I have an automatic journal with photos
ready to print if I so desire. Maybe my grands (or even theirs) will enjoy it
when I am long gone. : ) Surely I can do better than once or twice a year!
So
I’m just jumping back in with last week’s family get-together—a ½ year birthday
celebration for Simeon and Cyrus, totally put together by Phil. It all started
when he found the perfect gifts for them last spring and didn’t want to wait until
their birthdays (January and December) to give it to them.
(A
little Franklin family history is in order here. In the summer of 1990 we sold
our life--meaning our stuff and Phil's business stuff--to sojourn to The
Bruderhof community located in Connecticut. 6 weeks later we were asked to
"take a distance" (leave) and found ourselves "in exile" in
the town of Torrington, a New England factory town. With very little in the way
of school materials we depended on the library as our main curriculum resource.
We also purchased a large world map that had all the flags of the world
alphabetically in rows across the bottom. We put it up on the wall at the head
of our bed which was the only large enough wall space in our little 2nd floor
apartment. The children would lie on our bed and have intense geography challenges
matching flags to countries. Then, in that delightful merging of interests and
materials (who knows which comes first?) that often comes to homeschooling
families, we checked out the book Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. What a treasure! Our family life was
never the same! We learned about the life of an indentured servant and were
impressed by his work ethic. We plotted his voyages on the map, studied the
places he traveled and learned nautical terms. Nathaniel Bowditch,
mathematician and navigator, became a beloved part of our family.)
Phil
had the idea of a ½ birthday…and exactly half way between Cyrus’ Dec. 21 and
Simeon’s January 16 would have been July 4th! We were all planning
to be at camp together-the perfect spot for our celebration, but then Phil
wasn’t able to go due to compressed disk in his back resulting in severe nerve
pain in his leg. So we put it off till last Sunday. Of course the down time gave
Phil’s imagination an opportunity to grow and he put together a Jeopardy game
for the guys to compete in. (Note: I found my spelling mistake and corrected it before we got going...but forgot to take a picture of the corrected categories).
They
earned Monopoly money for correct questions and there was even a Final Jeopardy
category “Nautical Publications.” That final clue: In 1802 the publisher renamed this book due to the many mathematical
corrections and contributions to the science of navigation made by its
contributing author. Over the years it colloquially was referred to by this
single word.
The
correct question: What is the Bowditch?
Which
was the present Phil had found. He tracked down two reasonably priced copies.
They have a short biography of Nathaniel Bowditch and everything you ever
wanted to know-or not : ) - about navigation. And in a pinch,
it would make a great leaf press or door stop. Oops! The American Practical Navigator-The Bowditch
It was a delightful evening. Simeon brought his guitar...and at some point Phil, Simeon and I slipped over to Casa de Modesto to lead the singing and do the special music at the evening service. It was a joy to my heart to sing together with the guys. The folks there really seemed to enjoy it, also.
Realizing that since Jordynn and Simeon share birthdays, I made her the apple pie I had promised her on her birthday, plus a little one to eat that evening.
She has started her Freshman semester at California State University, Stanislaus...and, like college students everywhere, is appalled at the cost of her books!
Cherith had come up on Saturday and spent the night. Micah, Andrew and Claire played lots of running/jumping/hiding games while Liz and Cherith hung out with Alice. She kindly allowed them to be her servants for the evening.
All in all, it was a delightful time together...just catching up and enjoying being together. We are so blessed!
