I'm Sounding AWEsome!

Hia!

Wow! Today was a LONG day! The current au pair let me sleep in a little bit, so I can try to get my sleeping schedule on track, but I was still exhausted the whole day.

Youngest only goes to school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so he was home today with us. We took him to the park and bought him an ice cream. Unfortunately, his pleasant mood did not last all day. After a lovely afternoon of playing in the garden and watching 'Little Einsteins', we went to pick up Middle from school (Oldest had tutoring today). It was a bit of a nightmare getting Youngest to put his shoes on and to get in the car. He cried and screamed, saying 'I don't want to go! I want to stay here!' He made a fuss almost all the way to the school and when we got out of the car to walk up to the building, he would either run away, or sit and refuse to follow us. And once we'd collected Middle to head back to the car, he cried and cried about getting back in!! We had to give him two time-outs. Thankfully, the current au pair says that this behaviour is rare.

I also helped Middle with her spelling homework. I would read out her list of words and she would have to write them down. I'm afraid I caused a bit of trouble for her with my Canadian accent. She has been learning to spell 'au' words, like 'cause', 'pause' and 'applause'. But when I read these words to her, she hears 'cars', 'pars' and 'applars'. I'm going to have to adopt an English accent if I'm going to help her learn to spell! I'll have to speak like her if I want to sound awesome instead of arsome!

Today, The Mum gave me a book called 'The Learning Directory', that lists all of the 'adult education' classes in the city. These are classes like pottery, yoga, dance, music, etc. I'll have to pick one soon so I can make some friends. I've found this church that's not too far away that I'm going to try going to. It's called 'Oasis' and it meets in the local cricket grounds. They have a lot of programs for students and 20-somethings, so maybe I'll meet some people there, too! If you want to check it out, the website is http://www.theoasischurch.com/

Here are just a couple prayers for those of us who always think we're too busy:

O Lord,
you know how busy I must be this day.
If I forget you,
do not forget me.
(Sir Jacob Astley, before the Battle of Edgehill, 1642)

We read in the Gospel, Lord,
that you went away to lonely places to pray.
In my busy days of noise and action,
remind me of my need
for time alone
and for peace and quiet
and silence within.
Be with me now
as I pause for a few moments in quietness.
(NH)