I was in church only 4 days a week, not seven.

GPOY^^^

I don't think it's a secret that I was home-schooled. My parents gave us the choice of public school or home.
I have incredibly fond memories of being taught at home. Field trips to the best places, Halloween days spent crafting & watching scary movies (I had done all my school work ahead of time) and being available for outings with friends. 

Did I mention the roller skating rink or Six Flags on Home School days? Oh, yeah, they are virtually empty. 

The last item I would like to share is that I graduated PUBLIC high school with honors (top 10% of my class), was a part of student council & managed to not be shy the whole time. 

P.S. My Sparks vest had more bling.

tonight i'll dream while i'm in bed when silly thoughts go through my head*

Day 10 

Childhood

This is Smokey Bear, my favorite stuffed animal. He now graces my kid's beds.

*I Can Tell That We Are Going to Be Friends- The White Stripes

How do you tell your kids about 9/11

Last night we told Josiah (our 4 1/2 year old son) about 9/11. We did show him a few pics, but were very careful. No video. After I told him what happened, I asked if he had any questions. He looks at me and very seriously asked why Iron Man wasn't there to stop them. It really puzzled him. To him, evil like that only happens in comics & how could anything that horrible happen in real life? It killed me, I saw a slice of innocence drift away. I was able to explain that real-life heroes ran into the buildings & that they sacrificed their lives to save others.  From there we explained that what the firemen, rescue workers, police officers and average civilians sacrificed is the biggest way you can show someone, even total strangers, you love them. 

"12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." -John 15

We were able to share our fears, our experiences, and our hopes about that day. It was history and all those lives being passed on in memory. We told him we visited Ground Zero (as well as the Pentagon) on our honeymoon. We told him what an amazing place it was. I told him about a moment that healed my heart: we ate at a pizza place across the street from Ground Zero. Their napkins, menus and windows had the same phrase printed on them:
"WE ARE OPEN AGAIN AFTER 9/11." 
My first slice of New York pie was more than a tourist attraction.
It was triumph. 
Some might question our telling our small child about that day. In our parenting I want my kids to hear about something difficult from us.Not TV, not friends, not at school. I didn't want him to see images of that day and have it scare him. I was afraid that with the anniversary upon us it would be difficult to avoid the story and pictures.
Now Josiah not only knows the story of that day, but he knows that he can't live his life in fear & that people can either do what's right or what's wrong. He also knows that God can bring good out of the biggest evil. 
He can live the rest of his life in the shadow of 9/11 (he has no choice, it's history & it changes everything) and make his life matter and live in defiance of that fear they wanted to instill in us. 
Telling my child is keeping memories alive & healing from that day. 

Tighten my corset and find me a hair pin.

To my delight I recently discovered an ITV mini-series, Downton Abbey.
I watched all seven episodes in 3 days. This show, not unlike my other favorite show from across the pond,  has been merciless and intriguing. Sucking me in, making me want to live in a damp castle & wear lots of houndstooth print. I would eat only beans and toast. I really must get to England.

Harriet Jones, Future Prime Minister being introduced to Wendy Darling. CROSS OVER.

In all of it's Edwardian glory, I started reminiscing about my love of other period pieces. While it's not English, Anne of Green Gables (and Avonlea) set in motion my love of period pieces*. If it came on PBS (Yes, I tuned into PBS even after I was too old for Sesame Street) I watched it. I would borrow the VHS from my Mom's friend, Sharon Gunn. I have no idea how many times I watched those movies. I firmly believe that between Anne and Ariel, I have a deep desire to be a red head. I compensate by being a bottle red head.

It also instilled in me a desire to marry a dark haired guy.

 Around the same time I watched Anne of Green Gables, I remember my Mom and I watching Jane Eyre on PBS. It was literally a dark and stormy day, so dramatic. We watched all 900 hours of it. It was long, it was dreary, it was terrifying & romantic. Hello! Crazy wife in the attic! I had seen my first "gothic romance". I'm not sure which version we watched. I just remember feeling so very restless after watching it. Around this same time I read The Yellow Wallpaper in a book of short stories I had. Wallpaper still gives me the creeps.

 Now, if you knew me when I was 8 years old, you are aware of the fact that I in my brain I either lived on the moorland of England, an English Manor with great gardens or a cottage in Nova Scotia. I was often seen in period-esque clothing (my idea of them anyway), lounging with a book. My parents have a picture of me in a blouse, long skirt and straw hat reading in the garden. 8 year old Leigh also had a soft pink room with a day bed to lounge on while I read.  I was a sucker for romance even then. My 12th birthday was a proper English tea. I used my birthday tea cup just the other day while watching Abbey.
 If we went to visit my Grandma Berry, we had a couple of options for entertaining ourselves: play outside or read outside. She did not own a TV. We would spend hours on her vast property playing and reading. In my time at her house I read Mark Twain classics, Romeo and Juliet, Oliver Twist & Jane Eyre. I was 10 or so. Yes, I did read those books. Understand them totally, no. I just loved reading. Especially on my Grandma's swing. It was always there, I wonder how many books were consumed on that swing?

 Since I've run out of episodes of Downton Abbey (until January 2012!) to watch, I started poking around on Netflix to find new and exciting prospects. I found an ITV production of Wuthering Heights. Yes, I'm now totally on Team Heahcliff (eat your heart out Twilight fans). He's a lunatic, but gosh. He's Heathcliff, right? What's a gal to do?

Sorry Jerry Seinfeld. I love puffy shirts.

All this to say that underneath my love of loud rock music, jeans, minimal decor & plaid, I'm still a sucker for the drama of these movies and books. I still want a bit of floral, lace & tea cups. I'm quite thrilled that long skirts & buns are in fashion. I'm sporting a bun right now.
Ladies, I turn it over to you now. What are your favorite sweeping romances? Are you fans of the Brontë sisters? Did you want a best friend to help you recite "The Lady of Shallott" as she set you adrift in a boat? Are you a sucker for a crazed or distant man with wild dark hair? Do you hate yellow wallpaper as I do? What time period would you want to spend a day in? I'd like to be anachronistic in my time travel and borrow a little from a few of them.
 I suppose I didn't even touch on anything by Jane Austen. Thoughts?




*Obviously there is a wide range of "periods" here. If you count my mention of Austen, we span over 100 years, the late 1700's to World War I.*