domestic nepsis

 "Domestic nepsis means refusing to check out mentally when there is spiritual work to be done."

                                     -- Patterns for Life: An Orthodox Reflection on Charlotte Mason Education, p. 113

This summer has been a time of reset and refreshment.  The last half of July brought us to Lake Michigan for our annual pilgrimage.  Every day was a beach day.  In the evenings, my mom and I roped whomever we could into Scrabble games.  Fr. G, Big M, G, and I all ran in a 5K, which was so fun!   Big M smoked us, of course, but we all finished.  My sister and her crew were at my parents' cottage too, so there was a lot of good cousin time.  Her littlest is growing out of all her clothes just as fast as she can to keep up with her big brothers, and her oldest will begin his homeschool career this fall.  It was a noisy, busy two weeks!

A few weeks off from my daily rota of obligations and the completion some very fun projects at the expense of a clean house made me see the joy in a regularly dusted living room, clear surfaces, and a shiny stovetop.  It was too easy to check out mentally!  Reawakening my brain is taking a bit of work.  I am especially watchful about sibling conflicts right now.  I think we've finally hit upon a good way forward from some needless bickering, and I pray what we're doing will continue to bear fruit.

Now that the scramble of getting two college students to their respective schools has passed, we're adjusting to a household of five and homeschooling class of one.  Little M is a delightful student to teach, full of wonder and big questions.  I've no doubt working alongside her will leave a lingering sweet taste in my mouth, just as her toddlerhood did.  We spent an afternoon last week working on some printmaking for her handicrafts.  It was mildly addicting!

The season for our abundant fresh herbs is coming to a close.  The other day I cut back the sage and Greek oregano for drying and snipped the last good basil leaves for a final batch of my favorite pesto (recipe from this book, tweaked a little).  

Little M and I hope to do some sewing this year while her older brothers are at school.  She is very concerned that we make progress on her tenth birthday quilt, and I have several items in the queue ahead of it. Today I tidied Big M's basement room and pulled out my sewing machine to set up camp there again.  I was too tired to finish zigzagging some pattern pieces, but having a place to keep my sewing chaos accoutrements available, but out of the way, is a game-changer for school year sewing projects. 

The new Ecclesiastical Year begins next Sunday--so much goodness awaits us this year!