Thursday, January 27

Out of the ashes II

Goodness. Where to begin?

Going to post an older draft here from early December. With January goodness right around the corner, though first our homeschooling quandary.

These past weeks I have been ever so present in the time I have had at home. When one is forced to be out and study so much, I appreciate all the more the time I am home. On a side note, the more time I am away from home, the more challenging time spent with the children becomes. Time spent with children is all about quantity , not quality, and if I have been away for days on end, I feel it harder to get in-tuned again, and then I misread signals and it takes time to fix. Hence, more time home, is all that is needed. We, Anders and I, are in the process of deciding to home-school next year or not. Living in Hardanger, with no Waldorf School, it has always been an option, and now the date is drawing near, when we have to decide. We are hoping perhaps the local school would let us do a part time solution, couple days a week option, so she would feel she was social and a part of the local community. The schooldays are relatively long, 8.30-13.30.
Without using this post as a pros and cons list, it will suffice to say that I am not unhappy about the Norwegian school system, nor do I think it will be unhealthy for our children to attend. It has to do with the time spent together with our children, and the amazing beautiful qualities a Waldorf appoach in the home could give them in lack of a local school. Sort of a two in one.
The major choice is simply Jasmin's well-being and my career, since it will be I who stays home. We shall see, inevitably a choice will be made, but the more I think about staying home, the happier I get. And the more I delve into my thesis and dream about fieldwork in Lebanon, the happier I get. Ahh, what a luxury problem. And what a wonderful life we have.

St.Nicholas visited us this morning( a day late I know, but Yesterday just didn't fit in with the baking. And they will never know....) The look on the children's face when we placed the shoes filled with carrots and straw outside the door last night was amazing. Oh, the glory of believing, really believing St. Nicholas will arrive on his white horse, and in exchange for the carrots and cleaned shoes, leave little gifts. We left cookies for him as well, and in return received "Anis kringler". (Which were quite tasty by the way. Almost made up for sitting next to the oven at a quarter to twelve waiting for them....)