the domestic zoo

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

- Rudyard Kipling

Hannah has finished the school year (and I’m not really sure who’s more excited about it). We’re both looking forward to a summer of fun and FREEDOM!

Just look at how gorgeous this girl is – and I get to be her big sister. How awesome is that?

Top 10 Reasons to Criminalize Homeschooling

1. Most parents were educated in the public school system, and so are not smart enough to homeschool their own children.

2. Children who receive one-on-one homeschooling will learn more than others, giving them an unfair advantage in the marketplace. This is undemocratic.

3. How can children learn to defend themselves unless they have to fight off bullies on a daily basis?

4. Ridicule from other children is important to the socialization process.

5. Children in public schools can get more practice “Just Saying No” to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.

6. Fluorescent lighting may have significant health benefits.

7. Publicly asking permission to go to the bathroom teaches young people their place in society.

8. The fashion industry depends upon the peer pressure that only public schools can generate.

9. Public schools foster cultural literacy, passing on important traditions like the singing of “Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin
laid an egg…”

10. Homeschooled children may not learn important office career skills, like how to sit still for six hours straight.

Hannah and I were watching a show on ‘alien biology’ yesterday, about scientists who are dedicated to exploring and imagining the kinds of life that might exist on other planets. They look to the extremophiles on Earth to see how organisms survive in inhospitable environments, including something called snow algae. Snow algae are algae/cyanobacteria that, when they bloom, turn the snow blood red. It just makes me wonder at what point did they think, "Hey, let’s test that snow for cyanobacteria!" rather than just assuming that a prey animal had met its grisly end. Scientists are fascinating that way.

Also, if you like learning about astronomy stuff like that, the History Channel’s series The Universe is a really awesome little show. It’s a lot of solid scientific material presented in an understandable way. I highly recommend it.

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Dreamt last night that Norwegian film crew was shooting a documentary in our home.

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Still haven’t cleaned my room, but now I’m waiting for UPS to show up. With my new computer.

*taps fingers*

Come on…

It’s been pretty quiet around here. After a week of The Sick, I’ve been taking things easy, wishing for sun and greener days but finding joy in small pleasures.

Hearty homemade meals like fresh bread and chicken soup.

Learning about astronomy and ancient cultures and art. Homeschooling has done wonders for my continuing education.

And now making my own cappuccinos…ooh la la.

Life is mellow, but good.