Change of Seasons

Well, spring has finally sprung in Minnesota!  With a breathtaking suddenness, warm temperatures and bright sunshine melted all the snow, enticed shoots of grass to burst out of the dark ground, and brought us all out of hibernation.  Just a week passed since our nerve-wracking drive in the blizzard; now we're wearing shorts and capris and studying outside.  Philip learned to do a back flip at Joey's birthday party, and now he can perform six in a row without any jumps in between.   Cousins Rachel and Beka visited for a few days and joined us in appreciating the glorious new season we've waited so long to enjoy.

We have recognized with increasing clarity that we are experiencing a new season of life.  With six people living at home instead of nine, and two of those absent regularly, I'm cooking for four or five most of the time.      Unfortunately, I can't seem to grasp that fact, and my pantry is stuffed full of bulk and sale-priced food.  Ironically, when I had nine at home, I did once-a-month cooking fairly often; now I don't even consider it, even though theoretically it should be easier to do.  My teaching time has expanded to fit the time available, so it feels like I'm spending as much or more time teaching just two students as I did when there were six.  Of course, I hope these two are receiving a better education!  :) 

Our three youngest children function almost as a separate family from the oldest four.  Their experience on the farm differs dramatically.  When Michelle was 11, there were 39 kids (18 and under) within a mile radius, including the two turkey farms and a neighboring family.  Now there are not many, and virtually none in the tween and teen age ranges.  The other kids were able to experience all sorts of team sports out in the yard.  These three - not so much.  In fact, not at all!  So we have allowed Sarah, Andrew and Philip to play school sports before they got their driver's licenses.  Which means we're in town constantly.

For some reason, I don't get up in the morning like I used to.  I remember walking with Judy Stadem every morning at 5:30, rain or shine, in the dead of winter with our faces bundled in scarves to keep out the bitter wind.  Now I rise at 6:30, and walk on the treadmill while watching "Jeopardy!" sometime in the morning.  We do stay up til almost 11:30 most nights.  Why?  A different season.

Although the previous season of our lives lasted far longer than this winter did, I have a lot of nostalgia for it. But I need to be thankful for the current season with its blessings and trials.

Facing the Unexpected

We had a harrowing drive on Thursday evening.  The public schools dismissed students two hours early, and numerous activities posted cancellations on the local radio station, so we checked the Minnesota highway website.  The site reported "difficult driving" on a few roads, but mostly "fair driving" at 3:00 pm.  Since we had driven without incident on several occasions when many activities were cancelled, and since it was April 18, Pete figured we wouldn't have a problem and we took off at 6:15 for Mankato, intending to arrive at Grizzly's at 8:30, be seated by host Joel and order food for when he got off work.  After eating with him, we intended to drive on to Rochester for the homeschooling convention.   Andrew came with us to attend the Teen Track.

The first three miles seemed moderately uncomfortable, but when we turned off Highway 7 on to County Road 44, conditions deteriorated rapidly.  Drifting, blowing snow, ice, and snow stuck on to the roads so we couldn't see the lines slowed our progress to a crawl.  However, Pete crawled a little too fast and we began slipping off the road where it curved east.  Pete saw that we would lose this battle, so he turned into the skid as we all cried out to the Lord - "Help!!"  Thanks to God, there was a road at an angle to the one we were on, and Pete gunned the van into the ditch and drove right up out of it onto that road.  Unbelievable!

During the ensuing journey, we pulled another vehicle off the shoulder, saw a telephone wire down on the road, and spent twenty minutes tailing an ambulance with flashing red lights.  I texted Joel at 9:00 (when his shift ended), "We are near New Ulm going thirty behind an ambulance.  Call me."  He admitted to being a little "freaked out" before he called and discovered that none of us were in the ambulance!

Our two-hour trip to Mankato ended up taking four hours.  After consuming delicious appetizers, we ventured on to Rochester at greater speeds, arriving at 12:30 am.  Pete says he's learned his lesson.  We'll see.