"You can make soup out of anything!" This is my wintertime mantra.
Since my family doesn't love eating leftovers, soup is my Go-To Nextover--my simple way to put a new shine on the scraps from a previous meal.
When I'm pressed for time, I can toss some leftovers, a quart or so of broth, and the veggies to make a mirepoix (chopped onions, carrots, and celery) into a pot, and have a hot and hearty dinner on the table in a half hour. It's like magic!
This past year was marked by much increase, in both big and small ways. Some of the growth has left the scars of stretch marks on my life, but mostly, it has just widened my world in immeasurable ways.
My oldest entered her junior year at a Christian university on the other side of the country and joined a church all on her own; my second-born went on a short-term mission trip to an orphanage in Belize, graduated high school, and left home to serve his country; my middle son started taking online dual-enrollment courses at a Christian university and got his driver's license; my fourth-born won the Congressional Art Competition for our district, won the Cy Young pitcher's award for our high school's baseball team, and went on an inner-city missions trip to St. Louis; my last born played on two different local baseball teams and one football team.
Recently, I searched online for Ferrari-themed novelties for my middle son. I didn't expect to find many. Boy, was I unprepared for the number of ideas that began to pop up? Turns out, he's not the only one preoccupied with a certain Italian racing car company. I snagged a hat, a shirt, and a handful of stickers. Admittedly, I don't love Ferrari--a car is a car to me. Not better or worse than any other. But I love my son, and he loves Ferrari. So, I make it a point to invest in his passion in order to invest in him. Sometimes, I need a little help, though. I need to be pointed in a good direction.
Homeschool moms are the unsung heroes of education. Unlike classroom teachers, we don't get a salary for our efforts. We get no holiday pay, sick days, or a fat 401K at the journey's end. But what we do get is each other. We're a tight-knit group--a sisterhood of moms who understand the many wins and losses of this unconventional schooling choice and have both the victory laps and the battle scars to prove it.
