Cash Clan Japan

the momentary musings of your favorite missionary family in Japan

Aerosmith Moments February 8, 2010

Filed under: Lisa's Blog — cashclanjapan @ 3:32 am

I’ve been asked a hundred times the last couple months why on earth we have suddenly decided to homeschool. It’s the big elephant in the blog, I know. It’s just such a complicated question with a very long and multi-faceted answer that I’ve been intimidated at the prospect of putting it in writing–why we’ve made this gigantic paradigm shift as a family. I’ve made vague promises to answer the question on here in full detail. And in my head, I’ve crafted bits and pieces of that answer and narrowed it down to the top 10 reasons why we’ve made this unorthodox choice. But a part of me can’t bear to write that post because I’d feel like I were trying to justify it to those of you out there who are skeptical of the whole homeschooling thing in general. And I don’t owe anybody that explanation because….well, because they’re OUR kids. And we get to do what we think is right for them.

However, something happened this morning which basically captured in a bottle why I’m doing this. It’s my reason #1. This may be all you get in blog-form, so savor it. (Of course, if you really want to hear more, just ask me!)

Sunday nights are late nights for our kids because of Awana, so they’re always a little extra sleepy, so I let them sleep in this morning, until about 8:30. Before, the kids had to get up at about 6:30 to get to school on time and they had to be rushed every step of the way out that front door every single morning. Hate that. So back to this morning–we were leisurely eating our breakfast and chatting, and Adam began quite the detailed monologue on a dream he had last night. Seriously, he went on and on for 10 minutes about how he and his Daddy were swimming in the ocean and got swallowed by a fish who then got swallowed by a bigger fish who then got swallowed by a bigger fish who then got swallowed by a bigger fish. (You get the point.) For real, 10 minutes of excruciating description, not a single fearful omitted and told with sleepy-headed awe. Claire and I listened and responded appropriately with “oooos” and “ahhhhs” and when it was all done, Claire exclaimed, “Adam, you had a dream about the food chain!”

I about spit my Oatmeal Squares out all over the place. We laughed long and hard at the breakfast table this morning. And I realized we were having one of those moments. Aerosmith moments. Sing it with me:

“Don’t wanna close my eyes!

Don’t wanna fall asleep

cuz I’d miss you, baby

And I don’t wanna miss a thing.”

So here’s the #1 reason why we’re homeschooling. It’s not the most cerebral of my reasons (I have those kinds of reasons too). But here’s the deal: I don’t want to miss those moments. Before, when Claire and Adam were going to school all day long (and then extracurricular activities after school and then homework and then dinner and then baths and then bible story and then bedtime), our life was becoming this horrible rushing treadmill, each day identical to each other and full of busyness but void of the magic I want them to grow up in. Just like every other kid, I’d ask them how their day was, and mostly all I could get out of them was “Fine.” I felt like my primary job was to get them ready and out the door for their next activity. I was constantly rushing them and it was necessary to keep them on that path. But I could feel it in my bones that my kids were slowly slipping away from me, that in a few years, they’d be assimilated into a peer-needy culture and I’d have to fight daily for their hearts not to be stolen by the world. Something was in danger of being irrevocably lost, and I was giving that up basically because I was looking forward to that not-so-far-away-day when all my kids would be in school and I’d have the spare time to do whatever it was in the world I wanted to do all day long. But there came a day a few months ago, in the car with Claire, driving her home from ballet class (at 4pm it was the first time I’d seen her all day), and she looked at me with aching eyes and said, “Mom, I really miss you.”

I want to know these little people, to deeply and truly know them. And I want them to know me (and their dad). And that kind of thing takes a lot of magic moments. It takes time and commitment and wide open spaces to live and breathe.

And though I’ve certainly been more exhausted since we started doing this, and my house is perhaps not as clean, I’ve been blessed to be reminded almost daily why this is going to be entirely worth it.

 

Unexpected Homophone fun January 25, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — cashclanjapan @ 12:43 am

So Keith and I were playfully jabbering on at the dinner table last night about each others’ sleeping habits: you see, I have the terrible habit of staying up until 1am most nights (and sometimes later), which he attributes to my ambition to “conquer the world while everyone else is sleeping” and I jokingly referred to him as a narcoleptic because he can fall asleep anytime, anywhere (which, truth be told, I’m jealous of!). So we’re going back and forth about this over our pork chops and wild rice, and Claire asks (what sounds like), “What’s a narcoleptic?” and so of course, demonstrating with full dramatic flair, I fell asleep at the dinner table. She woke me up, I apologized and justified my rude manners by claiming to be a narcoleptic, halfway through that final word, falling asleep again, sawing logs and all practically on top of my plate. Not surprisingly, this provoked laughter all around, and I was feeling like a rockin’ awesome homeschooling mom (assuming that they’ll never forget what a narcoleptic is). Until….

Claire asked,

“But why is it called a nerd collector?”

 

No Such Thing As A Stupid Question January 14, 2010

Filed under: Blog, Lisa's Blog — cashclanjapan @ 5:52 am

And on that note, a little story about something that might have been said by a certain blogger’s mom when she was in Japan. Said blogger might have recently mentioned to the Facebook universe that she got a cool, new washer/dryer combo unit, with which one does not have to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer because one machine does it all. Soon thereafter, however, said blogger may have experienced extreme dissatisfaction with said washer/dryer combo unit and exchanged it for a traditional stackable washer/dryer unit, pictured below. (Unnamed blogger did not bother to update the Facebook universe regarding her dissatisfaction.)

And back to what the unnamed blogger’s mother might have said (with genuine curiosity and confusion) upon seeing the above unit in person,

“How do the clothes get from the washer to the dryer?”

Unnamed blogger might have replied in jest (after composing herself from hysterical laughter),

“Oh! We have a laundry fairy that does that!”

 

An Oddish Conversation with Adam January 8, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — cashclanjapan @ 5:05 pm

Adam is a hoot. He’s a surprising little guy, seriously. Lately, I don’t know what’s gonna come out of his mouth from one minute to the next, and he’s been sprinkling precocious terms like “indeed” and ” quite” and “certainly” into his everyday conversations. Not sure what to do about that. Read to him less? Anyhow…

This afternoon we were in the rare, wonderful situation where it was just him and me in the car while Claire was at piano practice. Nowhere to go, nothing to do, just killing time. I thought about putting on some music or an audiobook for him, but then something inside said, “No! Things are about the get interesting.”  I listened to my inner mommy.

Not even 30 seconds later, Adam looked at me and shifted into his “little man” voice, which is this weird mumbly tone he only uses when he’s trying to sound grown up or when he’s talking to his Papaw. Oh yeah, things are gonna get good.

Adam: “So, Mom, I just really don’t know who I’m gonna marry. I think I wanna marry someone with brown hair. But not Japanese. I think I should marry an American. An American with brown hair. But I just really don’t know. “

Me: “Ya know, little man, you’re just 5. You’ve got nothing but time, kid. ” (I didn’t know little boys ever thought about this kind of stuff!)

Adam: “Well, maybe I’ll just marry Claire. That would be easy. We get along well.” (They really do.)

Me: “Um, hon, I’m afraid that won’t work. There are rules about that. Brothers and sisters can’t marry each other.”

Adam: “Oh, okay.” (Long pause while I try REALLY hard not to CRACK UP!!!)

Adam: “In that case, actually, I think I can marry someone with blond hair then.”

(Okay, okay, I confess! I then pounced on the opportunity to tell him an abbreviated version of our sovereign love story, and told him that God’s got it covered. Still I cannot believe I had that conversation with my 5 year-old son today.)

 

Sugar and Spice vs. Original Sin January 7, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — cashclanjapan @ 1:35 pm

I am so glad I have a little girl. I love my boys so much, but it is such pure delight to have a little girl to share those certain things with that little boys would scoff at.

Point in case: Anne of Green Gables. Since September, Claire and I have been faithfully reading together a chapter or two a week of this book. I had never read it until now, and I simply don’t know how I survived girlhood without it. Really, girlfriends, you MUST read this book. Not a single chapter passes without raucous laughter from Claire and I both. Anne has happily soliloquized  her way into our deepest hearts, and the book has effortlessly skipped its way up to my top 10 favorite books list. Girls, go find a wonderfully weathered copy at your local used bookstore. Do it now! Or right after you finish reading this, anyway!

So Claire and I are coming to the end of our journey with young Anne “with an e” and I’d be pretty sad about that if there weren’t plenty of sequels to be relished in later!! But as for now, I’d really like a few recommendations of what exquisitely girly book I should buy next to read with her. Bring it on, ladies!!!

Indulge me as I leave you with one of my favorite passages from my newest beloved book:

“I really think I’d like to be a minister’s wife when I grow up, Marilla. A minister mightn’t mind my red hair because he wouldn’t be thinking of such worldly things. But then of course, one would have to be naturally good, and I’ll never be that, so I suppose there’s no use in thinking about it. Some people are naturally good, you know, and others are not. I’m one of the others. Mrs. Lynde says I’m full of original sin. No matter how hard I try to be good, I can never make such a success of it as those who are naturally good. It’s a good deal like geometry, I expect.”

(I laughed so hard at this that I had tears streaming down my face, and she had a giggle fit of her own from laughing at me. When I had finally calmed down, I dared to ask her to guess why I was laughing so hard. She gave me a sly little grin, and replied, “Because you’re like Anne?” Then I laughed a whole other 5 minutes. Oh, how the Lord has mercy on me!)

 

Hey Sketchers! Looking for a Fresh New Face? January 6, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — cashclanjapan @ 1:25 pm

Claire insisted on wearing her brand-new Sketcher heelys for her urban dance photo shoot. Isn’t she a doll?

 

If You Don’t Have Something Nice to Say (Or Why I Haven’t Blogged in Six Months) January 3, 2010

Filed under: Blog, Lisa's Blog — cashclanjapan @ 11:42 am

The following is a post that I didn’t have the courage at the time to post, but I should have. I should have let you all know what I was going through. Maybe some of you were/are going through it too. This is pretty much why I haven’t been writing lately–because I didn’t feel like what I had to say was happy and peppy. But even the happiest/peppiest of girls go through dry spells. I am not immune to hard seasons. And 2009 was a hard one. But now it’s 2010, and I’m hoping/praying for a fresh start, and depending on His mercies anew every morning. Anyway, here’s the post I wouldn’t let you see a few months ago:

One of my favorite book quotes, from Their Eyes Were Watching God, which I’ve inevitably referenced on here before, is: “There are years that ask questions and there are years that answer them.”

I don’t have the heart or the energy at this very moment to go into all the gory details, but 2009 has been a year that has asked questions. Hard questions. It’s probably largely why I haven’t blogged very much in the last 6 months. I kind of feel like, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I feel like a capital-J Jerk because I have plenty of nice things to say; with this amazing husband and these four gorgeous, healthy children, an interesting, full life–I should have plenty of nice things to say every single day.

But instead, at the end of each day, I’ve been feeling like a phenomenal failure. My devotion wasn’t deep enough, my conversations weren’t kind enough/ encouraging enough, my attitude with my children wasn’t patient enough, my love for my husband wasn’t loving enough, my efforts toward my father aren’t enough to make him love me (or even talk to me), my ministry isn’t Japanese enough, my housework isn’t productive enough. I’ve just been feeling like my life is freaking impossible, that I just can’t do all this. Like it’s too much, and I’m just…not enough. I’m in a funk. Like a crying-myself-t0-sleep-often, feeling-like-crap-daily, maybe-I-should-be-on-Prozac kind of funk. I’ve been taking a long, lonely walk through the proverbial desert. And it sucks out here. And I haven’t been very happy about it lately either. I’m ready to stop feeling like this, or to stop letting these feelings control me. I’m just ready to move on. But I’ve been stuck for a while now. And I don’t know how to get out. Help!

Somehow I came out of it though. I don’t know exactly when or how it happened, but for the most part, I’m not feeling that way every moment of every day anymore. I’m thankful for that, but I feel foolish for not letting on earlier that I was feeling depressed. I imagine I could have solicited a few more prayers and gotten out of the desert a little quicker if not for my pride.

Anyhow, if you don’t mind too terribly–those of you who are the praying-ones–would you please keep me especially in your prayers, just in case I’m not out of the desert quite yet?

 

I Hear You January 3, 2010

Filed under: Lisa's Blog, Uncategorized — cashclanjapan @ 2:29 am

Okay, so I’ve been getting complaints about the dead silence up in here lately. I’m sorry! We have had a lot going on, and I’ve been either crazy-busy or plum worn out for most of the last 3 months. I’m set on practicing better balance for 2010 though, and part of that means writing more, because it just makes me feel better.

And if it makes YOU feel any better, one of my New Year’s resolutions this year is to blog once a week. And I’ve got several things to post for this week. So stay tuned. Yes, this was basically just a teaser. Sorry.

Oh, and by the way, thank you so much to Jonathan, who did a whole lot of technical, over-my-head, computer-geeky stuff to our blog to make it cheaper and more efficient for us!

 

You Can Take the Girl Out of Oklahoma… November 19, 2009

Filed under: Blog, Lisa's Blog — cashclanjapan @ 4:41 pm

This morning we had a little coffee-spill on the couch. Argh! I was nursing Sam when it happened, so I was a wee bit incapacitated. There happened to be a blanket nearby, so I frantically instructed Claire to “Find the wet spots and wipe at ‘em!”

She looked at me really confused and asked,

“You want me to wipe Adam?”

 

On Not Getting the Part October 25, 2009

Filed under: Blog, Lisa's Blog — cashclanjapan @ 11:04 pm

We are so crazy-lucky to have this fantastic REAL, LIVE dance instructor on our base (for a few years anyway) who is also incredibly ambitious, creative, and organized. I couldn’t be happier about her husband being stationed here, and I will likely cry for a couple months after she leaves. She’s that great. Thanks to Miss Jillian, Claire has had the opportunity the last few years to fall in love with dance and with musical theater, and to come out of her little shell quite a lot.

So this year, the big show is going to be “Peter Pan,” which Claire has seen about 1000 times, thanks to her father, who is obsessed with THIS movie version of it. I swear he picks this movie every time it’s his turn to pick on movie night. (Yes, he and I are in the rotation for choosing movies. Otherwise, it would be Barbie and action-hero movies every Friday night. We’re responsible for making sure these kids get cultured, right?? I mean, they’ve gotta see Goonies! :-) )

So of course, she REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to be Wendy. And truth be told, the kid has a lot of potential. I’m completely unbiased, of course, but I must say she can seriously sing (she has perfect pitch and a vibrato–she’s 7! What the heck??), she reads beautifully and with all kinds of expression, and her memory is astounding. (Thanks to Awana, she probably has about 50 passages of Scripture memorized, including Psalm 23 and all the books of the Old and New Testament.) She’s pretty amazing, I think. Sorry, this is turning into a bragging-about-Claire blog. Sorry. Shifting gears.

But she’s only 7. She JUST turned 7. And her teacher most likely doesn’t know she has that kind of memory. (I don’t brag about that to her, as tempted as I might be to write it on her audition form each and every time, or to slip it in a conversation. How weird am I?) But there are a lot of other girls in the program too. Claire’s one of the younger ones. So mother’s intuition told me that she most likely wasn’t going to get a big part this time around, but her time will come someday!

So I have been gently chiding her not to get upset if she doesn’t get the part she wanted. You know, gave her the whole scripted talk about being grateful for getting any role at all, and that all roles are important. Yada, yada, yada.

So her teacher called today to let us know that she got the part of John, Wendy’s brother. Pretty great, I think!!!! But still, I was a little worried about telling her. She tends to be on the emotional side sometimes, and my heart breaks when hers even hurts a little.

So I told her in the car, when I couldn’t look her in the eye, coward that I am. (I was in the front seat; she was sitting in the back, back to me.) Immediately, she let out this horrible, dramatic SOBBING CRY and exclaimed, “I wanted to be Wendy!!!” And I was like, “Oh, honey! We talked about this…”

And then she started CRACKING UP and said, “I got you!!!” And she totally did. She got me. My little budding actress fooled me solid. :-)