Volleyball killed Saturday Projects...

but it was good.  My youngest has never had her dad at her games because they are always mid-week.  She made a point or two, and the team came in 4th in their tournament.  I thought that was a good trade-off for delayed projects.

I was able to shift gears much more gracefully than usual because of my John Deere magazine.  Once you buy a John Deere, you are apparently put on the mailing list for life for their magazine, The Furrow; I got mine a few days ago.  Even though the magazine is mostly to promote their products, I like to read what farmers are doing elsewhere, and I enjoy the quotes at the back.  One that stood out to me was a quote by St. Francis de Sales:  "When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time." 


This quote really spoke to me as that internal "To Do" list clamored at the back of my mind at the Volleyball game (and during the Pre-Algebra-Hawaiian Language book- Social Studies 8- pages- of -notes-and Paper- about -Queen -Liliuokalani -and -King- Kamehameha -III -due -on -the -same -day- storm).  Remembering it helped me focus on my kids and pay attention to what was going on with them.  


I would add to St. Francis de Sales' words that you need not only gentleness and time, but also love and patience - and a willingness to put yourself aside for a day or two (or four) to get over a mountain of difficulties and contradictions.  What a perfect lesson for me poised before the joyful mountain of preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Funny how I have to keep learning that lesson over and over.