I've been blogging less than a year. I've changed site meters once. And I know that I've had about 10,000 hits on this blog since I started writing. Maybe 3000 of those hits are my own. So the current meter's read of nearly 7000 is, maybe, kind of about right. ish.

Wow, this is crazy talk. This is way way way more people clicking over here and glancing around than I ever anticipated. About 1-2oo a day. What's more? Real live family members check in here. And distant friends check in here. And close friends check in here. I never thought anyone would use this site but me. I never ever thought real actual members of my family would check in here. I hoped that would happen but I didn't really think so. In fact, I didn't believe I could keep a blog going this long. I've written over 200 posts. This is all a shock to me.

Has anyone noticed, the writing is in decline. And the photography is in decline. And the postiness is in decline. And ALL OF THIS is because the homeschooling is in decline. The blog is reflecting the truth here.

A girlfriend asked me yesterday, "why do you hate the phone So Much?" I said things about living in service to a bell, living in one place (more or less) for 40 years, and resenting the (what feels like constant) intrusion in my daily life. But the truth is, I am deeply introverted. A singluar phone call almost feels like "constant phone calls" to me. I need a lot of quiet time to sit and stare. This is how I learn. I sit and I try, like Lisa Simpson, to "see through time." I learn in a strange and eccentric fugue state. I'm sure this is why I had such a hard time in school. As well, I recognise this same trait in my daughter. Thank goodness she can homeschool. Have you ever tried fuguing out in a school room, or hall, or yard, or (God Help Me) cafeteria? Not very effective.

Today, I discovered MINIATURE GOLDENDOODLES. And all I could think, was to run here and let you all know that such a thing now exists. You can get yourself a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle in miniature. And I don't believe in "bred" dogs. But I want one of these. And I wanted to come say it here. And I am aware that you may all be deciding to quit checking in here..... nothing much is going on.

But also, a good thing emerges from the depths of the murk.... Nothing much is going on. I am hanging the new door. I am negotiating the riding lessons. Art class ended. (I forgot to post pictures of their masks.) We are preparing for the holidays. And the children are spending hours and hours and hours quietly playing together in their rooms. And running and shouting in the leaves outside. And we are getting back to more meals around the table. And I am less worried about "homeschool" and I have less to prove. Our homeschool is not in decline.

Its working. That's my message. Right now, homeschool is working. Its a quiet thing. Its not flashy. Its not a long list of accomplishments. Its a quiet happy life of playing and learning. Not so much else to say right now. And this reflects a good thing. Quiet Time Report Cards.

Except that I am feeling a bit schizophrenic as I reread this. I have been CRAZILY busy. Too busy to even keep up. But that is My Life. Not the kids/homeschool life. And this blog is a homeschool blog. Whew, there. I think that's the current, accurate report card of now.

I guess I needed a quiet moment to sit, think it through, and type it out. A circle of shifting perspective. We are quiet/we are busy. We are fallow/we are learning. Do you see? We have many eyes. But to see at all, we must stop looking a moment. And think, to take it all in.