Year 6, September 17th-19th, 2021: Family Histories

Friday was a full day. Keturah stayed home because she was still feeling sick and coughing up a storm. And I wasn't going to deal with her complaining and Abishai's wiggling at a history museum. So I opted to just leave her. I "lose" out on money but I really don't care. I really only signed up for this field trip so that we would be supporting this new all day event put on by the Indiana Historical Society just for homeschoolers. I don't know how many students they were aiming for and what ages, but it did feel a little sparse and not enough tweens and teens. I kind of felt bad. I hope they didn't feel disappointed. But back to the beginning of my day. It was a rush to get up and get going because bedtimes aren't the best. But we managed to leave on time with a few extra minutes to spare. And we were going to need those extra minutes and here's why.

Well, I was still waking up, and because of that, I knew I needed to force myself to really pay attention. That meant, I needed to scan the usual spots for cops looking for speeders. And yes, you guessed it, I did see him up on the bridge before Churchman, but I didn't slow down in time. I wasn't actually going as fast as I usually do up over that bridge. Only a 56 in a 40mph zone. But he told me stop and I pulled over. I wasn't upset or shaking or anything. I just told Justin to reach for my purse, I got out my license and registration, handed it to him, he showed me my speed, he wrote up my ticket, and I was on my way in probably 5 minutes. I forgot to say, "Sir." He wasn't gruff or rude or "you know you shouldn't speed." I didn't try to argue. I think I nodded my head, "Yes, I agree. Makes sense." and took the ticket after I really knew where to go to find out more information about the price and who to call etc. Yes, the price of the ticket wasn't on the ticket. Blech. And it took until Monday (when I'm typing this up) for it to show up on the website so I could get it paid. $171. Ouch! That hurts a lot! 3rd speeding ticket in 24 years of driving. 0 accidents. I think that's a decent driving record, don't you? First ticket was one day before my 17th birthday (yes, I know, I speed). Second one was probably in 2007, another high speed highway one where I crossed several lanes of traffic and made the officer mad. I was on the way to work. I was 26. And 3rd one, just now, at age 40. So I kind of evenly spread them out, didn't I? I'll live. But yikes, that's expensive. I didn't tell anyone until Abishai finally tattled on me on Sunday. He asked Daddy how many speeding tickets he had, and Jared said 1. Jared had several (not his fault) accidents before he was 19 though. I was waiting to tell Jared until I knew how much it cost and I was waiting for a time where we weren't just breezing by each other in the chaos of life. He was not pleased obviously. But really, it's life. It happens. I speed. Yup. I own that. Trust me. It could have been way worse.

But, we did get to the museum still in plenty of time. And that's after I took the wrong exit! I was talking to the boys afterwards and either they had blocked off an exit or I completely spaced it and didn't turn off in time but all of a sudden I was at the next exit. I'm very familiar with which exit I was supposed to take because I turn directly opposite of the museum to go to my dermatologist appointments. But, oh well, we got there eventually. We got checked in just as Kelli and Kya were checking in and had time to breathe before going to the first class on the Census. 

The first class on the Census was decent. An intern read a story about a life of an immigrant family and about how things change between the census years and how the census is only one document we look at when trying to paint the picture of what is going on in our genealogies. Kelli was great at helping to pull it altogether when we were looking at an exercise related to the story. Abishai was already growing restless. So after that 1st class, we went outside to get some fresh air. We saw someone feeding some ducks and Abishai thought was cool and wanted to chase the ducks of course. Then we went back inside for a class on ways the museum preserved things. I'm thankful that I brought Abishai's tablet because it helped, but he kept wanting to show Kelli what he was doing. Ugh. Not as helpful as I thought it was going to be. Sigh. I was still able to take in a good deal of that lecture.

After that class we headed back outside again to eat our lunch, but this time, Abishai wanted to go back inside to eat his lunch because it had warmed up to 85 degrees. He was starting to throw a fit. Kelli pulled me aside and suggested maybe I take him home and she could stay with the others. I said maybe, let me think a little bit on it. We had a very long lunch so we could explore the exhibits in the museum, but we actuallly just spent a lot of it just chilling. We finally went to go see one of the exhibits, but then was stuck in a good conversation with a fellow homeschooler. Whoops. Oh well. Kelli then took the other two back downstairs to the classrooms and I stayed upstairs and took Abishai through the rest of the exhibits.

He did ok, although he wasn't too sure of the people playing other people of different times. We visited a recording studio of the 1930's, an exhibit about Indy's bicentennial but the characters were pretending to put on a play about the centennial, and then an exhibit about the first millionaire black woman who ran a cosmetics company. I told Gary about it and he actually guessed the name. I had no idea who this person was. Madam CJ Walker? No clue. Not my area of expertise. Not every exhibit has to do with some black person or poor person overcoming their circumstances and becoming famous, FYI. I mean, it's fascinating, but how about just celebrating ordinary people who stay ordinary people? The focus on drama and trauma is slightly inspirational, but now it's actually a bit annoying, especially after listening about last year's race riots and talks about how everybody is a victim and all this "critical race theory" and social emotional learning stuff. Most of us don't go through extreme trauma. Some of it is just part of living life. So, buck up, and live life. 

But after a couple of hours of that, Abishai became a "floppy fish" and I knew it was about time to leave. It was a pretty exhausting day for me, but I'm glad Kelli was there to handle Justin so at least he could try to learn something. We ended up not walking over to the 9/11 memorial because time was getting short and we were just done with all of it. It was time to just get home. Maybe another time. It's not going anywhere. I showed Abishai where it was when we were down next the canal and then from one of the windows on the second floor of the Indiana Historical Society building. That's good enough for now. We can go back at some point and visit again after we talk about in our history lessons or something.

Thank goodness we were having dinner with Gary and Leah because I was beyond exhausted by the time I got home from the museum. Kids did their chores and then we all headed over there so we could eat and then Jared and Abishai could get to karate class. It's been non stop like this all week, hasn't it? We had dinner with them because Gary will gone again on Sunday. And Leah has to be back at church by 2pm for something, so she doesn't need to be doing a big deal Sunday either. Dinner was fine enough. Nothing out of the ordinary since I can't remember much from it. The usual suspects of grilled meat, fruit and veggie salads, corn pudding, and a dessert made with cool whip of course. Justin immediately left to go back home to mow before the sun set. He'll do the rest in the morning before he goes to the lake with Kya. Just as long as it gets done. And that's it for our Friday busyness and crazy Friday night plans. Onward, march!

Little guy wanted his slippers near Momma's slippers.

A t-shirt for those from out of state. I would say, I probably needed this t-shirt 22 years ago. I had no clue about the midwest myself. And same goes for a lot of midwestern people about New England, too.

Abishai wanted to write his name down on the Census. He also saw others wearing a mask so he wore a mask. We weren't required to wear masks. But little ones are heavily influenced by those around them, especially after we've told them to follow the rules. They don't understand the complexity of the rules sometimes.

The view of the 9/11 Memorial with the Indiana Historical Society in the background from down on the canal level. Kind of almost looks like a cabin in the woods or some thing, doesn't it? But no, we are in the heart of downtown Indy.

We were learning about how different materials deteriorate and can ruin things around them. This was quite interesting. This plastic came from the same exact boxed Christmas ornament. Same plastic and everything. Maybe it was made on different production lines or the chemical composition was off by just a tiny percentage point. But one turned color and became brittle and one didn't. So weird. You just never know.

This is how Abishai packs a lunch. I don't like packing fruit and vegetables because I don't want things to spoil. Same goes with sandwhiches and cheese, plus Abishai won't eat those either. Keturah and Justin will definitely eat those if they bring them. So, we just bring a bunch of snacks to eat. Worst parent ever? Maybe. Or maybe I'm a genius because I know we can reuse them in a different lunch because they haven't spoiled.

This is some recreated room of a famous bar or singer or someone called something Porter? Anyway, kind of weird having your little guy sitting at a bar. I thought maybe Jared might get a kick out of it.

The three amigos. Kind of lost my own daughter but gained a new 13 yr old girl to hang out with and her mom I can chat with instead of dragging Jared around to everything, so it's been working out well.

This is a pretty cool way to do a train table! There's some awesome molds of our downtown buildings and some numbers that correlate with places on the table with explanations of what they are. And the map is of Indy. The track isn't pinned down though. It kept Abishai busy for a little while so I could read other things on the wall.

Uh, when history meets current events and it then becomes a display piece, it's kind of eerie. I'm not ready for things that just happened to be part of history yet. Or rather ongoing things, like trials related to events that happened last year, to be part of history displays yet.

Kind of makes sense, right?

This looks very similar to the photos of today, right?

These maps were projected on the floor showing the progression of transportation over the years in Indy. Some things weren't built until a lot later than I realized.

Madam CJ Walker's Model T car that she drove herself, despite being a black woman in the early 1900's.

Old fashioned curling irons and hot comb with ointment for the hair.

Handwashing the laundry like Madam CJ Walker did as a young lady.

They put a pulley system in here so it was hard to pull up on.

I was tempted to buy this one for Leah.

And we finished up our waiting by reading about our history things. in the area.

Abishai wants to introduce your to his new furry friend. They are both very cute.

I hope that this is all that it will take to save the big trees!

Oh good, I'm glad I screenshotted this part of the conversation. Beech Grove was having their usual annual fall festival so it was hard trying to get a parking spot for some. Abishai likes having that extra one on one time with the teachers. He's still determined to be part of a regular class when he turns 7. I'm not sure he understands what all happens in a big boy class and that it's more expensive and happens on a another night.

Watching Star Wars: Rebels in our bed because the PS4 Amazon app wasn't working right or something. Aren't they cute?

Saturday was all about cleaning inside and outside the house. Jared spent all day outside working his tail off to make the yard look a ton nicer. And although there were a couple of spots I would consider "undone," I bit my tongue and profusely thanked him for the parts he did. I'm not sure what all he did, but I took photos of some of it. I didn't take photos of things like him putting chemicals out, water the trees, adding windshield washer fluid to my car, and who knows what else. He helped Keturah with doing some of the weeding for her and/or showed her what parts to do and redo. Abishai was in and out, but it was close to 90 degrees F today, so he brought the beach balls inside to play with.  I had taken Justin over to his friend's house so she and her family could take him to their boat on a lake for the afternoon. He had a wonderful time, and so do they I heard, lol. I didn't mind driving him out to their house today, because it gave me a chance to sit still after working hard and fast this morning after a long week of activities this week.

I could feel the rigorousness of the week this week and knew I had to work hard and quickly because I would hit the wall quickly. And I did. I had about 2 hrs worth of energy in me before I would collapse. So, I vacuumed our room and the edges of the hallways carpet, I did a load of laundry and dishes, I cleaned the microwave, I finished rearranging the pantry so I could grab my snacks more easily. After driving Justin to Greenfield, I went to Kroger for some random items and prescriptions. And of course Justin's meds hadn't been run through insurance properly. Finally, I picked up some library books and went home. Then I had some lunch, made coffee, laid down and took a nap. I had a headache most of the day, but we managed to have enough leftovers for dinner. Kelly dropped off Justin at 9pm after the other kids were in bed. But now at least I feel like the outside and inside of the house has been picked up and scrubbed a ton and are up to date. We just needed a "house blessing" day as a blogging friend calls it. 

It takes all 5 of us, plus the dog to mess up this house and yard, it takes all 5 of us to clean it up. Everyone should come away with being equally sore and having put in equal amounts of effort according to skill, strength, and health. So, if I can only put in 2 hrs, and Jared can put in 8 hrs because he has less health problems than I, then he can put 8 hrs into it. Same with Keturah, although I can't ask her to help much when she's still sick. Not sure if I should let her go to church or not tomorrow, but I will at least make her wear her mask. It's highly encouraged again. But she is the kind of person who becomes the spreader of disease because she breathes heavily on everything and doesn't cover her cough. Sigh. 

Hopefully that's me!

See below

Pretty neat piece of Canadian history Jared retweeted this morning.

See above

Hard to tell but I at least you can see the floor of the pantry again.

Read to destroy the piggy fort.

I got one birthday party I can remember and I don't remember what we had. But I know we had that kind of neopolitan icecream at my Grandmother's house on the Saturday closest to our birthday.

They swam, they hung out on the tube, they tired water skiing, they did it all today. Kelli said that Justin tried water skiing and when he hit the water hard, it cleaned out his sinuses, poor kid. He didn't try again. Oh well. At least he got in the trip to the lake he wanted this year.

Ah so much better!

Ugh, so gross! Draining the pool.

Jared did all the hard work of trimming or rather edging the yard the way that Gary likes his to be trimmed and the way I expect the kids to do it but never to. Thank you!

He cleaned out the drainage ditches.

More edging, but the middle could have had more done.

Abishai insisted on putting out the pumpkins the other day. I've just left the mini haybale there year round for two years. Who knows what lives in it. It's going to see it's 3rd fall. Pretty cool

Just about down for the finches eating the seeds.

Ah, so much better!

Look at all those check marks! It's because I broke down "all day cleaning" into little pieces. It makes me feel better that I actually spent the day doing stuff that took up time.

"Honey" do list, too.

Sunset!

Somebody knows his buddy is supposed to be home and in their favorite spot already. The psuedo "man cave."

Where's my Justin? He wasn't home yesterday. He wasn't home today. What did you do with him? Bring him to me, please?!

 Sunday was interesting. Because we had had dinner with Gary and Leah on Friday night, we didn't have dinner with them on Sunday. Jared made a salad to go with leftovers from Friday night though, so that was helpful. I think it was the first time we had all sat down for a full dinner at our table all week. I'm getting a bit tired of our busy schedule. I cannot wait until Rooted is over. We need that other weeknight back. Or rather we that dinner hour to discuss things because people take off for evening activities. These nights of inconsistency is starting to drive me mad. But anyway. We both woke up late. I woke up late because well, I went to work out a couple of knots before bed and ended up starting a movie, which was longer than I thought, on my phone and, well, just lay there watching the whole thing until 5 am. Yes, I'm totally stupid. Totally stupid. I'm surprised I didn't fall asleep in church or this afternoon. I managed to stay awake and caught up on the blog though! I was going to join Jared for his nap, but I got in the grove and couldn't stop. Which is a bit frustrating, because we needed that time together, too. But I had chosen that time with him other weekends and that's why I was so far behind. So, that's what I did this afternoon, and now I'm almost all caught up!

The kids were all grumpy and needed to fill their introverted tanks so they all separated to their own spaces. They had their normal routines this evening. Keturah stayed a bit longer and helped to pack 200 Baskets for Benjamin despite still having a wicked cough. We had told her to put a mask on all morning but she refused to. There is an appropriate time for the mask. I would agree there. I really should have just told her to stay home again all day because she refuses to be responsible with her hacking and just coughs everywhere. And I'm sure everybody just stared at her today. But I wasn't around her and at some point, everyone has to stop thinking every cough is Covid or that every germ is contagious. I've had lingering coughs and they don't always mean I'm still contagious. Sometimes it's just a dry throat. But I find myself keeping my mouth closed so people don't think I have Covid. That's living in fear, too, or living to please people. I know what I have or don't have. Speaking of, did I tell you I have to take a Covid test 72 hrs before the Michael W. Smith concert in October? Yup. I think I said I won't be nervous, but I know I will be a little bit at least. Not fair. Not fun. Whatever, what is done is done.

I just hope that Keturah didn't leave germs everywhere she went today. I am getting tired now. I'm not sure how or when I'm going to wrap this up. But I'm glad I'm nearly there. We made a lot of progress in cleaning and the blog. Now we have some leftover things to get done like Justin's driving permit and job, an oil change for the car, ordering books for history, and tomorrow we will regroup and get some schoolwork done. Now I'm feeling really tired and ready to chill. No more work for tonight. I want to relax. Good night.

Abishai took "initiative" which is what he has always had but what they are also learning in Sunday School and built walls so his two armies could fight on his play table. Now, what do we do with everything that was being "stored," not played with mind you, but stored on this table? Oh yeah, throw it up on couch, sure! Why not?!

Who you lookin' at, Big Brother? Justin just wanted to make sure she was ok, I'm sure. But Keturah, like always, is like, "Go away." I loved that pink outfit though. So cute! She was 3 months old and he was 3 years old.

The End