Wood Shavings
I've been waking up late for a while. Symptom of staying up too late. But the dark hours of the night are cool in the summer. I would say those hours are quiet as well, but I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The crickets get drowned out by the cicadas, and the only things that'll drown them out are thunderstorms. I sleep best in the thunderstorms. They help my loud mind go quiet.
Yam wakes me with a kiss and a reminder for the day. Amos comes in half an hour later in his undies asking about waffles and complaining of boredom. Imagine being bored at 7:30. He's followed by his older brother, Micaiah, who's asking for waffles. Symeon coos alone in his room for a while in the morning. Pretty sure he's talking to angels.
Things have been like this all summer. Almost exactly the same Monday to Friday. I can't complain, but I kinda want to. Contentment is a good work. But I'm not especially virtuous.
My boys and I have also taken up whittling. As of yesterday. The great thing about whittling is that anyone who can hold a knife can probably whittle. It's a skill I've always appreciated for that reason.
I already have some basic whittling skills, but not good enough to write about it. Here's a photo of something I made for the sake of irony:
Inspired by Dracule Mihawk’s little sword. If you know, you know.
Symeon figured out how to unlock the back door to go outside today. I would be more upset if I wasn't so proud of how clever he is. I watched his soft little feet run over the wood shavings left on the porch as he urged me to help him onto the trampoline. Didn't even notice them poking his feet. Just wants me to hang out with him.
Thanks for checking this out. This little piece is very different than what I intend to usually write for Saintly Folk. It probably belongs elsewhere, but I ain't got no time for that right now. Idk how often I'll write like this, but I felt like I needed to write a little about my experience as a new homeschool dad along with my writing about the saints and painting. Let me know what you think.