"Everyday is a School Day (And That's The Way We Like It!)" is our intended mentality, but our reality includes new back-to-school activities every now and again.
It helps us pretend that we aren't weird home schoolers every day... only most of them.
It also gives us a window of time to measure progress for our required annual review.
One Year Ago:
Now:
I took a lot of photos intending to hopefully luck into a few good ones to share, but to haven't found the necessary time or focus to sift through or edit photos, so here we are, squinty eyes and all...Scroll quickly....
I started to write a post about loss (and legacy reels) back when my grandpaw passed away...and then tried again recently when my uncle departed. Days got busy, I'm easily distracted and all of my attempts felt too frilly...too feely.
What I'm really aiming to say has been said in countless ways so, maybe that is why I feel too antsy to pin the words down (pen the words down?). It amounts to "Life is beautiful." though there are plenty of other worthy and valid things to be said about lives well-lived and legacies left behind. Like the following statements:
"The Grand Canyon is large."
"Niagara Falls is wet."
"There's gold in dem dar hills."
improvements could be made but the fundamental idea is present and accounted for.
Sometimes that's the best one can do.
So, here I am, sharing the video made in tribute to my uncle as a stand-alone excuse for where I've been lately, a picture-postcard from this other place for which I haven't an adequate vocabulary.
Though I was honored to be asked to help with this project, I'm not saying "Look what I did." Although I became thoroughly immersed in the project, I'm not sharing a work of art. Truly, it is the handiwork of a novice-at best and I wish it were more...polished.
I share because the process of distilling a life story of 80 plus years down into an 80 proof shot has been transformative for me.
I learned so many new things about my uncle but also about the world in which I live. Walking through the story of his life was like a history lesson wrapped in one last, strong hug.
In some ways, it helped me say good-bye. In other ways it confirmed that though I know I'm expected to do more and more of it in the years to come, saying goodbye will not get any easier.
The dread of such thoughts is almost enough to steal the joy of today-almost.
But even if it's only for today, the rest of us are still here -together.
That is no small thing.
This week, while watching a Disney show with the BigKids, we watched a eulogy scene that called on lines from "Our Town" for fitting words about this business of leaving Earth. I definitely couldn't have said it better myself.
I know.
I tried.
"Let's really look at one another!...It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another. I didn't realize. So all that was going on and we never noticed... Wait! One more look. Good-bye , Good-bye world. Good-bye, Grover's Corners....Mama and Papa. Good-bye to clocks ticking....and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new ironed dresses and hot baths....and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth,you are too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every,every minute?"
~THORNTON WILDER // "OUR TOWN"
No, we don't. We can't. But, we should at least try.
There's just something special about Walt Disney's Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. It is my favorite park for several reasons, and it seems to me one of the most fitting monuments to the man behind Mickey Mouse.
At its inception, Walt said of EPCOT:
"EPCOT will be an experimental prototype community of tomorrow that will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed, but will always be introducing and testing and demonstrating new materials and systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise."
Ingenuity. Imagination. America.
I think that's all of it in a nutshell.
Walking through the park makes me nostalgic. Not only for past visits and childhood adventures, but also for the strong broth of a certain philosophy, spooned to me steadily from the time I could sit up, and mixed in my bottles before that.
The basic recipe includes (but is not limited to):
Whimsy
Curiosity
Music
Creativity
Exploration
Fun
Can-Do
Optimism
Service
Kindness
Wonder
Learning
Talking Animals
Hats & Props & Seersucker Pants
Simmer over the gentle warmth of a heart aglow. Serve generously and without discrimination.
Long before there was a search engine and megladon corporation, my siblings and I were privy to the fact that googol is a number- one with one hundred zeros. The loud thumping in our attic was not a fan but tiny little Indians holding a pow-wow. We lived in a world of honker birds and sing-a-longs. We were entrusted with glue sticks and spangles, given complete creative control over the construction paper pile. Life was punny and word play was encouraged. Pennies were wishes for personal computers. Stale bread became duck food. We made sleds from box tops; thrust ourselves down hills without any snow. We enjoyed a balanced diet of wisecracks and wisdom. We knew..still know..the joys of ice cream.
Has she jumped track? Perhaps. I do tend to do that sometimes.
The point is that there are good things in life, dreams do come true, we should reach for the stars and never give up.
In the theme park of Positive Mindset, the only admission fee is choosing to walk in.
I'm not saying that every day was Disney growing up, but it was close enough, in hindsight. I am saying that we were given a map to that silver-lined place called joyfulness, for which I'm grateful.
When I walk thru EPCOT, I feel hopeful. I see technology and new ways that we, as people, are working for the good of mankind; we have not ceased thinking, inventing, and trying to one-up ourselves. We are seeing needs and filling them, we are striving to improve upon our last best invention. We come up with some pretty nifty stuff.
At Epcot, we're encouraged to push the buttons, try it out, think up some big thinks of our own. I see Walt when I'm there...or at least what I understand to be his thumbprint. And I see that, despite the bleak headlines, all is not lost in this world... there's plenty to look forward to, much to anticipate.
At EPCOT, I feel inspired, too.
"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the small, small world after all"
There are many nationalities in the World Showcase, represented by more than airplane runway lights (long story)... all just steps away from each other - close enough to exchange a smile, try a pastry and appreciate the diversity of our world, without a trip through airport security. Each of the worlds within the showcase are all so distinct, even those that have been influenced by other countries or cultures. There are different ways of saying things, different ways of seeing things. So much to explore. I love it.
We read "Around The World In 80 Days" this school year...and we are currently reading "Innocents Abroad", so it was a pleasure and a bit of a living lesson to walk (and take boats) 'around the world' in less than 8 hours with the BigKids.
They also have a pretty good example of a geodesic form in one part of the park...if you know where to find it ;)
I feel relaxed at EPCOT. Walking around with my small-business-owner-always-at-work-even-when-he's-not husband and our eclectic cast of characters, I know that I can enjoy the day's park visit because of the work he's been doing. Because of the work he will return to in short order. I am reminded that he does all that work for us, for family moments like these and for all the others where we simply have a roof over our heads and enough food to fill each belly. I feel cared for and thankful for all of it..for all of them. For him.
Yes, we must eat by the sweat of our brow, but there is time for sculpted flower gardens too.
Time for exchanging pleasantries and learning something(s) new.
All of these pleasures are available inside the parks, but on the outside, too.
Especially outside.
Every single day.
The parks are just a reminder to stop and notice every now and again.
When the Discovery Channel came out with the Boomdeyadah campaign years ago, we adopted it as a sort of school anthem.
"I love the whole world, and all its sights and sounds..."
It's our home/school philosophy.
It's our life philosophy.
And Epcot provides a wonderful scale model.
(It's a small, small world- ha.)
Not to mention, it's a lot less crowded thanMagic Kingdom most days.
(the slideshow also includes hotel and other trip pics due to shortage of time to sift & sort- disregard red eye and double takes...if you can )
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." ~ Walt Disney
When asked what she was most looking forward to at Disney, Riley hoped to meet Princess Aurora. Everyone else agreed that watching RyeBird explore the Magic Kingdom for her first time would be the highlight of our experience.
While we didn't catch Sleeping Beauty this go around, Riley hardly seemed to notice once she got inside the park. And we enjoyed watching her have a big day every bit as much as had been anticipated...even the part where she was scared of Daisy & Minnie... a decision she made only after we waited in a considerably long line, and only once we were close enough to judge they were just too big, too real for her comfort.
At the end of the day, Rye's favorite part was "Dream Along With Mickey"- the stage show at Cinderella's castle where we all defeated Malificent by chanting 'Dreams DO Come True!" until the jilted sorceress had no choice but to storm off in a huff and puff of smoke, promising we hadn't seem the last of her... (a fact easily verified by glancing at the remaining show times...)
Riley confided later that when the audience had been asked to make a wish, she quietly whispered to herself "I need to learn how to act like a princess." She has been diligently working on remembering her manners ever since.
The BigKids have done Disney parks before, at various ages. They were not only good sports about letting baby sister have the 'larger slice of mouse pie', they enjoyed helping serve up the fun.
Tonight, I saw an unanticipated result of our current administration's influence on today's youth.
Chandler was describing an efficiency report for Fort Stewart that he had accidentally "over-seen" while we were in Savannah recently.
His grandfather, an engineering contractor for McLean, had some reports lying on a desk, in a closed binder in the same room the boys were bunking.
Total happenstance report reading, really.
What Chan was impressed by was the efficiency of the Army as detailed in the report.He was describing how the report listed amount of wattage used per army barrack.
And that's when I spotted it.
He said "Army Buh-Rocks"
Bunk houses by this name would be the current President of the United States.
(And I'm pretty sure he didn't serve...)
We often tease ChanMan about his creative pronunciation skills, and it is a homonym, so, I won't devote any more of this post to something that may embarrass him.
However, it is an ideal time to tack on a little praise-worthy note.
For all the things they are learning to pronounce or spell or do in life, I believe these Brewer kids are well on their way to becoming fine adult human beings.
(May this post serve ever a reminder of this worthy expectaion)
Chandler especially leads the charge in this thing I describe to you now, the others participating with joie de vivre:
They have learned to spot the bright yellow embroidery on jackets, hats and patches denoting a seasoned veteran from aisles and aisles away.
They know IwoJima, Vietnam, Korea, WWII.
They stand on perpetual watch for the tell-tale car tags and camo fatigues of our service men and women.
They are ever-ready and ever-eager to grab a door, extend a hand, offer the respect they feel is due:
"Thank you for serving our country"
And to our local First Responders I often hear:
"Thank you for serving our community"
Even the Coast Guard have met with their appreciation...
...and when they were younger, Mall Security and Citadel recruits too.
(a uniform by any other name still respect demands)
The morning of Clay's "Business Meeting" (Ahem: Golf Tournament) we roamed & roved until time to meet back up. I had long wanted to try Maple Street Biscuit Company, so when we stumbled across their new Beaches location, it was all happy anticipation.
We were not disappointed. The place has atmosphere... really nice atmosphere.
Above the drink station hang Mason jar lights, wire baskets line the dining area and the long sturdy tables provide plenty of sitting room for large parties.
Had the Atlantic Ocean not been lapping the shore just across the road, the warmth and earthy textures coupled with the friendliness of the staff could have convinced me that I was in a mountain breakfast house. Years of family road trips to North Carolina and Tennessee have left me quite fond of such places, though I'm inclined to believe most everyone has at least a slight breakfast bias.
{Do you?}
One of the benefits of having such a "shoe-full" of children is that we are equipped to divide and conquer. We divided and conquered the menu with an eclectic order. Then we practiced our sharing skills at the table, so that each person got to sample a wide range of flavors from the menu.
We started with an order of "Bob Hash Ups" ~ home fries topped with cheddar, pulled pork & a fried egg.
LoLo opted for a Cinnamon Pecan biscuit:
Both boys opted for biscuits with gravy:
I went with The Farmer~ fried chicken topped with bacon, cheddar and apple butter
Rye had a butter biscuit with the special house made B2 Jam (blueberries, blackberries)
...and chocolate milk, of course.
Something went a little awry with our order- I can't remember what it was but it was minuscule, like they gave me a soda cup when I needed a coffee mug or something... I really can't remember exactly what it was because I didn't think twice about it. However, to make amends for this 'huge blunder' they sent a plate of Cinnamon Pecan biscuits to our table with much customer service and goodwill.
We had more food than we could finish before it was over. Thankfully, they have take-out boxes. The photos you see here are of non- morning people, IN THE MORNING! They don't drink coffee yet, so the smiles must have been put there by Maple Street goodness.
Actually, Chandler IS kind of a morning person... still, they are all looking forward to our next trip to biscuit town.
Oddly enough, the first beach we hit this season was not the one closest to us. Clay had some business across town- (okay, it was a golf tournament.) Tee off was early the next morning, so we grabbed some SmashBurgers (the Sunshine Burger is my favorite) and a room near the shore. Those of us who did not bring our clubs (or everyone except Clay & Chandler) spent the afternoon on Jax Beach while the big boys went to the driving range.
This was one of our first really pretty days- the sand was warm, the water- no so much.
Not everyone is deterred by cool water. Rye was escorted to the water's edge by each of us in turn. With Sister:
And Fisher- (she calls him her prince):
Lifeguards were training for the oncoming summer season. I think this lesson must have been "People Watching 101" or a "Rogue Surfer Roundup" drill:
No shovel or pail but plenty of sand and teamwork for castle building:
We even spotted a mermaid:
The best part of a day filled with sand and wind and sun? Bedtime, of course. After a quick bite to eat, Clay took TheBigs to the pool while I de-salted and de-sanded HalfPint.
She was asleep before her hair was dry, but I kept the air flowing a little longer just to be certain the 'return to room' noise didn't wake her.
Home or Away, the child has a knack for occupying an entire bed with her tiny frame.
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