The reader

So we sat in the playroom after school, gobbling up our science and human body encyclopedias and with my realization that my own general knowledge needed a good brush up, we found ourselves in this spot for hours. Callum read his best yet, There's no place like space. The boys have had such different paths in learning to read, Reuben through his first language, American Sign Language which was such a catalyst to him learning to read at aged 3 and Callum hitting the same milestones of reading at 5 and now at 6 comfortably reading these books. 

And I realised how little time I've spent in the playroom pictured here of late. What's wonderful is how many hours the two of them while away mostly building LEGO creations (and them loving the LEGO documentary on Netflix to explain the magic behind the scenes) and reading. I just wish my office wasn't on the other side of the house but I think it's time I made some adaptions in there and joined them.

Later after karate, Reuben and I worked on multiplication. It's more of a 3rd grade activity but he has good aptitude in maths, was described as "an astute mathematician" and learning math facts is coming easy to him. I found the Learning WrapUps on Amazon and I think they'll be a great tool for both his fine motor and multiplication skills. 

And me, still picking up the pieces from the life we've had in February. Reuben's sickness and hospitalization was traumatic and we are as of today so grateful for the meal train from school, families cooking for us each evening of the last week. It's the realization that life doesn't suddenly get easy when the good health returns. Three weeks were missed of work and that has now to be explained and squeezed in. I was shell shocked and exhausted leading to a fresh 3 day migraine and a cold. 

And then something huge happened. An external hard drive which hadn't been effectively backed up, that is an entire 2014 collection of 2.1TB of images crashed on me. It was there in the morning and gone by the end of the day. No water or fireproof safe of mine could have saved it. It needed to be sent off and fully restored with a begging note. Thankfully my business insurance covered most of the $1,700 repair fee. I could wax lyrical for hours about backing up, but sometimes even my own great advice fails to sink in when I'm changing systems and hoping that things hold together til I sort the transition out. 

Then let me throw into the mix one of the most frightening things that could have happened (OK I'm being dramatic but I think chest pains at the time constitutes a panic scenario). I lost my business domain, yes the one I've invested in building over 6 years because I didn't have my eye on the ball this month and it was gobbled up to be resold to me at profit. I was feeling real pains in my chest on hearing the news and desperately seeking help whilst living in a sort of hell. As of today, I have regained my domain name. I felt no shame in explaining that the buyer's actions had been taken during the time I was in hospital. I didn't need to say much more but actually getting in touch with them in the first place over the weekend was impossible and sent me in a spin this whole weekend. I buried my head in the beauty of flowers because otherwise I would have gone quite mad.

Feel free to shout at me for taking on too much that leaves me no margin for error when Reuben gets sick. I am "running to stand still". I work completely to the threshold because I have an insane design to create all things beautiful. I compete with myself, no one else, but I keep running to leave something behind in this world that has value for prosperity and beauty. Don't ask me to change that, because I could no more than change the air I breathe. 

On a positive note, I'm writing a Book of Blossoms. It will appeal to anyone else who stops dead in their tracks at the sight of a bloom, breathes heavily upon its scent intoxicated, has an immense rush of good feeling for the pure beauty of nature. To be able to enjoy that sensory explosion year round is my aim. Perhaps I'll be the only one to don a copy on my coffee table and revel in the beauty of this time of year. We'll see. 

Can I breathe this morning finally. February has been excruciating. And hopefully that explains the holes in my journal this month. And yet, today the boys are well again, Callum is reading books and Reuben is reciting his 9x table to me with ease. And that my friends is life.