Slowing down to keep pace with

Hey, friends. Here we are on almost the last day of July 2023.

Yup, I have some goals for this year and so far some are on track:

• Relationships as a priority, including God, family, friends, co-workers and new-to-me people
• Intentionality and being present to the moment as a daily practice
• Slowing down enough to encounter Jesus as often as possible throughout the day
• Pursuing creative/life-giving practices weekly
• Vulnerability and showing up as my true self to the measure that He enables me to do that
• Saying yes to some things that are outside my comfort zone and that are not necessarily in my skill set
• Reflection about the events of the day and my responses throughout the day
• Personal retreat in the spring

Some of the things that I have not successfully pursued as of yet:

• Quilting – repairing a quilt and sewing a new quilt are on my list
• Learning to use my new-to-me sewing machine – it’s computerized and has so many amazing features
• Gardening – my “Charlie Brown” garden is kinda sad. Not sure what happened to some of the seeds, but they did not sprout. I even tried a second replanting and still nothing in those bare spaces. To be fair, I have probably had a return on my investment that matches my investment. I would like to be more knowledgeable and prepared for next year.
• Hiking and camping combined
• Frequent visits to a beach
• North Carolina trip to visit our daughter and her family out there
• Personal retreat in the fall
• Blogging more consistently and more often than once a year

In other news:

I have started learning to play Pickleball thanks to some friends from our church. I think I could get to the point where I truly enjoy playing for the fun of it. Time will tell.

Due to lack of clients, I deleted my VA website. I am still available for projects; I’d be happy to discuss the possibility of working with you: https://calendly.com/amydemoss/ .

And yes, the team I am a part of at one of my jobs is STILL working on the project we were assigned almost two years ago. It continues to astound us with its intricacies and complexities. I think the seemingly never ending new scenarios in this project reflect the challenges of being a company that innovates in response to customer requests for products which meet specific needs in the niche. Our team has a BIG goal of being completely finished with this project by the end of 2023. . . And then one of our team members is being pulled into a different team to help until a key position is filled. That’s life.

~still living large, on the Indiana prairie

So you are considering Home Education?

Whatever your reasons for considering the option of Home Education, you are not alone in the process, literally or figuratively. The NHERI (National Home Educators Research Institute), asserts, “Homeschooling – home education or home-based education – has grown from nearly extinct in the United States in the 1970s to over 2.5 million school-age students.”

Wherever you are on your journey, two things you should do if you have not already done so is to understand what Home Education is/isn’t and to find a state and/or local Home Education Organization. The IAHE, Indiana Home Educators Association, states,”We define home education as parent-directed, home-based, privately-funded education.” In addition to understanding the definition of home schooling in your state, you must also understand the law in your state. I strongly suggest that you become a member of HSLDA, Home School Legal Defence Association. They provide many free resources as well as links to Homeschool Organizations on their website.

If you want to talk about your options or ask questions about the practical side of home education, feel free to reach out to me at demossfam@gmail.com.

And good for you for taking responsibility for your child’s education by investigating the amazing opportunity of home schooling!

living free, on the Indiana Prairie

A Woman’s Inner Journey Through COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order, part 2

April 4, 2020

Another week of “writing for an hour” repeating itself on my Bullet Journal task list. . .

I was hopeful a week ago that our country and our state would be slowly getting back to a new “normal” this week. Or, if not this week, then before Easter weekend. Most of you are probably aware that the country is still under the “stay-at-home” for the rest of the month. I am not discouraged or panicked. I am however, looking forward to things starting to open up again.

Mid-week I decided to stop reading and listening to other inputs aside from the President’s Task Force updates and the Governor’s. I feel like that is the best decision for me right now.

Thankfully I am still working as is dear hubby. Even the few things I have to do for the church are continuing on, plus they are making some changes. It will be interesting to see where “we” are in another week.

Connecting with people digitally and/or virtually is interesting, but also very, very good when that is the only option. I am so grateful for technology that allows us all to do that. Right after I typed that I had a couple texts and a FB message ping through.

I am enjoying not needing to drive to and from work anymore and find myself feeling way less rushed and stressed because of it. I suppose I was reaching my threshhold for busyness before this all started.

Internally I am still encouraged and hopeful. I am not in denial about how difficult this is, has been and will be. I just expect it to all work out.

I find myself concerned about the comments I read on social media that are so incredibly negative, spiteful, malicious, and gossipy. It also concerns me that people are sharing “news” that is unsubstantiated. With our population descending into being less and less mentally well, I am concerned about those posts having dangerous affects on others. I do fully support the freedom we have to “speak,” but thinking before sharing feels like another one of the things we can do to protect the most vulnerable. Just sayin. . .

Something really fun that happened is that I applied for a job kind of on a whim a week or so before this whole thing escalated. Thursday night I had an email letting me know that I made it through from stage 1 to stage 1.5 — I am part of the 25% of the applicants who will be whittled down from for stage two. Fun and unexpected! It was challenging filling out the application because it required a lot more thought and input that a standard applicaton. I had decided to look at it as a fun opportunity to learn some things through the process. I hoped that I might have even the smallest chance at being offered the job. So, I feel like I have had a win already!

Finally, I was chatting on the phone with a friend this week and was inspired by our combined suspicious imaginations, so I am going to pop off of here and get some fiction scenes typed up.
~staying at home, on the Indiana prairie

it happened last December

turns out that rewriting “blog” in my bullet journal more than 31 times was not enough to prompt me to do so.

hence, here i am, late again.

December was fantastic fun, which at the time felt like it was flying by, despite my real efforts to slow myself and enjoy the journey. i am thankful for all the times of connecting with the special people in my life. were the month sixty days long, it would NOT be enough time to fit everything into it.

highlights for me were spending time with Mom, G and my sister along with our people celebrating His birth and then our people being together again celebrating His birth. does a mom’s heart good to overflowing.

i said it out loud how much i do not like when they all leave. i understand that it is right and what we raised them to do. i am thankful and happy that each one is moving forward as a responsible, maturing, loving person. i really do not want to live with ten other people for the rest of me life – do i? but none of that makes the leaving less sad and painful.

leavings, be they of this world or to eternity, are bittersweet. even now my stomach churns and tears form behind my eyes. i miss you all so much. parting truly is such sweet sorrow.

ahead of me in 2020 are more leavings, some anticipated and some yet to be realized. i am comforted by His Presence and peace that is beyond all that I understand in my intellect even now as I look ahead to them.

may our vision this year be 2020 Kingdom vision. may our whole bodies, souls and spirits be save, healed, delivered, transformed and renewed.

~remembering December on the Indiana prairie

November yesterday

and here i am again, playing catch up.

simply put, november was a blur, though the wedding in north carolina was a definite highlight, along with the choir concert and Thanksgiving Day.

as a sneak peak into december, sometimes a task that needs to be done or a decision that needs to be made is obvious.

i made two such decisions today, and i am now experiencing more freedom and peace. good call!

one of those decisions was to stop posting at another blog site in order to simplify. the other decision was about simplifying, also, but this is not the forum.

simply put, i will be transitioning from my role as a home school teacher, et al, to somethings new in the near future. it is time to evaluate my choices and priorities.

are you in a new season or about to start one? i would love to hear about yours.

~refocusing, on the Indiana prairie

 

And So It Begins

our last year as a home school has started; we are three days into it. this is a rather emotional season for all of us. our odest daughter is getting married, and her fiance’ has been looking for a job. then my dear husband’s mom, the best mother-in-law ever, unexpectedly died from Legionaire’s Disease within two weeks of the discovery that she had it. we are heart broken and grieving.

on the up side, our soon-to-be son-in-love (my kids think that’s a weird nomenclature, but I prefer it to -in-law), was offered the job that he really wanted.  so we are rejoicing about that, while grieving the loss of our beloved jumping bean.

as for me, i have made some messes with the “stakeholders” in the family, which I have tried to clean-up. i also am surprised to find that i feel calmed and focused  now that school has started. i suppose that tells me that i really do like organization and order. LOL

on the work front, i have consistent work to do, which is a pleasant change.

if you are reading this near the date this is posted, we would appreciate your prayers.

~riding the waves, on the Indiana prairie

 

Advent Asides

I freely admit, even proclaim that I thoroughly enjoy this season of celebration. If that is not where you find yourself this Christmas season, I feel sad for you. And you may not want to read this post — just sayin’. Call it a public service spoiler alert.

Over my life’s journey the Christmas season has had many, many faces and expressions. As a matter of fact, today marks the eve of my Dad’s shocking suicide, 29 years ago. I am continuing to heal from that life-changing event. Some losses are never gotten over.

Despite that particular loss during the Christmas season, I find that each year I have more joy and more hope and more peace. I believe that while you cannot change or control what happens to you, you can change and/or control how you ultimately respond. Practicing Thanksgiving with regard to all of my life and being willing to sit with and to process pain are learned habits which are serving me well — not stuffing problems nor sugar-coating them, but seeing them for what they are, and then finding the thing or things for which to be thankful related to them. 

On the joy side of the Christmas season, I also practice Thankfulness for the multitudinous blessings in my life. For me, Thanksgiving and Christmas are perfectly poised in the calendar; the Thanksgiving holiday reminds me to view life through the lens of Thankfulness, all of life, past and present and future. 

What am I looking forward to this Christmas season?

Time off from school and work = more time for slowing, for resting, for spending time with the people I love the most, for serving and loving others, for focusing on the Reason for the Season. 

The joy of giving to others.

And what are you looking forward to this Christmas season?

~all-in-celebrating, on the Indiana prairie

And then came June

what a great month is June! summer is fully here, and in Indiana that means any spring, summer or fall weather is fair game. just enjoy the ever-changing weather journey.

one excellent addition to my life of late is a gift from my dear husband – a cruiser style 7-speed bike. yes! our youngest and I have taken many a short jaunts together since the gift. I have missed very much the joy of riding a bike.

it also seems that I am in something of a “throw-back” mode in life, as I find old dreams and relationships and ideas receiving new life breathed into them. another ocean of joy for which I am thankful.

not all is sunshine and roses in life, of course. our kiddos each have challenges of his/her own, which then cause pain in mom’s heart. if we don’t love, we don’t feel pain. so, that’s just as it should be, right? personally one bit of news that is “inconclusive” hangs in an unresolved state until later in July. choosing to simply look at the facts without attaching any emotion to it at present is an on-going challenge.  it could be that things will turn out fabulously for all involved, so if I am going to imagine something, I will choose that narrative!

this morning I realized once again that I have slipped slightly down the slope of reacting to the story of my life instead of taking up my role as the lead actor. time to step into my story, write it, live it, love it. maybe time to write some people out of my story and some people into my story.

~enjoying the journey, on the Indiana prairie

Addition

It has been glorious and happy and fun.

November has arrived and so has some of the pain of change.

I am embracing this new season of life, this season of being a “mother-in-love” and a mother, both. Amazing, expanding, life-giving AND an opportunity to do battle with every foul lie and accusation my enemy can cannonball me with.

Thanks be to God, that He is ever interceding on my behalf, that He goes before and behind me, that He has and is preparing the way for me to walk in truth, love, joy and peace.

Make up the BEST, most positive narrative, with God in it! He is that good and that faithful.

 

~experiencing growing pains, on the Indiana prairie

And after the vacation?

Actually, we are embarking on summer vacation already.

And the time away from the grind was good time away, but not what I had hoped it would be exactly.  The fam spent a lot more time in the room than they indicated they would do before we left.  I did not get my alone time after all.

And then there was the new driver, practicing driving the vehicle that we have designated as “not for the kids to drive.”

And she drove for the first time on the interstate. . .which I did not anticipate happening. I felt myself swirling downward, but managed to maintain myself, thanks to Holy Spirit’s help.  Yikes!

Things did get a bit sticky when I spoke out about something that I would not have spoken out about without the encouragement of the truth in “The Emotionally Healthy Woman.”  It was painful and not pretty, but necessary.  I think we have had movement in the right direction since then, my husband and I.

All-in-all, a good get-away.

Another DOT is that I have been asked to help facilitate a few meetings, and I am excited to use some of the Sprint Design methods then.  Also, Don has mentioned that I get to sit in on a bunch of management level meetings about our company’s culture.

WAHOO!!!

~looking forward to summer, on the Indiana prairie