A Rainy November Day in Alabama

Pretty fall leaves on my front deck.

This morning I sat listening to the rain hitting the tin roof of the small two bedroom trailer my three youngest kids and I live in. I love that sound. It takes me back to my childhood on Oma's back porch in Florida. Now my daughter is waking up. I had about 3 hours to myself, which is unheard of, and she comes into the living room with a huge smile, messy hair, and chirps "Good Morning!". I love her sleepy smile. It didn't take long for Darian to wake up and join us. The day begins.

Breakfast for them was cream of wheat. My mom will be proud. (I'm laughing at the memory and the line Mama tried from Merle Haggard's song of the same name which is running through my thoughts.) I had pickled beets because I love them and don't need an excuse to eat them. They learned that cream of wheat is actually made from wheat which led to a discussion of why, as a diabetic, I can't eat it, a reiterating what carbs are and how they break down into sugars.

After they ate we went outside in the rain and took off the plant coverings. (We covered the plants last night to protect them from frost). We talked about how important it is to protect them and to take care of them so that they can take care of us. We picked a few more green beans and added them to the bunch my mother brought over. We looked at the herbs and discussed what can happen if plants are over watered. Then we picked a few leaves of lettuce to give to the guinea pigs for a treat as their cage was cleaned. I munched on a few too.

Shortly afterward I minced half an onion and added it to a little oil and cooked them till translucent. I added all the green beans we were given and a few that had come from our own little porch garden. That made the kids happy and want to discuss how exciting it was to finally start getting cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, and a green pepper on top of all the herbs we've been enjoying. We will be having the green beans with meatloaf and roasted okra for dinner.

We read quite a few library books today as they are due and we've been slacking. They really enjoy the Help Me Be Good series by Joy Berry. Today we read about being rude, lying, and interrupting. I enjoyed discussing with them how they can do better when they are tempted to act out and how they should respond when they are faced with it from someone else. Molly Saves the Day from the American Girl series was like pulling teeth at first, but when she realized that the girls, while made up, are based on history they both perked up. Since Molly was based on summer camp, we got to talking about all the different things kids do there. Darian made the connection with scouts and we talked about how David and Dustin were both cub scouts and that I was a girl scout for a short time. Since Molly took place in the 40's that led to WWII discussions, especially Normandy. We also read about Squanto and how he helped the pilgrims. The kids learned that his entire family had died from a disease. We then talked about diseases we brought to the Native Americans and how ungrateful we were to the very people that helped us survive those first years. They learned about the three sisters (squash, corn, and beans) and how they kept us alive, and how to put dead fish in the ground to help fertilize the crops. All in all, we covered quite a few topics that we all enjoyed.

Around four we headed to the library just to find out they were closed for Veteran's Day. Which of course meant we talked about veterans again today while we put our books in the drop-off. Since David went to hit a few Pokemon Go stops we let the kids swing on the swings for a little while and CJ finally decided to learn how to push herself. After a while, they came off and we looked at the creek that was flowing quickly and higher than what they are used to. I asked why they thought that was the case and we learned about how rainfall effects creeks and rivers which led to white water rapids, and even whirlpools. We quietly watched squirrels scamper about hiding nuts while Darian complained that it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet so why is Millbrook putting up Christmas lights in the park already. I asked him why it bothered him since it meant we could enjoy them for longer. He saw my point and remembered how much he's looking forward to seeing them again this year. CJ, of course, is excited because Christmas lights mean her birthday is that much closer. When it got a little too chilly to just stand around we looked for David and went back to the car.

We could have easily headed home, but I had a little more gas than usual in the tank this late in between pay periods so I offered to take David to a few more Pokemon Go stops. He was able to hit a few he'd never been to before and we all enjoyed each other's company. The kids played Pokemon "real life", a game they made up pretending they were pokemon trainers where they battled and caught rare pokemon. The rain and lightning spawned water and electric types for the kids, but David had more fire types than anything from the actual app. We were headed to Prattville so he could hit a few more, but it was getting late and I was starting to feel off so we headed back home so I could test my glucose and get dinner made. My levels were great, buuuut I was dehydrated....too much coffee and not enough water will do that.

Speaking of dinner, some pretty amazing smells are coming from the kitchen right now. I wish you all well. Pax.