Family in Feast and Feria

Don't miss the Loveliness of Autumn Fair hosted by Michele at The Family-Centered Life. It's lovely...all the entries are wonderful. I'm thinking of mixing up some spiced warm apple cider and read over all the entries. They are a treat for all the senses! Thanks, Michele, for hosting!

Michele is hosting the Loveliness of Autumn fair on Monday, October 9th.

How do we live our lives during Autumn, simply and elegantly?

Autumn is a time that marks the beginning of the college football season. So for us, Labor Day marks the beginning of Fall, Family and Football.

You see, my husband is a Penn State graduate, and loves PSU football. We have season tickets, but going to home games requires a road trip for us. There are 7-8 home games per season which starts Labor Day weekend and ends right before Thanksgiving. Oh, and I musn't forget the bowl game around New Year's Day -- not a home game, but it is more football. We don't go to every home game, but most, so it's a lot of travelling for the fall.

But instead of whining and trying to make myself into a football widow, I have embraced the Nittany Lions and their football season. I find out the schedule and don't accept invitations that conflict with big games. I've learned the Penn State traditions. I don the blue and white colors of the team. I cheer for JoePa and his team. I share my husband's happiness when they win, and sadness when they don't. And in doing so, I have become a fan, and closer to my husband in sharing his interests. We learn new things every weekend. And we are building family memories.

My husband is from Altoona, Pennsylvania, and his mother still lives in his old homestead. My mother-in-law is a widow, and no other children live nearby. I consider it a priority to visit her often. The day will come when she isn't here, and we want to store up the time we have with her. She enjoys the company, the special time with her grandson, and a chance to go the good-weather games. Our weekend trips are visits to "Nana" as well as driving to State College (or "Happy Valley") for the Saturday game. I look forward to our "home away from home." We're relaxed and happy.

At the game, we do a simple tailgate. Only once in a while have we grilled; usually we pick up sandwiches and eat them when we arrive. One of the unique things of Penn State is that most parking is in fields, so our tailgates are in grass, not hard parking lots. It's perfect to toss or kick a football and run around before walking over to the stadium. The whole tailgate and gameday is still a family friendly atmosphere. Penn Staters generally are neat and tidy tailgaters. Walking back to the car you will find everyone's tailgate area all tidied up, with small bags of their trash behind their tires. I always am impressed by how clean they leave the area.

Nearby are the fields and stadium are cow barns. On windy days even in the stadium you can smell in the air the evidence that PSU is still an agricultural university.

Gameday has evolved as the family has grown. As a young engaged and married couple, dh and I attended the games together, with his mother and another friend. Colder or wet weather or night games I tended to stay behind. Then we got pregnant, and since it was a high risk pregnancy and long recovery from a c-section, we missed travelling a season, but we gained a treasure.

And I've missed a few more seasons staying back with my son while Daddy attends the game. I really enjoy going up to my mother-in-law's whether I watch the game at the house or in the stadium. My son loves seeing his grandmother, I enjoy the hospitality, and we all get to enjoy the mountain air and watching the leaves change (PA is about 2 weeks ahead of Virginia for foliage). Sometimes we do some shopping -- enjoying less crowds, cleaner stores, an easy drive -- a dream comparing to Northern Virginia's congestion.

Our visits to Pennsylvania in the fall involve football, but they are also opportunities for nature study, learning family history, sightseeing, cultural and historical visits in the area. Being a train town, one of our favorite spots is Horseshoe Curve. And our drives to and from include stops along the way, like farm markets, pumpkin patches, historical sites, antique stores, etc.

Over his lifespan of three years, my son has learned different things about Penn State football. Besides the basics of the game, how to catch, throw and kick, there's the unique Penn State traditions -- the marching of the band, the cheers of the crowd, singing the Alma Mater and the Fight Song, watching the Nittany Lion mascot and hearing him roar throughout the game.

Right now my son is very enthusiastic about the band. The Penn State Blue Band is one of America's finest. If you put your mouse over the Drum Major, he does a flip in mid-air-- something he does twice at the beginning of every home game. It's quite fun to watch. That's just one aspect. Ds loves the musical instruments and loves being able to see and hear them all being played.

This year our son attended his first PSU football game -- actually two games. Ds is now an official Penn State Football fan. He has learned to tailgate, and no rain or long walks or tiredness have dampened his enthusiasm. We called him a true fan last weekend because he even endured the rain! He loves sharing this special interest and time with his father, mother and grandmother. And vice versa. The smiles, the excitement, the stories, the reminiscing...I treasure these in my heart.

I'm no saint. The trips can be hard and tiresome, and sometimes take a few days for me to recover. I miss out on some events that happen back at home. I don't get as many fall home projects done. But despite all the hardships, it's all worth it. We are making memories for a lifetime.

Today I spent a delightful morning and lunch at my house with a wonderful mom and her 6 children. It doesn't sound unique, people get together all the time. But this friend I met first through 4RealLearning Forums. This was my fourth get together, but first time I've met all the children. They were so lovely, obedient, fun, helpful and polite, but all unique independent and fiesty little people. They were a joy!

My son had a wonderful time playing with all his visitors. As for me, I enjoyed the female adult company, and the opportunity to observe, ask questions, get inspiration and advice from a well-seasoned Catholic homeschooling mom.

And after such a nice time, I have to thank God for this digital age. It's hard for me to make friends, but the Internet has made things a bit easier. I can break the ice, find like-minded people and then meet them in real life. Meeting is so much easier when already have covered so many basics. Talking online is good when it bears fruit in real life.

I strive for the balance. I need to be more disciplined about my time on the computer, but cutting myself off completely would be foolish, because there are things I can learn, people to meet, inspiration to find and a reference tool to use...all for me a mouse-click away, to utilize with a balance.

At this point I don't think I could ever look at the Internet as completely evil. After all, I met my husband online. ;-)

Meredith has commenced the first The Fair of Loveliness of Simple Elegance in the Kitchen. So inspiring! I'm loving the peek into the kitchen, the heart and hearth of the homes. Now I can imagine my 4Real friends sipping their tea in their lovely kitchens.

I even have an entry! But Meredith put it well that my kitchen is the center of the home. This is where I live the Liturgical Year, create family meals, have wonderful family conversations. That is what the kitchen is all about.

I'm looking forward to the other Loveliness Fairs, and I'll be hosting the Loveliness of Advent Fair on November 27. Looking forward to all the Fairs!

Yes, I'm still alive. Vacations, short or long, are wonderful and relaxing, but it's hard to get back to routines. My brain still hasn't returned...and it's actually planning our beach week that's coming up soon.

The emails do pile up, and lots of catch-up reading on 4RealLearning Forums. If you are homeschooling, or plan to, and you want information, support and encouragement, this is the one place to visit. Every day I am buoyed up by these ladies' (and a few men's) positive outlook on life and their wise advice and shared experiences. To be surrounded in the Internet world by families (and then occasionally meeting them in real life) who love their Catholic faith and live and breathe their Catholic culture in their daily learning and family life is truly refreshing.

Elizabeth Foss, of Real Learning, who wrote the same titled book Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home (a must read, btw), recently reiterated on the 4RealLearning Forums what "Real Learning" means:

Real Learning means that a parent has prayerfully discerned what God wants for each specific child where the whole of education is concerned.... [It's] the philosophy that we are to truly tailor a course of study to each individual child, taking into context the real and practical lives of the family where that child lives.

When you truly understand that concept, it means home is the perfect place for your child to learn. We are the primary educators of our children, and we know our children best. But it also means one size doesn't fit all. What works for one family might not work for another family. Elizabeth explained this so well inKeep Your Eyes on Your Own Work!.

And further application: what works for one child might not work for another child in the same family. It's so important to understand learning styles and temperaments within the members of the family. Theresa at Lapaz Farm Home Learning had a wonderful post on Multiple Intelligence Bonanza!, pointing out Dr. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, breaking down intelligence down into 8 categories: Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist. Theresa posted some links for quick quizzes and other sites to read further.

Another area I need to get caught up in reading is the blogs. What has made this so much easier is using Bloglines to handle all the blogs I like to read, either daily or occasionally. I can organize them by category and can see when there are new posts. I can also save some posts (Keep New checkbox) to reread again, without having to open many browser windows and find all the sites. Thanks so much to Lissa at The Lilting House and Here in the Bonny Glen for that tip!

Now that some cobwebs have lifted from the brain, I need to clean up around here!