Mariposa Academy Homeschool

Today is Christmas day, and do you know what that means? Peace and joy and love and no mail? Yeah, that, too, but what it really means is that my mother-in-law will be here tomorrow. She is coming here tomorrow afternoon and staying for a week. Let me explain the seriousness of the situation. For seven days, we are going to share our 917-square-foot apartment with a crazy, irritable, middle-aged Dominican woman who never stops talking and has absolutely no tact, no filter between the brain and the mouth. I’m just glad that, because Spanish is her first language and her English is heavily accented, I won’t be able to understand most of what she says. It’s better for both of us that way, better for everyone in the house. Trust me.

My mother-in-law, God bless her, means well. She really does. I will try to hold that fact in my mind as the week drags on. She loves us all, especially her grandchildren, and it is that love that motivates most of her actions. Well, that love, and craziness. I will try to remain calm when she criticizes everything I do and tells me, in excruciating detail, the way she does it instead. I will take deep breaths and smile when she criticizes my parenting, which is the thing I’m most sensitive about. I will listen to her crazy theories about the world and I won’t argue with her. I will let her believe that Jews believe in Jesus, or that the reason tropical fruits are expensive has nothing to do with the fact that they’re imported, but is instead because the grocers want to cheat Dominicans. When she hands me cards with prayers and pictures of saints on them, I will thank her for her thoughtfulness. I will even let her anoint me with oil and Agua Florida and bless me, spinning me around and lightly running her hands over my body as she prays aloud in Spanish (and maybe in tongues).

Because of this post of Jason’s, I feel compelled to post a picture of this lovely lamp:

I knew you’d love it. Maybe I should drape some tinsel over it?

That piece of dreck art used to belong to my parents, who bought it at an antique shop or auction or something. When they were selling it in a garage sale, Llani decided it was “beautiful” and she wanted it. Adrian, who hates to say no to the kids, bought it for her. Of course, because it is easily breakable (and half-broken), it can’t go in the kids’ room. It’s on our dresser, instead. It doesn’t have a bulb in it, so it’s not even useful. It just sits there looking tacky pretty.

Today, I am thankful that:

1. It’s Thursday. One more day till the weekend.

2. When the baby fell off the bed today, she did not seriously hurt herself.

3. Even though Llani did next to no schoolwork today, I am confident that the advantage she gets from one-on-one attention and the ability to school on weekends, evenings, and holidays more than makes up for the lazy days we have now and then.

4. Adrian will be home soon.

5. Llani is finally registered as a homeschooler in the state of North Carolina.

6. Zeke is finally going to get an OT evaluation.