We have developed a nighttime routine that works (for now!). We do whatever we do that evening (a walk, cook, etc.) and then, if there's time, watch a bit of tv. Maybe we'll have a little snack, maybe we won't. After an episode or so it is time for bed and Matt leaves the couch to grind coffee and prepare the pot for the next morning. (I do my part by staying on the couch cuddling with the dog.) Finally, he takes the dog out while I scoot upstairs and start getting ready for bed. That was background to introduce today's featured topic, which is the delight that is the smell of that coffee. Freshly ground, its smell finds my nose all the way from the kitchen. I have always loved the smell of coffee, since well before I enjoyed the bitter taste. The smell is earthy but also heady. It is perfection. It is ecstasy. It is comfort and excitement. If I happen to be in the kitchen instead of on the couch during coffee-prep time I stick my nose deep into the grinder and breathe in. It sends me off to bed hopeful about the morning to come.
I wasn't planning for the story to go this way. I wanted to give more background and build slowly up to the situation we were in when I started the story. But that situation changed last month and now here we are, homeschooling. Yup, there's the titular update. I know you don't know me well, so here are some facts: I was valedictorian of my high school class. I have a degree from an Ivy League college. I have a PhD from one of the top physics departments in the country. I'm not saying all this to brag. I'm saying all this to set up the unlikeliness of someone like me, as close as you can be to a professional student, getting kicked out of elementary school. But that's what happened last week. It's actually for the best. We've all been miserable this year. I've been sick with anxiety since last fall. Stomachaches, heart palpitations, the works. I actually started this blog as a way of dealing with it all. Here's what happened. Let me start with...
Comments
Post a Comment