 |
| Homemade Almond Meal and Milk |
 |
| Sampling the end product--yum! |
Today was a full day of learning from our classroom--the world! We started the day driving out to Chris' place (our oldest son). He and his wife are building a spacious addition to their old farm house (was his grandparents' place where Randy grew up). Their progress is substantial since the last time I'd seen it a month or so ago. We walked around and dreamed with Chris as he described where each room will go and were in awe of the ten foot walls leading up to the second storey! Randy talked through the various stages of building and carpentry as Rebekah followed him up the ladder to the second floor (this mama stayed firmly planted on the ground floor). Looking over at the scaffolding brought back a flood of memories of our children helping build our addition nine years ago!
Next stop for the day was a visit to Randy's mom. Kay has been living in the nursing home for almost six years since Randy's dad passed away. It was good to connect with her; but, our hearts silently cried as we continue to watch her digression. Huntington's disease is cruel, like many others. Her thoughts have slowed down along with her body. I took on the role of care-provider for our brief visit (of course over Subway lunch--her favourite). Helping Kay out of bed into her wheelchair was humbling. As I assisted her, I wanted to honour her as I would hope someone would do for me if I were in her situation. I watched my husband's and daughter's responses as they observed the slow, tedious steps to assist their mom, grandma. Their eyes were glossy and the moments felt surreal. We enjoyed our lunch and small talk and then Kay asked to lay down. Her endurance is much shorter these days. This time she chose to ask for nursing assistance to return to bed. We gave her hugs and kisses as we left, knowing that the tides continue to change and she feels like she is slipping away. Today, we continued to learn compassion.
The past couple of days, Rebekah and I have been preparing to make almond milk. Oh my, how easy it was to make this tasty drink. It was wonderful to work side by side. Rebekah really enjoys amateur photography and documented each step. I think we each enjoyed squeezing the milk out of the nut bag...there's just something about hands on work. Of course we enjoyed sampling the end product, too! We appreciate making our food from scratch, learning the processes, and being able to maximize the value. We can use the almond meal for future recipes and the milk is much tastier than what we buy in the store!
Rebekah's mind map has a large portion dedicated to studying Africa. We dream to serve there in the next year or so. We are uncertain where but will be diligent in our studies and connecting with humanitarian/mission organizations. Rebekah desperately wanted to learn a tribal language so good, old Rosetta Stone offers one African language--Swahili. I suppose we've narrowed down our areas to serve according to a region that hopefully speaks Swahili! The program is downloaded and ready for us to start lesson one this week.
So, what is the common denominator of scaffolding, compassion, almond milk, and Swahili? We are a learner directed family. We intentionally seek out the learning moments in everyday living. We have abundant opportunities to learn! Our home, our family, our region, our world is our classroom! We hope to inspire others to look at education a little differently and not to compartmentalize it. May you truly experience the joy of learning as our seasons change!
