Little School on the Island

   When the sun comes out these days it is a moment to be celebrated and to get outside.  Corin and I have started running to the school in the afternoon to meet the kids and walk home.  He puts on his Spiderman coat and helmet and rides his "Spiderman motorcycle" while I run.

  It is on mile of uphill to get to the school and I have to push his bike on the steepest climbs.  It ends up being a great little workout for me.

  Ruby tags along and we rarely meet a car. 

The whole way Corin is in his imaginary superhero world and I love to be a part of that. Great big make believe comes so easily to children. 

  When we get to the school the kids aren't always happy to find out that we have to walk home. Suddenly their backpacks weigh 200lbs and coats are to hard to carry.  On Tuesday the boys were on the playground and the girls were at the library. 

The library is only open for several hours, three days per week, so we stopped in for fresh books. 

 Today at school the boys got pedometers to track how many steps they take per day.  Apparently children should take 12,000 steps per day. They were happy to be walking home today!

There is a beautiful tree and garden at the end of our driveway. 

Almost home and Spiderman finds downhills more challenging and scary then uphill. 

Living in Seclusion

   There is something about the seclusion of living on an island that lends itself to blogging.  Life on the mainland was so busy and full of interaction on a daily basis.  Life on Shaw is entirely different.  I have lots of conversations in my mind and it feels like they have to get out. Blogging feels like a dialog with the rest of the world and maybe there will be something here or there that others will find interesting. 
  It isn't that I have endless amount of free time on my hands.  Life is actually full and exciting for me right now.  It is that I want to share my excitement.  It is in sharing experiences that joy and pleasure are doubled and that is what I miss. 
  I have to remind myself and the kids regularly that living on an island is something that most of the world would find enchanting.  Not just for the peace and quiet because it is certainly quiet and peaceful; but also for the beauty and the charm of living in the middle of the ocean on a relatively small piece of land. We aren't here indefinitely and that helps me to make sure that I enjoy the present. 
  Finding joy and being present in each day sounds simplistic but I have found it to be difficult.  I have also found it to be the pinnacle of the human experience.  God created life to be discovered and enjoyed.  Choosing joy is part of that discovery and what I want to focus on here in my conversations with the rest of the world.