Uneventful Day

Today was sort of a recovery from the weekend day.  Didn't go anywhere or do much of anything.  Christian and I went on our usual morning run.  He struggled again this morning.  Only got in 1.5 miles.  I keep hoping to increase the distance but it's been a week now and he's still having a hard time.  It'll come, though, I know he'll improve.  It's hard without a race to train for.  I think that was key to his motivation last season.  Maybe we can find something to work towards.

After the run, we just stayed home.  It got up to 90 degrees and it was too hot for anyone to want to go outside other than to get wet.  Christian needed to mow our lawn, so he soaked his shirt and hair and mowed it in three stages throughout the day.  Otherwise, we enjoyed our cool basement and worked on the week's school work.  Christian has been assigned to design a Rube Goldberg machine.  He decided to design one which turns on a fan and cools him off.  It was fun to draw it out and design it with him.  Well, not entirely fun.  Sometimes it's hard to find the balance between helping and taking over.  I had so many ideas of how I wanted to do it and he had such a very different vision that I got frustrated and had to take a step away for a while and let him work on it alone.  Then I rejoined when he'd made significant progress and I could help him finish it up.  I didn't want it to be my project, after all.  I think he did a pretty great job.  He incorporated all 6 simple machines into his design and also has a water balloon breaking over his head to wet him in addition to the fan blowing.

Bella had to write about the Acts which the British congress passes prior to 1776 which enraged the colonists and led to the war, such as the stamp act, the tea act, the townsend act, etc.  I had fun going over all that with her, although I think she was bored stiff.  History is really only interesting when you're older, I think.  I was again reminded how it really is the small and simple things that all build up to make something grand.  Each of these little Acts and the Colonist's reactions slowly combined to make the Revolutionary war a reality.  The Stamp Act Congress showed the colonists they could meet together and find common ground and discuss common goals.  The French and Indian war provided the colonists with military experience.  The Acts led to enough unrest that they were willing to take the risk of rebellion.  Each little thing and many others led to the eventual call to war and the successful conclusion.  It's amazing how God leads each of us through a lifetime of "small and simple things" on the road to our eventual grand eternity.  We can't see it in the process, but sometimes you can look back and marvel and how he guided and sustained in each instance along the way, orchestrating something amazing, even if it felt awful at the time.