The BitterSweets of Autumn

Photos by Ginny and Nathan ~ Flickr

Things are getting a bit lazy around about now — after sitting under that big ol’ imaginary redwood tree — just before we kick the year into high gear! There’s so much stuff crammed into these last four months of the year. It appears the rest of the year has a lot to do with preparing for these busy days…

My favorite time of the year is getting ready to roll in, before it cranks up the gas and moves on out of here faster than it came in. The smells, sights, sounds and tastes of fall or,

au·tumn (n.) ~ The third season of the year, or the season between summer and winter, often called “the fall.” Astronomically, it begins in the northern temperate zone at the autumnal equinox, about September 23, and ends at the winter solstice, about December 23; but in popular language, autumn, in America, comprises September, October, and November. (Plain Text Dictionary)

…which is the more formal name, given to the next three months.

Where does the bittersweet come in, you might say? Well, after a bit of…

in·tro·spec·tion (n.) ~ observation or examination of one’s own mental and emotional state, mental processes, etc.; the act of looking within oneself. (Dictionary.com)

and

re·flec·tion (n.) ~ a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration. (Infoplease)

…these bitter sweets came to mind:

1)  It is the end of the lazy days of summer, but then there is the possibility of an, Indian Summer, or to be, politically correct, would that be called Native American summer? I don’t think it has the same ring to it.

2)  When I was younger and in public school, it was always sad to go back, but I was kind of excited, because of the new clothes, books and the new beginnings.

Photo by kippefinger ~ Flickr

You see, if I were to be labeled with what type of person I was then (and I don’t like labels), I would probably have been considered a…

square (n.) ~ Slang. a person who is ignorant of or uninterested in current fads, ideas, manners, tastes, etc.; an old-fashioned, conventional, or conservative person. (Dictionary.com)

…or now it would be more of a…

nerd (n.) ~ [mainstream slang] Pejorative applied to anyone with an above-average IQ and few gifts at small talk and ordinary social rituals.  1) to someone who knows what’s really important and interesting and doesn’t care to be distracted by trivial chatter and silly status games.  (Free Dictionary)

or a

geek (n.) ~ A student who is socially inept and a misfit in his class, especially one who is an intellectual; a nerd; a dork. (Free Dictionary)

But if I had to be labeled, I believe that I’m more of a…

free spirit (n.) ~ a person with a highly individual or unique attitude, lifestyle, or imagination; nonconformist.  (Dictionary.com)

…than anything else,  I didn’t really like school, and I never really fit in — I just endured.  It wasn’t that anyone said anything nasty or cruel, because I really didn’t get that kind of treatment.  Also, it wasn’t that I was all that smart, because I did just enough to get by.  I was just, basically,

shunned (v.) ~ to keep away from (a place, person, object, etc.), from motives of dislike, caution, etc.; take pains to avoid.  (Dictionary.com)

…would be the operative word.  I wanted to drop out in the 4th grade, that’s how bad it got.  But I continued on — went to college — graduated — with a teacher’s degree of all things.  Duh!  (This is not to say, poor me, but I’m being compelled to say something about it at this time.)

I substitute taught for a while, back in my home town, in Illinois, before leaving the profession.  I worked as a librarian for a while, after being encouraged to move to California by my parents, following one of my sisters, who was five years older than me at the time. What a culture shock that was. Moving from a small town to the urban sprawl of California.

Now, you’re thinking I’m getting off track with this story, but I’m not, stay with me — there’s an interesting twist down the line. I moved here and found work in the Administrative Support arena (that was more or less my minor in school). You see, (a little kudos for myself) I’m actually a good typist — received an “A” in Typing III in college. But after moving here and doing a variety of office work, I became disenchanted with the “office politics”.

What happened was, I met my husband (a blind date, but his brother knew my sister) and got married (which I enjoyed being), and after several years we had our two sons (who really changed my life in so many ways). I’m building up to the twist.

You see, after having such a miserable time in school myself, I didn’t want to see my kids experience what I had gone through. So here’s the twist: I decided, with the blessings of my husband, to…

Photo by cohdra

home·school (n.) ~ A school operated outside established educational institutions, especially in a home. (Dictionary.com)

… our first son and then the second. They were homeschooled the entire time, and now they’re adults and out in the work force being productive citizens.

Part of the time we homeschooled we were in something called an ISP or Independent Study Program with a group of other families. We met once a month at a church,  report cards (We parents taught or instructed our own children.), went on field trips and had promotion and graduation ceremonies. We did that for six years. Until I decided to go back and become certified to tutor my own children by the guidelines of California and take what is known as the C-BEST Test for teaching. I passed the first two parts, but had to take the math over again.

After I passed that, we decided to change the way they learned. Because when you’re going through the process — the motivation factor ebbs and tides — which meant,  things can’t always be static.   So I thought it would be more beneficial if we made things simpler by taking more of a cross between “classical education”,  “relaxed learning” and “unschooling”. And no my kids were not socially deprived — they played with the kids in the neighborhood and their cousins. We always left the option open for them to go to a regular school if they wanted to, but they never complained.

I am not against all schools, but have come to the realization that children learn in different ways.  To cram children into one-size-fits-all schools, is a terrible idea.

Bringing this conversation around full circle, and back to talking about the bittersweet:

3)  There’s more sweetness associated with this time of year, since we’ve done that homeschooling. The process while helping my sons, helped me in numerous ways to deal with the bitter issues I had with learning.

4)  My husband and I got married in the fall, and I liked being married, having kids and taking care of a home.  It was a scary thought at first to have kids, but those mothering instincts kicked in and it’s something that I really enjoy.

5)   We moved to our fixer-upper, home in the fall (which had numerous bittersweet stories there, that I won’t go into here, because I don’t want to bore you. Are you nodding off now? Let me get on with this article.)

6)  My birthday is this time of the year, but I don’t really celebrate my birthdays anymore. We get a pizza and I’m good for another year! (We’re pizza…

a·fi·cio·na·dos (n. pl.) ~ An enthusiastic admirer or follower; a fan.(The Free Dictionary)

…around here!)

Photo by yoshiko ~ Flickr

So those are my bitter sweets of fall, that I don’t dwell on, but, again,  I was compelled to discuss here on my blog.  Life is a balancing act of dealing with the good and the bad or the bitter and the sweet.  But let me go on, for you see, I have another issue that comes back into the fold during this time of the year. I’m a recovering, leaf peeper, who has this urge to look at leaves on trees, off trees, and now with the internet I can collect pictures of leaves and places to see leaves and things to make with leaves. You get the idea of my passion. So expect to see me putting up a few pictures of leaves to decorate the place a bit.

Is autumn your favorite season or do you prefer another time of the year? Also, does fall bring any bitter-sweets to mind for you, when it comes around?

Lots of good information on homeschooling:

Link Magazine: “Why We Homeschool”
Answers.com: Unschooling

Related article on the subject of Homeschooling:

One Size Education Doesn’t Fit All

Other articles about my preoccupation with fall or autumn:

Falling Into Fall
The Colors of the Seasons

Tags: autumn, fall, homeschool, leaf peeper, Words