Visiting the Mobile Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Late last week the girls finished their schoolwork early so we took a field trip to the local mobile Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall. It was a first time for all of us to visit it so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.

As we walked in we were greeted by some very friendly people who handed us information pamphlets and explained a little bit about the wall to us. This particular wall was funded and built by the community, so it’s our own private replica, and is up for display at events honoring all US Military Veterans who served their country throughout the year.  

Since the wall starts in the middle, with the first men lost, and sprawls out to either side the side we walked to at first only had one line of names. As we walked toward the center the number of lines increased more and more. As I saw vast amount of names on the wall (58,286 to be exact) I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

 

Although no one in my family is named on the wall it hit me just how real these people are. That every name on that wall was a part of someone’s family. One of the names was even my brother-in-laws uncle, so we looked him up. They had a table with computers where you could have them look up which panel a particular name is on and they give you a print out that looks like this:

I had the girls do a rubbing of it and we are sending it off to my brother-in-law in Texas.

 

We spent the better part of an hour there, and it was an emotional but wonderful experience for all of us. Sometimes in life we just need a little perspective.

Since they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I have the pictures, but not the words I am going to leave you with some more pics that we took and I feel needs be shared. 

 

Have you ever had the chance to visit a Veterans Memorial wall, either in DC or a traveling wall?

Homeschooling Woes

I must admit when I found out we were moving to California and I decided to homeschool the girls my expectation were a bit high. I started pinning all kinds of awesome ideas from Pinterest as visions of smiling children stretched out on hammocks, basking in the sun while reading books filled my head. I could hear the birds chirping and my wonderful children were learning “naturally” and absorbing all kinds of knowledge from the world around us. We would take nature hikes for science, trips to the art museum to determine who our favorite impressionists of all time where, and we would write literary masterpieces that were sure to become best sellers while lounging in the park.

*Cue the sound of a screeching halt*    

What I was not prepared for was the crying, the arguing, the deception and the flat out lying. Did I mention the crying?

Yeah there is a lot of crying. A LOT.

I don’t remember anyone ever warning me about these things. Every other homeschooling mom out there must just be way better at this then me. My ego has taken a hit. Even at the recent back to school picnic I overheard all the other smiling moms talking about just how wonderful everything is going and how there children’s grades have all improved just so much.

Mean while, I am sitting on the bench wondering where I went wrong. My straight A middle schooler is now barely skating by, my inconsistent 10 year old is just as inconsistent, and my struggling 8 year old doesn’t even like me any more. There are obviously some flaws to my methods, but when I catch a moment like this


or better yet one like this

it renews my spirit and give me the strength and determination to try again tomorrow. After all it is progress, not perfection we are after. I can honestly say that although the experience is not what I had expected it to be, I am so much closer to my kids then I ever have been before and as they are getting older I am realizing just how precious these moments are.