Well, That's Not What I Expected. . .

I was sound asleep.  Finally.  Sometime after Liam's endless serenade before passing out, and despite at least one full-costume change due to night sweats, I had managed to fall into REM sleep.  I know it was REM sleep, because the next sequence of sounds first worked their way into my dream world (the denizens of which fought bravely to keep me unconscious).  But, "mom brain" clicked in and at my cat's "alarm mew" and the sound of something very large flapping.

I could tell from the force of the wings hitting the floor and then the window, that the mystery animal was about the size of a bat.  I lay very still.  If it was a bat, shouldn't I hear some cries?  I did not want to open my eyes, let alone wander around in the dark to be sure, but I managed to follow Jake's chirpy, hunting mews behind the bay window curtain in the living room.  To my relief, I didn't see anything dark and furry, so I stumbled to the couch and tried to find that happy, sleepy place again.

Whatever was hiding behind the curtain didn't have enough sense to stay there.  I could hear the epic battle winding around the living room.  I hoped Jake would have the decency to drag his kill onto the back porch.  Part of me felt bad for the creature being tortured to death by my indoor kitty with no clue how to finish off his prey.  And part of me was happy that my 15 yr. old cat still had the energy to hunt like that. I decided to let nature take its course.

When I finally woke up for good, I'd almost forgotten to look for what remained of last night's fight.  I might not even have seen the body as it blended so well into the colors of our dusty-blue, living room rug.  But a beam of morning light revealed the bump on the carpet.  I slowly approached the body of a moth as big as my hand.  Holy crap.  My cat killed MOTHERA! Upon further investigation, I discovered that, sadly, MOTHERA was still clinging to life, so I gently placed him in the garden and wished him swift passage.

The past few weeks have been full of funny little surprises like that.  Not bad, just unexpected.
Like pushing forward with the "becoming a spin instructor" part of my "Mom Reset" (see previous post).  Vanessa Giorgio, the owner of Lotus Kitty Hybrid Fitness, had been coaching me to lead a class.  I had to prepare examples of a spin set and floor work (abs and arms).  I was surprised by how happy I felt, revisiting some of my favorite tunes and exploring new music to add to my sets.  I was dancing around my bedroom, counting out moves and having the time of my life.

As a mental exercise, I began to construct sets to substitute teach any spin or combo classes on the Lotus Kitty schedule.  I played a game with myself, tweaking sets just before going in to take a class, as if I were being called in to teach it.

While waiting for a slot to open up or a chance to substitute, I showed up to take a 5:30 pm class and fond the sign-in sheet missing.  The class was about to be cancelled because the teacher's car had broken down.  "Hey! I'm a sub!"  A quick phone conversation with Vanessa allowed me to be the surprise guest teacher of my first class. 

And as the new school year dawns, I am surprised by how easy it is not to think about what other 5th graders will be doing.  We've been finding our rhythm, both in how we learn and how we relax.  Last year, our first "full" year of homeschooling/unschooling, I still carefully constructed a series of lessons and time tables, which relaxed more as we incorporated more music, art and time with Urban Homeschoolers.  I had expected to have to muscle through lessons and push my son and am happy to have discovered that the best learning comes from things sketched in ever so lightly - easy to erase or fill in with vibrant color.

I will sit down tomorrow to do my "sketching" and thinking about where we are and where we might go -  no longer worried about outcomes, but seeing what comes.  And it's usually better than what I expected.