Yesterday Steve gave me two incredible compliments!

1) “This is the best pie I have ever eaten.”

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

I was speechless. Really?!?! In 38 years of life and all the tastes of pie he’s had….this was the best pie he had ever eaten?! I seriously couldn’t believe my ears. I figured he must have been throwing in extra points for cutesy factor that Natalie and I had been the dynamic baking duo. I love baking with her! I love that I can be washing and cutting strawberries by the sink while she’s at the counter ever-so-carefully and very precisely measuring out 1 1/2 cups of flour using a 1/4 measuring cup. I have complete faith in her measuring skills! I’ve watched her like a hawk for many recipes and this girl can read and measure with preciseness! It’s a joy getting to bake with her. But, nope, that had not added value to “the most amazing pie ever”. Perhaps, I thought, there were some weighed in points for the fact that I intentionally baked a pie on Pi day (March 14th) to celebrate 3.14 in math. Nope. Steve assured me that his statement was based solely on the flavor and texture of the pie. Wow. What a compliment! It was one that Natalie and I were beyond thrilled to hear. A homemade strawberry pie made from scratch, with a lattice top…..the most amazing pie Steve has ever eaten. What a fun compliment!

2) “Look at Mama……a lifelong learner.”

This is what Steve said as I eagerly looked up the orbital pathway of planet Jupiter, as it corresponded with last night’s night sky. Why was I wondering that, you ask?  Yesterday the kids and I went to the Planetarium at El Camino College. The professor told us that Jupiter would be visible in the night sky. The only thing is…..that the kids and I couldn’t remember if she had said it would appear as the bright shining ‘star’ in the location of the eye in the Taurus constellation or the bright shining ‘star’ in the Gemini location. She had told us both would be visible and that Jupiter would be visible in one of them. Drats. We couldn’t remember which one. After dinner we were outside looking up in the night sky, holding up our iPhone and iPad with our “night space sky” app. However, it only showed constellations and star names. I couldn’t find “Jupiter” as one of the labels. So I went inside and started doing searches online. I really, truly wanted to find out which one was Jupiter that we were looking up at. With excitement I found the answer online. It was just then that Steve said “Look at Mama…..a lifelong learner.” It was then….right then….in that very moment, as my mind chewed on that compliment that I realized that’s a very true assessment of who I am. I love to learn. I love, love, love to read and find out new information. It’s invigorating to me. And, yes, that drives how I homeschool my kids. Learning doesn’t fall into specific hours of the day. Learning happens all day long. Do I read things and research things throughout the day? You betcha! Just thinking that my lifelong learning self might be creating/forming/encouraging mini-me’s to develop as lifelong learners as well…..oh that made my heart all kinds of happy. It’s not how much knowledge Jacob and Natalie can acquire during their homeschool days with me; that’s not the goal. The goal is to keep the love of learning alive. To never let the joy and beauty and sheer joy that comes from learning be squashed or dampened or tainted for them.

Smiling.

Thankful for two sweet compliments from my hubby.

🙂