2012: Sound Mind in Sound Body

For years, our family motto has been "Emergency Rooms Suck." Not surprising, considering how often we were in them the years I was so sick. But we haven't been in an emergency room for any of our immediate family in years. (There was the unpleasantness in 2009 when I almost bled to death from a period that wouldn't end, but that was fairly minor.)

This year, JJ has decided we need a new motto: Mens Sana in Corpore Sano, Latin for "A Sound Mind in a Sound Body." This year we're going to change the focus from not being sick to being healthy.

It's been a tough road from 2002, when we started dealing with my heart issues. Ten years out, I'm probably better than I was before--maybe definitely, if you account for a few age-related issues. So it's time for us to move on.

What does this motto mean? For "a sound mind," it means more focus in our homeschooling efforts for the girls and more skills-building for the adults.

Josie has definitely zeroed in on what she wants to do for a living: She is going to be--already is--a comics artist. She's going to be working on more professional development, and we're going to try for a second internship. (She already interns for this guy.) She's recently been diagnosed with dyscalculia, which we've suspected for some time, and we'll be working with that issue, too.

Louisa is starting to develop themes in her obsessions; she seems to be focusing on design, fine art and sculpture. She's also really interested in programming. We're encouraging all of the above; she has talent in them all.

Yes, I may have two artists. We may always have three bedrooms wherever we live. Oh well! As long as they're working, happy and contributing, we will muddle along.

They're also both interested in studying Japanese. They're intensely interested in Japanese culture, the result of much manga and anime watching. I'm also interested and may play along.

JJ and I are just figuring out which skills we want to develop this year. I want to get my sewing room set up again in the basement, I know that, and we both want to learn more about gardening. I'm very rusty and he never knew much.

As far as "corpore sano" goes: Next week I return to bellydancing after a few months. JJ and I are going to be working on core strength. A bit ago I tried doing the situp/pushup challenges with him and we petered out. This time I want to buckle down on that. And he's still biking to work 6 miles round trip--he didn't miss a single day last year but for a couple times his bike had a flat or something. I think I can count them on one hand and have a couple fingers left over.

The girls have yet to find their physicality, which concerns us. Jo loves to swing--it's her meditation--and at age 14 she's still doing it. Lou likes to run back and forth upstairs for her meditation. Neither has a sport or exercise they enjoy, and that's a concern. We're working on that this year.

Anyway, that's what's going on here in 2012 as TNH heads into its thirteenth year "on the air."