Strewsday

And so Tuesday rolls round again.

Time to think about our strewing this week, and share others, as Faith describes in her strewing blog.

My biggest strewing this week?

Conversation. Talking. Thinking out loud.

Thomas was reading the news. And mentioned the British PM and some of his quotes...including a poverty of culture. And then the discussion started, with four sons and myself. On the value of a liberal arts education, rather then education simply for utilitarian purposes.

After mass on Friday night (okay, a little bit during, too!) we made reference to liturgy and varying approaches to liturgy in the parish churches that we attend.

We later debated perseverance and ability and work ethic.

And discussed words and looked up root words.

We enjoyed banter and word play and quips.

This is strewing our conversation. Thinking out loud. Discussing. Sharing ideas and forming opinions and looking up information to round out the discussion or debate.

When they were little, we would play word games and I Spy and similar ..now they are older we enjoy quips and quotes.

When they were little, sometimes this discussion centered on books...on why Edmund was jealous and mean in The Lion, The Witch, The Wardrobe.

Now they are older, is still centres on books...F Scott Fitzgerald...was life really
like that for the bright young things?

When they were little, I would think out loud. Do my Maths calculations so they could see and hear how Maths works in real life, how we did addition or rounding up or estimating.

Now they are older, I still think aloud..plans for the budget, for work, for life.

When they were little, I would model social interactions and conversation mores...well, now I still do the same!

Or I would apologize after a cross or grumpy word, hoping to be a better role model Next time, hoping to show how important it is to control temper and to say sorry if we forget to do so. Or to try not to swear. And now they are older, I still model these sorts of interactions.

So I strew my conversation. A planned conversation, about a saint or a virtue. A go with the flow conversation, about books and life and history and movies and music, meandering style. A practical conversation, adding up out loud, working on time or money management .

Conversation is a less concrete sort of strewing than, say, leaving a book around or getting out the box of Legos.

Less concrete yet no less important.