We have had a nice winter so far.  Cal was home for winter break, we spent time with family and friends, and celebrated Nole’s and my 43rd birthdays. 

Back in October, Nova asked to homeschool again.  After some thought and family discussions, we decided to offer to each of our 3 school-aged kids the opportunity to homeschool again.  Asa decided to stay in brick-and-mortar school and the girls decided they’d like to homeschool.  We set a date for the end of December to withdraw them from school and signed up for some homeschool activities. 

We have enjoyed meeting new people and exploring new interests.  Here are some of the things we have done so far…

Both girls made videos to submit to our homeschool group’s 3-minute film festival. 

Esme’s is here.  Nova’s is here. 

Esme also completed a recycled fashion project.  The video she made about her project is here. 

Both girls have settled in and are enjoying our new rhythm, especially the free time to focus on their interests and making new friends. 

I’m most enjoying having the freedom to plan some fun travel (subtle foreshadowing). 

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What Comes Out the Other Side

He stands on the bridge waving a stick
A sword.
A staff.
A wand.
Leaning over the rail, he drops it in then races to the other side to watch
Waiting impatiently, he glances at me
“Be patient.” I tell him
With a screech he announces the stick’s appearance
He jumps up and down
“See?” he asks
“Wow!” I feign interest in the stick but never in him
The stick bobs and floats and carries on down the river, out of sight

He learns more everyday
I couldn’t stop him if I wanted to
I’m not a teacher but a fellow student
We learn as we go
Some don’t approve
“That isn’t the way it’s done”
“It won’t work”
But it does, and he flourishes
He is confident, he is curious, he is playful
He is everything

There is a rift
Then comes the isolation
We are forced to start over
But how?
We might not be able get that feeling back
We make some attempts to go on but it’s all wrong
I might not be able to do this again
He wants to try something new
Maybe it’s time for something new

It was always about him but now I discover it was also about me
I feel upside down
Under water
Under the bridge but will I ever come out the other side?
I didn’t realize before how this was my whole identity
I don’t ever want anything else to be a part of me like that again
I won’t let anything, ever, be a part of me like that again
Time marches on and time heals
That’s what they say and they say it because it’s true
…for the most part

She wants to try something new
She was tiny then
A tag-along
A sibling
One of the “littles”
She barely remembers before
The good old days
And now she wants to be the one dropping the stick over the bridge
She wants to see it plummet into the fast moving current and be wisked away into the unknown for a bit
She wants to see what comes out the other side
And so do I