Let's Try This Again

    If you've known me for a long time, then you may remember that I used to write regular blog posts. This was something I was able to do with greater consistency when the boys were much younger and there were fewer of them. When I look back on those earlier and often harried days of mothering and homeschooling, I'm glad I took the time to blog about our adventures.  It is true what "they" say - the days are long, but the years are short.  Fast-forward through the addition of more boys, more moving and more busyness, to today. 

    This year I graduated my first-born and could not be prouder of him. The only disappointment was deciding to forego the family celebration we had planned - thanks Coronavirus.  

    Amidst the disappointment of foregone celebrations, I remind myself that this pandemic won't stop everything. My boy will still embark on a journey of continuing education in a highly competitive program at a world-class university. He opted to do his first semester online - his choice - we made it clear we would support whatever he decided.  While I'm disappointed he won't have the "traditional" college experience right away, the reality is that even if he'd chosen to go on campus, life there is anything but "traditional."  Mask requirements, social-distancing, classes taught behind miles and miles of plexiglass (or online anyway) - not what my college days looked like.  Although, that was back in the Stone Age. 

    Considering his first semester is costing him nothing (except hard work, of course) while keeping him and his grandparents (who he was going to live with) a little safer, I think he made the right choice.  And I will selfishly enjoy having him home just a little longer.  

    

  

    This school year will most likely be disappointing in some way for everyone. I'm choosing to embrace the positives - the biggest one being all of my boys home together. Like every other parent out there, I've had to make choices about what our school year will look like. And, like many other parents, I've chosen to control what I can and let the rest go.  Easier said than done, to be sure.  Even though I've home schooled the boys for the past 12 years (that can't be right?!), I've done it with the support of co-ops, museum classes, gym classes, cub scouts, church groups, art classes, etc, etc, etc... So, yes, this school year looks different for us too. 

    When I look at the big picture of what our time homeschooling has been, I see periods of busyness interspersed with periods of calm. I hope to make this a period of calm.  Rather than opting for virtual this or virtual that, or making do with meeting in someone's home and working around mask mandates and social-distancing requirements, I'm choosing togetherness and learning at our own pace.  While I will miss the regular in-person gatherings of our home school community and co-op classes, especially teaching my group of preschoolers, I am looking forward to a semester or a year of doing exactly what we feel like doing, when and how we feel like doing it. This doesn't mean we will spend our time holed up inside, driving each-other crazy (maybe a little bit). On the contrary, we will have more time and inclination to find opportunities to get everyone out and about enjoying beautiful fall weather and exploring new and interesting (and educational!) places. That's the hope anyway. 

    Which brings me back to the decision to start writing blog posts again.  I know (at least I hope!) that family and friends will enjoy catching a glimpse into the boys' lives.  My hope is that it will keep them feeling connected, as we head into winter and the continued unknowns of the virus sweeping across our world. It is also my hope to provide support and encouragement for the abundance of families who find themselves in the uncharted waters of homeschooling this year.  You will never regret having this time with your children. It will be difficult, but it will be worth it.  

And while the days are long, the years are so very short.  

~ Dori