Family 2015

Family 2015

Saturday, August 18, 2012

The Amazing Day.

Well, actually, it didn't start out as The Amazing Day.  It started out as The Pretty Damn Awful Day.  Here's the story of the metamorphosis.

I found out Wednesday that my 2 older girls were denied administrative release by the city of Flint.  This means that although I have busted my hump and jumped through hoop after hoop since April in order to get them accepted by the Goodrich Schools, that they will not be able to attend there in the fall.  Flint just said no. We won't let them go.

It does not matter that my children have never attended Flint schools and never will.  It does not matter that I gave birth to them and have cared for them everyday that they have been alive. It does not matter that I own a home and pay my taxes and am generally a good, law-abiding citizen.  The people sitting behind the desks at the Flint District, who have never laid eyes on my children, still have the power to keep them from going to the school I want them in. 

However, as completely outrageous as that is, it is not what this blog is about.

This blog is about beauty from ashes.  It is about small miracles.  It is about finding a way where there seems to be no way.

For several hours after I got the news, I was pretty despondent.  The girls in question are going to be in the 8th and 10th grades.  Homeschooling them is not going to be as easy as it was when they were in Kindergarten and 2nd.  Teaching phonics was a piece of cake.  Teaching French won't be, especially since I don't speak it.  Helping them master the multiplication tables was easy.  Chemistry?  Oy.  Not to mention, I am going back to school in the fall.  Double oy.

I immediately started researching online charter options, which was unbelievably depressing.  I finally laid my head down on my desk and prayed.  It wasn't an awesome, flowery, confident prayer.  It was more along the lines of, "Oh.God. Help. me."

Then, I lifted up my eyes and turned to the comfort of facebook.  Imagine my surprise when I saw a message from a homeschooling friend asking if I knew of any homeschooled highschoolers that might be interested in taking a French I class?  I messaged her immediately, "Yes, Kennedy would!!!"  I briefly relayed the story to her of what had happened and she shot me another message.  "Oh, there's a homeschool Chemistry class too!  And I have an extra set of books!  Also, I have an Algebra II text and Teacher's manuals - could you use those?"

It was like a thousand ton weight was lifted off my shoulders.  In a matter of minutes, I could see how it would all work out.  What had seemed impossible just moments before now seemed entirely possible and maybe even a little bit fun.  With those two major hurdles out of the way, the rest of the planning will be relatively easy.  Sure, it will still be a challenge, but we can do this.  We may even love this.

You can say it was a coincidence, but I know it wasn't.  I know that I know that in that moment God looked down on me and had compassion and reached into the middle of my struggle and provided a solution.  I know there is still a lot of work to be done and it will indeed be a challenging year.  But, the gift of a new perspective is priceless.

It really was The Amazing Day.





Thursday, August 9, 2012

One Day at a Time...Sweet Jesus.

What?  This title sounds familiar?  Well, I guess that could be because this is the story of my life.

I have a lot of things, many things, a plethora of things in my life right now that require the "one day at a time" mantra.  Nic's school, my school (gulp), the kid's school and various activities (gulp times 5), work, house cleaning (ha), cooking, paying bills, trying to have fun while doing it all...these are all things that need to be done over and over and over and over for many years to come.  It is way too overwhelming to think about the ultimate goals.  They are way too far away and way too much has to happen between now and then in order for them all to be accomplished.  I need some caffeine in order to muster the brain power to fathom it all.

No.  I will only allow myself to think so far down the road, otherwise I will spontaneously combust.

So, it pays to remind myself, all the time, that the joy is in the journey.

The joy is in the journey.

The joy is in the journey.

Ok.  So, today I will just rejoice that I completed a math boot camp and then tested out of my math requirement completely.  I will rejoice that Nic has year 1 of his master's under his belt.  I will glory in the fact that my oldest kid has completed driver's ed.  That all of my kids are potty trained. (!) 

And I will remind myself that I get to do all of this with the people I love most.  That's what matters anyway  :)