Fresh Start

Man, it's been 2 years since I posted on this blog. I had high hopes of keeping this thing alive, but I missed a day, then a week, then a month, and then to be honest, I totally forgot about it. Let's blame it on chemo-brain...can I still use that excuse? I believe I can because well, I forget easily and I'd rather blame it on chemo. than on age.

We just finished our month long trip out west and it was everything I'd hope it would be and then some. First and foremost I'm thankful that God watched over us and brought us back safely and also provided some amazing miracles and showed His love to us through the kindness of complete strangers. Second I'm thankful that the punks were great sports and kept the arguing to a minimum and never complained, not even with 2 blowouts that landed us on the side of the road for an hour each time in some pretty hot weather. Third, I confirmed what I already knew and that is that when one endeavors to take on a task that seems too big to handle, one should never give up, but continue one step at a time until the task is complete.

And that is good advice for our next adventure that is both exciting and foreboding. Exciting because it is new and different and challenging and creative. Foreboding because I'm not sure this adventure is the best plan for me personally at this point in my life. But when was the last time I actually made a decision based on what was best for me anyway? All my decisions center around what's best for my kids and, for the next year anyway, I believe that one of the best decisions I can make for my kids is to....drumroll......homeschool them. So there, I said it and that makes it even more real. All three punks are excited about the upcoming homeschool year. My reasoning for this plan began for one reason. Those of you who know me also know that there have been a couple of circumstances in my life that have made me realize just how short life is. Because of that, I want to grab life by the horns and make the most of it and for me that means pouring myself into my kids' lives. What better way to impact my kids than to spend time with them, teaching them, planning grand adventures with them, and sucking the marrow out of life with them.

So for the next year, we will learn together at home and first hand by experiencing things like museums, libraries, nature trails, as well as Gettysburg and D.C. just to name a few. I don't even have it all figured out yet which is half the fun. But, in the meantime, I do have some decisions to make such as what curriculum to use, so if you'll excuse me, I best get to work.

Somewhere a train whistle blows......