summer 2022 life update

It has been a very long time since I have updated this space, and the long and short of it is we had a military move. It is odd to think about, but this is the very last military move we will do with our boys. Of course they are welcome in our home and our lives wherever we may be stationed in four years, but they will also be finished with high school and forging their own paths and the reality is they will likely have plans that do not include moving wherever the military decides to place us. It’s always strange to consider your children growing up, all the more so when you may be the one moving away from them.

But what a beautiful comfort it is that “TODAY is the day the Lord has made” and “Day by day, and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here. TRUSTING in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.” It is a precious thing to learn to trust the Lord, His timing, and His provision for the challenges as needed. Borrowing trouble from tomorrow only serves to steal the joy and the peace that can be ours today.

Our move, funny enough, brought us right back to where we moved from four years ago. The same place the boys were born. The same place where we still owned a home (we had a renter.) We didn’t ever think we’d come back here, but God’s providential hand is evident and we are so very thankful for how He led us. It has been the most precious gift to move back to friends. In fact, this is the very first time in my adult life I have moved somewhere that I had friends already waiting for me! It’s been wonderful!

We are tired. Tired from moving, tired from fixing and renovating, tired from a summer of camp and travel, tired from unknowns and challenges. But within that we are so happy with where we are and trying to strike the balance between rest and diligence.

I have realized being flexible will never be my struggle. But perhaps being diligent in routines, plugging in for the long term, seeing things through the highs of new and exciting, but also through the lows – those things are more my struggle. Faithfulness in the mundane.

And right now we are on the cusp of starting AO year 10 and 9 and I am wanting to strike the balance between faithfulness in starting something hard, and resting for a few more weeks because this season has been hard and let’s wait to start back into the routine of the school year. I don’t have anything profound to share about it, other than it’s a struggle I’ve found worth struggling through. I don’t want to lean to easily towards a rigid structure OR towards being laid back. There’s a balance to be found, and there’s no rule book for what that will look like in various seasons. Really just looking at what works in your life, with your unique circumstances, open communication as a family, and seeking the Lord through it all. And, being ok with not looking like “everyone” else.

Originally, I wanted to start on Monday (08/15). “Everyone” else has started already, and we have had a very long stretch of time off due to leaving PA the end of April. But “everyone” isn’t living in my home, with our unique dynamics, and after much consideration we are putting it off for a couple more weeks. At the end of the day our desire is deep and meaningful relationships with our boys, and that they would love learning. There is zero doubt in my mind that delaying our start date will serve both of those desires.

Once things are better organized for the start of the school year I may write a post about the upcoming years plan, but very little is different than the plan prepared on AO’s website. It is very different in the high school levels to suddenly have so many choices and to narrow things down. For the most part my boys don’t have a preference, so I opt for what I have on hand or can easily obtain. I lean towards more books for the oldest and less reading for the younger (sometimes this means just as many books, but more in audio!)

Our bedroom floor is scattered with all of the AO year 9 books, and the few year 10 books I can find from our moving boxes. Most of AO year 10 books are coming through the mail – be encouraged those who are years behind, many of those books were less than $5/each with shipping! Used, of course. But I’m so thankful for the ease of ordering books online. And what treasures these books are! My boys are better read than I am, though I hope my reading includes many of their books this year.

I have found stress makes reading very hard for me, so this past year or so my reading has been dramatically decreased. I have a lovely stack of books beside my bed because I am ever hopeful that I will suddenly feel capable of reading through the pile! We are inching forward towards the calm I need to slow my mind down for reading, and my energies have been put towards other things through these seasons. It is all a balance, and sometimes I get it wrong.

Charlotte Mason says; “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” May we find joy and peace in the pursuit of that balance.