Life is About to Change....Part 2

I could just cut to the chase by doing a cut-and-paste of Beth's last comment. But why be concise when you can be wordy? :)

Yes, we are seriously considering putting Joel in school and me in the workforce. Our reasons are simple, but change is not easy.

I give God thanks for making me perhaps more easily adaptable to change than I might be without my family history of moving. We moved 13 times in my first 11 years and thus learned to flex at an early age. Learned a lot actually, from the experience.

Learned that acquaintances come and go, but true friends are loyal forever. Learned that it's not always beneficial to stay in the same place. Learned that God always prepares the path and holds my hand over the rocks, through the thorns, across the streams, and through the storms. He is faithful. He has my best interest at heart, as well as the best interest of everyone involved in the changes.

At this point it looks as if Joel will be attending first grade our at church school. We have observed just how he thrives in the company of kids his age, yet has none at home. Cousins are all out of state. We haven't made an effort to introduce him to boys his age in the neighborhood because, well, it is a huge effort. We like his friends who are from our church and our sister church; the effort to drive 10, 20, or 30 minutes to make playdates happen is very worth it. Joel comes away so, so happy after days with those boys, even if there've been little feuds.

Joel also needs some classroom savvy and a more disciplined schedule. As I've mentioned, he loved co-op. (Whenever people would ask, "Where do you go to school?" he'd say "Co-op." Who on earth besides another co-op family would understand that answer?)

But homeschooled kids (as I discovered years ago in a co-op) generally aren't trained to be classroom-savvy:

They don't have to raise their hands at home.
A lot of times they snack at will.
They are used to sprawling on floors and sofas to read.
They are not used to waiting to go potty until "class" ends.
They usually don't have timed tests.
Deadlines are negotiable.


All of those are valuable things to have in one's backpack for adulthood. Do I think they're better than the benefits of homeschooling? No, or I wouldn't have invested the past 15 years homeschooling. Do I regret not having sent my older ones to school earlier? Nope. Their exposure to the classroom setting by taking a few courses here and there really put them in good stead. Besides, none of them were as active or quite as social as Joel. (Ben came close.)

But with Joel in school and us carrying medical debts and college expenses, Paul needs me to help pay off some of it. I balked at first. Not at helping shoulder the load, but in giving up the comfortable life I know in this season. I racked up medical bills with my surgery. The way it turned out we messed up the timing. Had we known Paul would change jobs (read: insurance coverages) in March, I would've had the surgery in 2007. And we would have taken care of Stephen's oral surgery, too.

I have several options for work:
-teach 2 art classes at the school (elementary) PLUS:
-tutor at the college
-tutor elsewhere
-look for a job in floral design
-try non-medical caregiving
-teach writing to homeschool highschoolers (I've been asked; my heart is totally there but the money isn't there in return. Agh!)
-a combination thereof
-freelance writing (probably not likely to be published and wonder if tax-wise if it's worthwhile?).

I told Paul I am now (finally!) willing to do whatever it takes to help him shoulder the financial load. It should only be temporary. I was afraid before. Afraid to leave life as I knew it. Afraid to answer to a boss. Afraid I'd either like working outside the home too much or not enough. Afraid I didn't have anything to offer. Afraid that I'd lose touch with my kids.

But God has gently walked me through all those fears and called me to a new level of trust. It's just like moving, except I don't have to pack. I can handle that, with God's help. Would you pray for us in this transition? It still calls for faith to take the next step, whatever that may be.