Full House

It is 2 am and I am trying not to make noise, icing my foot, in the playroom, because I am not sure, but I think there might be someone asleep in the living room just over there. It is rare to have all five kids home at the same time these days, but so very nice. The only problem is remembering where everyone bunked down last night so that I keep from waking them up. This has a sort of deja vue feeling from when they were babies and I would go to crazy lengths not to wake them up.

Cate is home, on her way to Paris. We will meet up with her again in July at the house of les grands-parents in the south. I am trying not to worry...I was on my own in Paris, in Madrid, in San Sebastian, when I was younger than she is now. She will be fine. Now if only her father would quit fussing at how she should dress because "she won't be in America, and shorts are NOT OK", I could relax too. I am sure she will have the time of her life...right?

Final exams are in full swing for the ones in school, and Gael and I are winding down our last days of official homeschooling, how in the world did that happen? He will be attending the Creative Arts Academy next year, which looks like an amazing opportunity, most days. Some days I have doubts about losing the last one to school, especially to the pressures, social and otherwise, that I see the others facing every day. I know, that many children go to school...and life is just fine for them. That does not mean it is the BEST choice, just the most widespread. Or popular. Or "normal". I never had much use for popular or normal. Widespread is a little more reassuring, as it implies that most people get through the experience mostly unscathed and somewhat better educated at the end of it. The same could be said of homeschooling, right? Whatever you do or do not do, you will make some mistakes and do some things right. As my friend and mentor David Albert once told me; "You're gonna mess up somewhere. Just set aside an equal amount of money for college and for counseling to fix it later." 

I will include equal amounts of meditation; for the teachers who have the vocation of dealing with a whole roomful of these little boogers every day; thank you! And for mama, as I head into the world of patiently waiting for one more school event, five or six more conference sessions every term, homework to help with, reams of paperwork to read over, sign, respond to, rules and "ALICE" drills to sigh over, and items to pick up at the last minute before school because they forgot...again. 

But before that; we will have one fun summer!