So, How's That No School Thing Going?

A couple of months ago, we decided to pull Ryan out of Mother's Day Out. We were happy with the program, but Ryan began asking if he could stay at home instead. When Hurricane Gustav hit, we had two weeks during which his school was closed, and while we dealt with a power outage and trees everywhere, we noticed a marked change in Ryan. He became suddenly much more content and centered. It was a subtle shift, but we couldn't help but question what we were doing, sending him to school at age 2 when he seemed to do so much better at home. So we pulled him out.

I am so happy about our decision. We are now living life at a much more organic pace. We have our daily routines and we are pretty self-sufficient. For the first few weeks, I attended several playgroups and felt like the Tasmanian Devil, with so much activity because I didn't trust that I could be home all day, day after day, with children without losing my mind.

Yet after a couple of weeks, I began to feel my confidence rise. Ryan, Charlotte and I entered into a daily dance that gave each of us a solid sense of what to do next. We became absorbed in learning opportunities right out the back door. We met neighbors and brewed coffee and formed natural friendships that don't involve driving across town for interaction.

Ryan and Charlotte are having a great time, and I am, too. From them, I gain insights that help my own creative growth. I am so happy that we decided to step away from what I thought we should do out of fear that I couldn't handle myself and my kids.

We are grooving. So much so that we have started to consider homeschooling so that we can continue this process. I never thought I had it in me. Turns out, this has been the catalyst that has opened me up to projects I never thought I could handle, such as writing a novel. Sometimes we create a matrix so that we feel held. That's okay, as long as you don't let the matrix cage you in.