the concerns change, but they're still there

About five or six years ago, I wrote this blog post. I stumbled across it recently and all I could think was wow. Life has changed at warp speed since I wrote this. The addendum will follow:

In the last year or so, a concern regarding homeschooling came up, that I guess caught me by surprise.  It had nothing to do with writing an essay or doing algebra or how to get a college application in.  It is what to do as the house gets quiet.

What to do?

For so, so many years, we had a house full of loud, of singing, of discussion, of discord, of meal making, of rough-housing, of putting on skits and dancing in the living room (okay, to be fair, that was the parents).

We read and did our schoolwork and meals and in between fit in the laundry, music, chores, playing, appointment, messes (both making them AND cleaning them).

Every new day was an ADVENTURE.  A series of adventures.

One by one, they grow up, leave home, go to school, fall in love, build nests, build lives.  Just exactly as we imagined they would.  Hoped and dreamed that they could eek out whatever God had in mind for them and pursue their whatevers with passion and prayer.

Child number five is making his college application.  Next year, we will have a fifteen year old and a twelve year old in the house. And if feels odd.  The first year my eldest girls were all gone at once, all off to various adult adventure, but early September all gone, the same day.  We sat down at the dinner table and...it looked so barren.

Of course, I had no idea how quickly my family would grow....one son-in-law, two, three...in a span of two years.  And now the babies.  "This is happening really quickly." Sparky notes astutely.

Will my youngest ones be lonely?  Will homeschooling be boring?  Will the adventure seem less so?

I don't know these things yet.  We'll all adapt, we'll read more, play with the grand babies, have lots of people over.  And just see what the new normal looks like.   But my daughter said something lovely the other day.

Rosebud said, "mama, I really miss all the noise in the house from when I was younger. It was always my cue to get up. The boys sword fighting, Scout singing, breakfast noise, everyone saying it was time to get me up so they we could read together.

It's quieter now, but I miss the noise."

Me too, my love.  Me too.

 Addendum: since the writing of this, so much life. A pandemic, loss. Several more grandchildren, a son married. Two sons almost done university. Youngest graduated. Homeschool career ended.

Did homeschooling become boring? No. But different for sure. Quiet, yes, but travel and more reading and gardening has provided a lot of the fun.

The house IS very quiet, except when the lovely littles burst through the door, all exuberance and silliness and love. I ponder daily how incredibly, unbelievably blessed I am to have all this.

Is it real? Pinch me.