First Day of School 2020

Today was a happy day. There was so much preparation, worry, anticipation, and uncertainty of how school would look and feel this year. I feel so grateful everything went so smoothly. I have a lot of hope for the coming weeks of online learning, also a some dread if I'm making sure to acknowledge the expected breakdowns from this afternoon...but I think we have a good handle on what is coming.

Cate: 6th, Johnny: 4th, Matthew: Pre-K, Wills: 1st

I woke up this morning and squeezed in a quick yoga routine before I woke up the kids. We got to our morning meeting in good time and were able to start the day reading scriptures and talking about how crucial it is to recognize the signs of Heavenly Father.

We had breakfast and then quickly the kids headed out the door to walk around the block back to school. Haha! They divided into their separate rooms and logged into their zooms. It was a busy five minutes getting everyone settled, and then it was a peaceful excitement. 

(we had to try a couple different spots for William!)

Caity excited after her zoom

William not excited after the zoom.

I walked down my hall feeling so grateful to have all my kids home. So many years I walk away from student drop off and feel loss realizing I won't see them for hours. There wasn't that separation from them this year, and it was so fun to witness their first day in real time.  I am likely in the honey moon stage of homeschooling. 

It was funny, I worked so hard to get the three oldest settled, I completely forgot I'd have to keep a preschooler busy during this as well! I closed the last bedroom door quietly only to turn around to Matthew looking at me expectantly, "OK, what about me now!?" Luckily, his Aunt Kristen had sent me the curriculum she was doing with Maria, so we were able to dive in to the letter A! Matthew and I read a couple books, then continued helping all the kids while he played with blocks. 

Everything just.went.well. 

William and Caity had longer zoom meetings than Johnny and they got a little burnt out, but stuck it through until the end of the day. One of my highlights was John coming for lunch.

 After school, we invited some friends over for cookies. It was so nice and needed to unwind with other moms while the kids connected with real humans (as opposed to computer screens.) 

Then we got to end the night having cake and ice-cream at the Rice's for Mckay's birthday!  The kids played night games past their bed time.

There will not be school tomorrow, due to wildfires in Medford. I am trying to not to over-react or freak out, but it is nerve-wracking watching neighbors evacuate as we follow the Jackson County recommendations. So far no homes have caught fire, so I am hoping we wake up to good news tomorrow. John is out now helping a friend prep his farm in case the fires come his way. Caity just came in and said, "My thought about the fires, is what Rachel Lynn would say 'Trust in Providence'" Goodness, I love her!

In other news, Happy 13 years to John and me!! We didn't get to do much celebrating today, but we got to do a bunch of living. I am grateful for him and the life we share. Even though John didn't have time to pick up the flowers he planned to, and I didn't get to write out my very favorite thirteen memories of the last thirteen years; it's not lost on me that newlywed John and Mary would be so pleased and excited if they got a glimpse of our what are lives looked like today. There is something satisfying and joyful about living the life you always dreamed with your soulmate.