If I\u2019ve been absent for a while, it\u2019s because a major turn in our life has just\u00a0occurred\u00a0 I needn\u2019t bring readers up to date with our continued frustration in trying to forge a stable life since we\u2019ve been Catholic. \u00a0Seven years of upheaval and going strong. \u00a0Financial struggles continue and show no signs of abating. \u00a0At best, if things work out, we\u2019ll be able to eke out a living at this point, and hope someone we know and love wins the Powerball Jackpot someday. \u00a0Standing at the doors of the diocese doing my best Henry IV\u00a0impersonation\u00a0has gotten me nowhere. \u00a0So what was the logical course of action? \u00a0Why, pulling our kids out of public schools and homeschooling of course!<\/p>\n
I know, it seems careless, reckless and ludicrous given our instability. \u00a0But here\u2019s the thing. \u00a0Our boys have been pushing for homeschooling for several years now, as the school system has changed, and as a couple of them have run afoul of the\u00a0institutional\u00a0school. \u00a0They have wonderful teachers, and that has not been a problem. \u00a0Nor is it the fear of mass shootings or flu pandemics. \u00a0Those happen anywhere. \u00a0It\u2019s simply our boys don\u2019t fit in the mold, so to speak. \u00a0They march to the beat of their own drummers, and in a culturally vacuous age like ours, that doesn\u2019t afford them many\u00a0opportunities,\u00a0 especially when the schools themselves seem to be\u00a0herding\u00a0kids along in ways that make schools 30 years ago seem open and diverse by comparison. It just seemed everyone knows our education systems are in\u00a0disarray\u00a0 but nobody knows how to fix them. \u00a0The schools continually zig when they should zag.<\/p>\n
Are we scared? \u00a0Hell yes. \u00a0We have not clue one how we\u2019ll survive. \u00a0We don\u2019t know how we can make it work. \u00a0My wife and I are educators, but neither has taught that age group for decades. \u00a0How can we do it when things are in turmoil? \u00a0Well, here\u2019s the thing. \u00a0We\u2019ve been looking for purpose again, something we\u2019ve not had since we left Protestant ministry. \u00a0Fitting into the Catholic\u00a0Church\u00a0has been difficult, since our schedules have been topsy-turvy, owing, in part, to our inability to find solid employment (itself owing to our previous lives wrapped around religious life in an\u00a0increasingly\u00a0hostile-toward-religion society. \u00a0This is \u00a0not Scott Hahn\u2019s conversion to Catholicism generation). \u00a0We\u2019ve never known what one month\u2019s schedule to the next will look like. \u00a0We\u2019ve spent the last seven years more or less\u00a0bouncing\u00a0around like a pinball, always wondering if we\u2019ll\u00a0survive\u00a0another year, being unable to commit to things, not knowing if paychecks will come or if bills will be paid \u2013 and all along, watching our boys get year after year older.<\/p>\n
So last Saturday night, our oldest, the one who held out against homeschooling due to his age, came out after the others were asleep and said he actually thought he might like to homeschool. \u00a0As he had held out for over a year, my wife and I sat there speechless. \u00a0Earlier that day, my wife broke our silence with her grandmother (people on my blog know more of our struggles than many extended family members), and asked that she pray right away for direction, for purpose, for meaning, for something. \u00a0I could clean toilets and flip burgers if I had some purpose in my life again. \u00a0And then it\u00a0happened. \u00a0Out of the blue, the last hold-out caved that very night.<\/p>\n
Right or wrong, we saw that as a prayer answered, and so plunged in with both feet. \u00a0We revamped an old notice to homeschool we had, added more information, and submitted it to the\u00a0superintendent.\u00a0Wednesday night, we sent a bulk email to the teachers informing them of our decision. \u00a0Today is their last day. \u00a0And God willing, we will survive somehow and this will be the start of a new adventure in our lives. \u00a0I hope so. \u00a0Faith-wise in our family, something had to happen. \u00a0Too many were beginning to grumble that we simply could not gain traction since our entry into the Catholic Church. \u00a0Despite overflowing generosity from Catholics, our ability to mesh with the Catholic Church and resurrect that feeling of purpose just wasn\u2019t\u00a0happening\u00a0 no matter how loving individual Catholics or even Catholic parishes were. \u00a0We wanted to fish again, not just enjoy fish given to us.<\/p>\n
Are we\u00a0right?\u00a0 \u00a0We don\u2019t know. \u00a0But we know our children needed us, we needed purpose, and on a day a\u00a0genuine\u00a0prayer warrior was asked to pray, the unthinkable happened. \u00a0So it\u2019s homeschooling ho! \u00a0The beginning of a brand new adventure as an old part of our lives comes to a close. \u00a0It reminds me of that mournful day when Bill Watterson wrapped up his wonderful comic strip Calvin and Hobbes<\/i>. \u00a0For the first time in years, the world looks brand-new. \u00a0A day of possibilities. It\u2019s time we go exploring! \u00a0TTFN, and we\u2019ll be back soon!<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/715\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-PUAgaSQxk4A\/UPAPuGi28SI\/AAAAAAAADjI\/c67viytZJIc\/s1600\/calvin+and+hobbes+final+strip+12-31-1995.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n