A year ago today. . .
June 10, 2020: It’s been exactly 1 year since we packed up and moved out of Sonoma and headed out for a year of adventure. What a year it’s been! The world is a very different place right now from when we first headed out to explore. While I don't have the words to describe the amount of pain and suffering the world is experiencing right now I certainly want to acknowledge it. I don't have any answers but I remain optimistic that this new generation we are raising with wide open hearts and no boundaries will be able to teach us all new ways to move forward together and support one another.
As for the last year, I am so glad we made the choice to go for it. It was the best decision for our family and I am so grateful for the opportunity. The growth we have seen in the kids is incredible and I hope Bill and I have also grown in our own ways. When we began this adventure the number one question people asked was “what about school?” Well that was a huge unknown and I am happy to report it was AWESOME. Of course not every moment, but on the whole, world-schooling was made for my kids, especially Zach. It was so refreshing to see him slowly open back up to the joy of learning once he realized he was in a supportive environment. It was icing on the cake for us, such a welcome change!
When we left Sonoma last June, we left behind a school (and district) that said they were not capable of providing an educational environment for Z. They wanted to send him to a NPS school, of our choice, because they were incapable/unwilling to work with his uniqueness and challenges. His 3rd grade teacher summed up the issue to the director of special education saying he is “too curious, he asks too many questions and it is a distraction.” Obviously we knew we made the right choice for us—to move on—and continue to create an environment for Z to remain curious and an environment that encouraged asking questions, researching, learning, finding answers. In our family, we call that learning, education. And when you stop being curious you stop growing.
So, Zach’s teacher this year? Her comment on his first trimester report card said:
"Zach has a very inquisitive mind and a wonderful ability to problem solve." What a gift, for Zach and us!
Melina continues to be an incredibly conscientious student. She has enjoyed school this year much more than last. When told her school would continue with grading during the pandemic but students would not receive a grade lower than their last report card, she saw it as an opportunity to only improve. She worked so hard and brought her two B’s up to A’s and improved the percentages in her other classes finishing the year with all A’s. The best part? She is so proud of herself and of course we are so proud of her —all her hard work and effort really paid off. She is taking a summer school class through SRJC so she’ll begin that next week. Her choice.
We have seen such maturity in both kids this past year but even more so in the last few months. The last 3 weeks have been the most challenging of the entire year. For a variety of reasons, but one of the many things we continue to experience is the importance of family. We are it, we support each other and step up to help out when and where it is needed.
While this is certainly not the end of our travels, we will be pausing for a bit to re-group, settle into a new home and see where the schooling situation goes from here. We have many travel credits to use so expect more travels for us soon. For now, we have Vancouver planned for October and London for November. Fingers crossed we will be good to go.
I am so grateful for all the love and support that has helped enable us to pack up our lives and embark on this last year. Memories to last a lifetime (and technology to document them for those of us with a not so great memory :)
Thanks to all who followed our journey! Stay safe, stay healthy and be kind to one another.
Happy summer to all!
P.S. Would we do it again? ABSOLUTELY! In a heartbeat.
