I began a new chapter in life and didn’t know it till I was in with two feet.

In life, we often feel like we are doing the same things over and over again, that life is mundane. For a lot of things, that’s true, but there are many little things, like a person around you is growing and changing while you’re both doing your daily routines, that can really sneak up on you. One day, all these little things add up, and it’s like a pot boiling over. Suddenly, you realize that all your routines need to change to accommodate all the small stuff that was building around you. This often happens to parents as their children grow. They are struggling to get through the day to day, and suddenly, your life is unrecognizable from 3 months ago. They blinked, and a chapter of life closed, and a new one began. This recently happened in my world. I began a new chapter and didn’t realize it till I had two feet firmly planted in it and never to return to what was. This change is sad, scary, and exciting. We are embracing all these emotions in our home, and I’m very proud of how my entire family is embracing our new adventures with courage and bravery.

Let me describe what life looked like 3 months ago. I was a homeschooling mom of two now-teenage boys. We did homeschool year-round with about 6 weeks off in total. I taught math, grammar/writing, and social studies. Dad taught science and did reading. It was so nice having us all here and together every day. I took the boys to their regular sports, cooked homemade meals that fit our primarily carnivore lifestyle, quilted regularly, and did my private coaching. Dad would teach the boys and then work hard the rest of the time to ensure the financial needs were met for us to have this opportunity. I was content in my routine and so grateful to have the opportunity to spend so much time with my boys. This time with the boys gave them confidence to be themselves. They were away from the pressures of school and having to be “cool”. They could just figure out who they were and get comfortable being that with no judgement. It was amazing for us to watch as parents. This all began during COVID after my job ended permanently.

Fast forward five years, mid-summer, with two boys now well into their teens. They have learned so much and are now very confident. They love the autonomy to complete their work as they choose. They enjoy the flexibility over making things how they want it. If you didn’t want to work on Wednesday, that’s okay, just do it on Saturday. No pressure as long as it gets done. But as with all teenagers, there began to be some pushback with things like fighting about doing chores or completing school tasks. Complaining began about why do we have to do this no one else has chores/summer school/workouts/sports/etc. I was craving more time to read what I like and to do more quilting. Dad was trying to get more practice in for his work to keep growing professionally too. The end of our chapter was coming, and none of us knew. Personal growth had been cultivated so much for all of us that we all wanted a change but didn’t realize it.  We were all arguing over what to do for family time, and someone was always a little bit like, “ I wish I was…….” We did this for a few months, and finally, in July, the kid had expressed a desire to return to school. This was at first a huge blow. We are firm believers in homeschooling, and the kids are aware of the deficiencies of the public system. The boys were said, “We know we’re not going to learn as much, but we want to go have that high school experience.” As a parent, what do you say? At some point, their choices must become theirs, even if you don’t want to. This was hard to swallow since we have given up so much to make this happen. After some discussions and consideration, we reluctantly agreed to let them go, but we had several conditions. We all had to continue to commit to going to school, continuing to the gym daily before school, having an input to their schedules (not too many free periods), reading books at home still, maintaining good academics to their abilities, and most importantly, continuing to talk to us about their life.

The summer continued to throw curve balls at us, some good like several job offers for me out of the blue and some bad ones like basement leaks and car engine problems. As summer unfolded, the universe lined everything up perfectly for us. Kids started school and have their new routine, I started a new job a couple of weeks after to do alongside my coaching, Dad had a couple of new contracts come in this month too. While our life is very different now compared to a few months ago, I’m feeling very blessed. We are all adapting to the change well. I do appreciate the universe delivering it in small bits the way it came, giving us time to digest it.

In conclusion, life is full of repetitive routines that can sometimes feel mundane, but it's the small, often unnoticed changes that can have the most significant impact. These incremental shifts can accumulate, leading to profound transformations in our lives. As we navigate these changes, it's essential to embrace the emotions they bring—whether they are sadness, fear, or excitement. By doing so, we can face new chapters with courage and bravery, just as my family has done. Recognizing and adapting to these changes allows us to grow and thrive in our ever-evolving journey.