I'm nervous about the "one room school house" approach; but for our family, this way of doing school is going to work better than trying to log in to the virtual classroom each day.
I am their teacher. The plan is they will learn from books and experience. I will teach them what I think they should know.
Despite everything going on in the world, our summer was actually great; however, I desperately needed to get out of Portland for a bit. It's been a long stretch of nonstop activity in the house since March, and with recreational activities and playgrounds still closed, I needed a change of scenery.
And so, our annual trip to Chicago couldn't have come at a better time.
This was our fourth year flying across the country to my hometown near Chicago; I am so grateful that we were still able to do this trip, and I know I appreciated more than ever this year. 
Smaller pools were open and so were all the playgrounds; I delighted in watching my kids just have some normal summer fun.
A highlight for John and I during our summer visit is our ability to get away for a few days, just the two of us. This year we ventured up to our old stomping ground of Grand Rapids, Michigan. We spent one day there and another day in a quaint little coastal town of St. Joesph. We spent the weekend in one long continuous dialouge about the fall and school and the future. We went around in circles with so many ideas and opinions of what this season of life could look like for us as a family.
We also did some runs together under the hot and humid midwest sun.
One humid afternoon in St. Joesph we went for a run to the Michigan dunes. The heat was suffocating.
As we came closer to the water, it glistened and looked so inviting. I was so thirsty; my whole body craved water. And so, I just kept running and running, slid down the dune and I ran right into the lake.
I'm not one to usually do something like this, but the moment seized me and it was so so refreshing. John did the same, and we spent some time just floating around in this beautiful lake together in our running clothes.
About half way through our stay this year, my parents and our family took a trip to Wisconsin for a few days. My Mom's cousin has a beautiful condo in Lake Geneva; we spent the day swimming, visiting with lots of family and building sand castles. Those moments were so wonderful. Everything felt really normal.
We stayed in a hotel called The Grand Geneva. It was a wonderful little getaway and special time with everyone.
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One night after dinner, I was finishing up washing the dishes in my Mom's sink. My parents and the kids were outside. When I came out to join them, I found a bonfire and four extremely happy, barefoot children prancing around eating smores while square dancing music played from the outdoor speakers.
"Mom, how many smores have they had?" I asked as I watched Levi lick his chocolate fingers and shove the remaining marshmallow in his mouth.
"Oh, but they are so happy!" was her response.
Levi grinned at me and held up three fingers.
On one of our last nights there we celebrated my Dad's 65th birthday with extended family. It was a gorgeous day. We sat outside, visiting, eating and enjoying the moment.
I really have mixed feelings on being back here now. As we venture into the fall, John has encouraged me to let go of what "is not happening" and embrace this new story, trusting that there is some goodness in it.
One afternoon I was feeling particularly hopeless and depressed. SO, I picked myself up and went down to our basement. It was then I began to build out my classroom.
I put colorful decorations on the walls. I created a classroom.
The kids came down and were delighted by the space. They began to chant in unison, "homeschool! Homeschool!"
I suddenly felt empowered that I COULD do this and it will be good.
My kids are happy, and they are not in deep mourning. Therefore, I will take my cues from them, riding the wind of their enthusiasm; and perhaps this will be ok after all.
