On fall break, we decided last minute to pack up the kiddos, throw some snacks in a bag and hop in the car for a short jaunt up to Pennsylvania. That’s sarcasm by the way. Just making sure you got it. Because nothing is quick and easy in the bower house 😉 This is our Pennsylvania travel diary…more of a photo recap of our time up there.
I have been hoping to see my grandparents and that was sort of our last ditch effort to get up there before all Hades breaks loose with the holidays. Ok confession time. I just can’t seem to get a hold of the fact that Will needs to go to school everyday. I mean I GET IT. But I resist. I am THISCLOSE to wanting to homeschool….just so that we can do whatever the freak we want.
I know….it’s not that simple and sometimes homeschooling is MORE work than just lugging my kid to school every day but seriously….you ever just miss them? or the freedom?? or hate the fact that you get the tired, worn out, played out version of your kid? I am right there. Will is my oldest and he comes home and is so tired….so done with sitting still….and so not understanding the importance of school and grades and all that….and then I feel upset because I am like oh no bud, there is more. And then there is the hour of spelling word practice and sight word practice and reading and math homework and I’m just like — seriously?
Okay so rant over. The point is, my grandparents live ten hours away. A plane ride is out of the question with four little ones. And it takes us a full 24 hours to get up there with all the baby breaks and the diaper changes and the meals. But I was craving time with my Mummum and Pappap so SO much. I just miss them like crazy. I just happened to have the best grandparents in the world….literally the best. They are amazing and kind and hardworking and honorable and selfless. I LOVE them so dang much it hurts. So during fall break, we had a four day block with nothing planned and we packed up and spent three days traveling and one and half visiting. It wasn’t exactly what we would have dreamed but a mini-pack of candy is better than no candy at all, right?
We always take a break right over the GA-SC border. There is Lake Hartwell and we stop at the rest stop and throw stones and branches into the water.
The Georgia red clay is real guys. It’s a killer stain too.
Maxi Knight is a big copy-cat right now. If his brothers are doing it…he’s in.
We really haven’t had cold weather yet….so the kids were really excited to see trees starting to change on the trip and acorns on the ground.
Eventually we got there (yes we had several stops and all those photos are on my phone…sorry) and the kids immediately went to play outside. My Mummum had this gardening wagon….which they broke in about three minutes.
Here she is talking to my mom. She wanted to hold the baby since he has grown so much. It’s really a full circle moment here because my mom (the one on the phone) and Max look a lot alike (the one on her lap) and I can’t imagine having a moment like that….holding one that looks so much like your own baby.
Mummum had a couple strokes earlier this year and it was really hard to hear about her condition. She had lost vision and memory and there is no guarantees with recovery….but so far, she is rocking it out! She is officially done with her rehabilitation and while we were there, she could walk with a cane and was doing really great. But being in her upper 80’s, I know that time is not our friend. I just wish I could pause and rewind sometimes. Like just have a day where we could go back twenty years to a warm summer day of swimming in her pool and eating tomato sandwiches and having card games till three in the morning.
She has lost a lot of weight in her face and it is noticeable to me…but I still think she looks amazing. She is one feisty lady and I love her for it 🙂 Also, she is the one that taught me the ‘photo laugh’ – the concept that you don’t just smile for a photo, you laugh for it….because that captures when you are most happy!
Teaching Max how to put the flag back into the garden. Love these sweet hands!
Later that day, Weston was stung by a yellow jacket and we had to rush him to the doctor. It was scary and now we know that he needs an epi-pen and Benedryl where ever we go….but honestly, I was so angry at those stupid bugs. I mean…they could have just left us alone….we weren’t even close! Thankfully, he did not have any breathing or swallowing problems and now we feel much more educated about the entire ‘allergy’ thing. Thank goodness for medicine and doctors and hospitals and poison control centers!
The next day, we spent a large portion just looking at photos and hearing about my Pappap when he was in Korea.
He has some of the best pictures of my Mummum. What a fox, right!?
I love this one with the white shirt over the bathing suit. It’s so classy 🙂
And there were favorites of my Pappap too…like the one where he had a giant sunflower growing in his yard and he told his buddies at work about it. They of course thought it was a fish story and that he was exaggerating. So he drove home, chopped it down and brought it in. It was huge!
And I took some pics of his diary when he was serving in the war. He wrote about love. Isn’t that the best and sweetest thing?
He grew a mustache while he was over there and my grandmother said that when he got home, he only had it for a short time. Its funny because I had never seen him with any facial hair. ever.
It was a really sweet time. I saw so many photos that I had never seen before. So much family history. So much love. So many snow photos 🙂
The next day he went out and caught some of the yellow jackets so that we could know exactly what stung Weston.
He is always doing things like that. Serving others in ways that nobody even thinks about. Doing the things that nobody wants to do.
That afternoon my Uncle Derek came over and we all played cards. Rummy is our favorite because kids can learn it – Will picked it up and was a pro 🙂 This is the best time in my mind….doing the things we have ALWAYS done. It makes it feel like vacation.
Will was able to sleep over that one night at their house. It was his first sleepover there and he got to have special one-on-one time with MummumTini playing cards and having treats. He probably doesn’t even realize that is a right of passage in our family.
We did manage to get a couple group shots…you know….to remember our short little visit.
Not many kids get to say that they visited their great-grandparents over fall break 🙂
And not many couples can brag about 60+ years of marriage and still going strong 🙂 What an amazing example to us all!
And here is my Uncle – he is single ladies 🙂
Also – I got this blurry photo of my Jeremy playing football with the boys. I made it black & white and I am kinda obsessed with it. I think I might print it out and make it huge for art in our room.
When it came time to say goodbye, we all loaded up, kissed and cried….
Oh man…I miss those people. Like so hard. I miss them in the way that you just never know if this is the last time you will get to give them a squeeze. And in the way that you wish the circumstances could have been different, the distance shorter and the time together slower. I haven’t cried like that in a while….but I did. I ugly cried that night. I ugly cried writing this post. I love them so hard.
The entire time we were there, the kids were so over the car and tight spaces and just wanted to run. We knew it was hard on them so we tried to wake up early and do the entire trip back in one day.
We promised them that we would take them to the hotel pool right after breakfast. You know how much we love hotel pools 🙂
It wasn’t heated and so it definitely was a little chilly 🙂
We cleaned them up and got them ready for the car and left by 10am.
This is us right now. A perfect example of our crew.
On the way back, the weather was SO nice….
We stopped for lunch….
and one more time for a break….
The gorge bridge was closed so there was a detour that we went on and ended up being able to pull off the road to see the river up close….
The kids loved it….
There was more throwing and splashing….less red mud, thankfully 🙂
In the end, it was a beautiful little trip. I don’t know that I would want to do it again until the spring though….not being able to get out of the car is HARD and my kiddos are not cold-weather ready. #southerners I know that this post seems a little down….I don’t want it to be….it was a really bittersweet trip….and I wish that I could have taken my grandparents and shrunk them down and put them in my pocket to bring home with me. I wanted to take them out to dinner and treated them to something special….but that is something that wears them out and they just enjoy being home more.
It’s funny – how things change over time and then some things never change. I just hope that my kiddos know what a beautiful heritage they have….that they may never remember this trip or what happened or what we did or saw…but I hope that one day they realize that they were given the best gift ever….a family that loves deep. And I hope they learn that 24 hours in a car…it’s always worth it. Now everyone go call your family members and tell them that you love them 🙂
I’m on the same page with homeschooling!! I have nightmares of not being with my kids. I can’t even deal with it. 18 years is not much time to spend with these incredible little people and I want to soak it all in, every second.
1. As a teacher, I’m always saddened by how much homework kids have. End of discussion.
2. Reading the diary your grandfather wrote made me cry. I was blessed to grow up a few miles from my grandparents and spent every weekend and all summer with them. I even lived with them when I was in my 20s. They are all gone now and reading all of that just brought back a lot of memories. All good ones though! People don’t live forever so it’s a blessing to spend as much time as you can with them.
A beautiful reminder. Thanks for sharing.
Oh man. What a wonderful post full of what seem like great times/memories. Reading your grandfathers diary during the war got me a bit teary-eyed. What beautiful words. Reading about how you miss them, etc almost got the water works going for real – at work – guess that’s the pregnancy hormones. Thanks for sharing your life with us!!
This post was so beautiful… it made me tear up hard too. I lost my grandma a few years ago, and it makes me painfully sad that she’ll never be able to see my (not-yet-existent) kids. I know she would have been an amazing great-grandmother. Enjoy every moment with your wonderful grandparents! Loved reading this. 🙂
Beautiful post
Precious memories, Katie. All of my grandparents have already passed, but I am so thankful for the time my boys were able to know them. And you’re right – they probably won’t remember this exact trip – but I have found (my boys are 13 and 11) that they DO remember in their hearts; these things are what make up their family and who the are, and every little thing becomes part of them. That is how they remember.
On Monday we will be flying halfway across the country with our 5 month-old and almost-3-year-old to visit my grandparents. It is incredibly important that they meet my children and my sons know where they come from. I am nervous about traveling with the kids, but your post just confirmed everything I had been feeling about how valuable a trip like this will be.
Such a beautiful post! I nearly emptied a box of tissues before I even got to the end 🙂 Your grandfather’s diary is a treasure! Even if your kids don’t remember this trip, when they are older the pictures you took will mean the world to them. Your grandmother’s side of the family has some strong genes – Maxi Knight, you, your mother and your grandmother look so much alike, it’s uncanny! And your grandmother was foxy in her younger years!
I love that you made such a long trip just to spend some short, but quality time with your grandparents. You will never, ever regret that. Your love for family is one of the reasons we come here daily to catch up on your life. 🙂
Loved this post so much! My grandchildren’s great-grandmothers are 88 and 90 and they love spending time with my children and their children. My father and father-in-law (who also served in the Korean War) are gone now, but they would have loved to see their great grandchildren. I so happy you took this trip to be with mummum and pappap; they are so beautiful and amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Have you ever tried traveling at night so the kids just sleep. We drive 8 hours to the beach every year and will never drive it during the day again.
This was such a beautiful post!
And I highly recommend homeschooling. We love it! 😉
What a sweet post! I loved all the photos, but especially the group shot with Will holding your grandmother’s hand and the one of the boys “skipping” back from lunch!
Oh this is one of my favorite posts – next to the one about them messy house you did a few months ago. Love the beautiful pictures of you and your grandma and love, love the pics of your kids with their great grandparents. I know you know this already but the Big Guy from above gently pushed you to go on the long trip to PA. I got teary reading it because I know too well how life can change in a wink. So glad you made the journey and created more memories for your family. I know sometimes we think too much about whether we should go someplace or not, but but sometimes yah just gotta go and not think too much about the logistics of it. I am sure your grandparents were thrilled to see you and the kids!
My grandparents are seven hours away (it took us more like 12 hours when we went this summer). My grandpa served in the Korean war too and recently my grandmother has been changing because of sidemen. Reading your post makes me think of my recent trip this summer. My husband and I are both teachers so we know we have this window to play with but sometimes with my grandmothers changing behaviors it can be really heard to be there. She gets mad fast (even at my kids) if they don’t do things exactly the way she wants. Anyhow, I have been feeling this ticking clock and just the need for my little ones to know their great-grandparents. We planned for five days and knew we could change if needed. It was a magical trip…just so wonderful to spend time with them and I am so glad that I did. I am glad you did too! It is worth the long drive! I enjoyed all the pictures too!
So beautiful.
It’s hard because they are in car seats and so they don’t sleep well with the belts digging into their necks and it is just a fight so we generally try to avoid it.
xo – kb
This was a beautiful post about your Grandparents, and I am totally with you on the school thing!! My oldest is 6 as well and it has been a hard adjustment for me (more than her). I’m teetering on the maybe homeschooling edge. Education in general is in a rough place right now- they do expect too much from them (IMO) and the standards/ pressure is very high for many teachers/ students. Either way, your son is blessed to have you as his Mama and blessed with whatever time he gets with you before/ after school!
This is so so special. You are a beautiful writer, Katie! And you got such great shots that you and the kids can cherish forever.
Oh man, I’m right there with ya on the feelings about school! First, my kids love to sleep in, I’m talking 9/10 for my 6 year old and 8ish for my 4 year old! Next, I want to come and go as I please too. Also, what is with all the homework?!? I feel like my 1st grader is always crabby lately, maybe it’s just a phase but he must be so tired after a long day like you mentioned and then coming home to sit and do more work is so annoying for me I can only imagine how he feels. I feel like we need more recess and longer lunch times!! Meeting great-grands is amazing I never met mine, mummum and pappap look like some great folks, what love they have, you are so proud of them and it shows!
We homeschool! One of my favorite perks is being able to pick up and go whenever we feel like it. Being able to take trips during the off season is awesome!
I love reading about these little trips frm where you start in GA. I live in VR, so I understand about your travels. We actually went to Jekyll IS b/c we were inspired by your blog
Such a beautiful post Katie. You and your whole family truly irradiate happiness, you just seem to be genuinely good people. I am almost 30 and I would really like to have kids, whenever I read your posts I get reminded that life is more than building up a career and creating a family is one of the greatest things.
Thanks for the inspiration as always.
Your comments on homeschooling are some of the big reasons I plan to transition my boys next year. Those, among with several other reasons that I’ve read and researched on, have brought me to see that a brick & mortar education may not be the best fit for us. Oh I could go on about this subject:) Great piece, thank you.
Now I’m crying. So worth 24 hours!
You brought me tears today. My Dad and Stepmom live eight hours north of Detroit in Marquette. I was born there; and have always had fond memories of summers with my Dad. Even better are the memories of taking my children up there. Time outdoors, cards, marbles, puzzles, board games and dominoes. They had so much fun being with their grandparents. There were times we would meet halfway and camp together. Such wonderful memories.
It is wonderful that you had the time with your Grandparents and your kids too.
It is a sad day on this cool, crisp Friday. My husband and I are working half days today so we can head up to Marquette. My Dad has Alzheimers and Parkinsons. Their home has become to much for them and my Stepmom needs some help. We are going to sift through years and years of my Dad’s tools and garage stuff so they can move. The saddest part is that they are leaving the state to be near more family.
I will no longer have a reason to “go home”. It makes me tear up just to think about it.
We are taking a road trip over Thanksgiving break. Driving from PA to WY – 24 hours straight if we don’t stop much. Also with 4 kids. It’s hard but so worth it. Thanks for sharing the love.
I hear ya, Katie, about the long trip to PA, we make the trip there a few times per year to see family and it takes us 60 year olds 12 hours. It seems like the trip gets longer and longer. Where in Pa do your grandparents live? We are from Erie, have lived in State College and have a daughter in Lancaster.
Your post was very touching and your boys will remember this. Our grands (most of them) have been lucky to meet their great grandparents. The only one still living is my MIL who is 96 years young.
Oh, Katie! I teared up reading this. I lost my most-prized Gran 3 years ago and I totally get your sentiments of wanting to be able to just keep your grandparents with you. That’s a beautiful love story of them and I love the old photos. 🙁 It’s so hard! Why do people have to get old?
And the school thing- yes, we homeschool our oldest- I think he’s just a couple months older than Will- and on the hardest days I think about how much I would miss him if he’s gone and how I can’t imagine even taking him and picking him up from school because the mornings are so crazy. So I vote- Homeschool. YOU CAN DO IT!
Love those family photos with your grandparents. They look so happy.
Aww, my grandparents are exactly the same. My grandpa passed away two years ago but we are eagerly awaiting visiting my grandma in a few weeks (in Indiana from Georgia). I love hearing about your visit. And I am homeschooling my kindergartener right now. I actually absolutely love it. I have a one year old as well and it’s so amazing to watch my girls spend every day enjoying each other (for the most part). I’d be happy to answer any questions you have. I do have a full three months of experience after all! 😉
Was your trip good? Tell me more!
xo – kb
Oh I am so sorry Marie. I will say a little prayer for you today 🙁
xo – kb
South of Pittsburgh area…Mon Valley 🙂
xo – kb
What a wonderful post. I have been meaning to get up to MD to visit my grandmother for some time. My kids have never been to her house.
BTW, I’m in Gwinnett and I homeschool my kids. WE LOVE IT! On of the best decisions I’ve ever made. There is a HUGE community in Gwinnett and we belong to several groups. It’s really not as hard as everyone thinks. You don’t have to do “school” at home in order for them to learn. Let me know if you are really serious about it and if I can help in any way.
Beautiful story. But I have to ask a style question:) I am wearing a pair of booties similar to yours but CANNOT find socks that don’t show. What do you wear with booties?
You are a fantastic granddaughter.
My grandparents are a 3 hour flight, and 2 hour drive away, or 30 hours of driving without stops. We try to squeeze in as many visits as we can when we are at my parents to get to see them. But it’s hard.
It’s hard to watch them age, but reading this made me want to talk more with them and just reminisce about when my sister and I would have a week long visit at Camp Bahuaud, and Grandpa would give me chicken soup for breakfast when I was sick. When their freezer was always full of ice cream sandwiches, cupboard with wafer cookies and pantry with honeycomb cereal and other sugary stuff we couldn’t have at home.
Now, all my Grandpa wants to do when we visit is give my daughter a horsey ride, or play rough with my nephew, and it’s hard to see my mom remind him he can’t. That the kids are too big for him to pick up.
But I want to go back and play rummy or kanasta with them. And joke about Grandma’s cheating because she always keeps score as Us vs Them.
Wish my grandkids could have met their Greatgrandma! She was such a sweetie and would have enjoyed them so much. It’s a struggle to travel with two kids, can’t even imagine with four and two in diapers.
Thanks for sharing such sweet memories.
Katie, the beautiful words and pictures of the time with your grandparents…I am crying! (Granted, I am pregnant, but still.) I related to this so much, and I was just overcome with how special that time must be for y’all. I am so glad you made it a priority. Your Mummum and Pappap are so precious. I literally just texted my mom and sister and said “I miss Nana…really bad.” She was the best. Anway, I digress. Your family is beautiful, and your blog has been such a bright spot for me for many years now. Love the Bowers 🙂 Also, I grew up right near Lake Hartwell. My roots are there. I now live up the road a bit, near the SC/NC border. So, you drove right through my home turf. (SORRY FOR RAMBLING ABOUT THINGS YOU DONT CARE ABOUT, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE ARE FRIEND,S, OKAY!?)
What beautiful, sweet memories.
Thank you PapPap for serving our Country.
Love all the photos.
OH darn, that the belts dig into their necks. Our kids never had that problem, sorry yours do.
This-this is why I read your blog, Katie. Sweet moments that remind me to stop and give thanks for our many blessings. The diy is fun, but unvarnished Katie is my favorite. May God bless you and your family!!
Great post! My grandparents are no longer here and I used to see all of them weekly, it was the best! I am so happy that my daughter gets to see her grandparents as often as well.
Thanks for sharing,
Lisa
I love everything about that “Hotel exit” shot! LOL! So real.
I hear you on the “tired, worn out, played out version of your kid”, as a working Mom I’ve been living that since my babies were 1 and started daycare – but then school adds the homework factor just to make things a little worse. #weekendwarrior
Thank you for such a beautiful post. You put into words how I feel about my family history. My grandparents also lived about 9 hours away, and we were only able to take a couple trips to see them once our little ones came along. My grandpa passed away 5 years ago and we lost my grandma pretty suddenly this year. My kids won’t really remember them, but I’m thankful for the times we could be together (and will be again one day!). Now I’m missing my grandparents so much too!
Oh Katie — you have me crying at work — that was just beautiful! Growing up, I was lucky enough to have all 4 of my great grandparents alive on my dads side, and 1 from my moms side. I love to see those pictures and I have a lot of sweet memories of them. All of my grandparents are gone now, and it always makes me incredibly sad that my boys never got to meet them.
Family is the most important thing in this life. You are right, making the trip is always worth it -even being in the car for multiple days with littles (as hard as that is) – ALWAYS!
I loved this post! I feel the same way about my grandparents. It’s an 8-9 hour drive for me – I usually do it at night, less traffic and everyone sleeps. I hope you can make the trip again, soon.
I’m from Erie too! 🙂
Beautiful story and such a great reminder to spend time with those you care about, even if it takes more effort!
I loved seeing you in those photographs. Just wondering – does Jeremy know how to use your camera or do you use a tripod? If Jeremy takes the pictures, are they all still in manual or do you just switch over to auto? I’m expecting my first baby and I’m always the photographer. I want to make sure that I’m in some of the photos too!
I am trying to teach him but he’s definitely still learning. A lot of times he will take a ton and maybe two are in focus. We use it in AV mode a lot with the kids and that way he just needs to adjust two things instead of three.
xo – kb
Yeah they just like heap over and I know it is painful when they wake up.
xo – kb
Thanks Kathleen!
xo – kb
I wear these ones I found that are super low – I think they were meant for converse.
xo – kb
Yes! I love the ramble comments – they make me feel normal!
xo – kb
ugh! This post is so beautiful! You made me cry! 🙂 I don’t see my extended family enough and I miss them so much!! So many memories and so much love. We are blessed, for sure. I’m so happy for you that you got to spend such sweet moments with your grandparents and your own family!
My grandmother passed away in August. I had been in her state the week prior but didn’t get to see her because of long car trips & littles. She had days where all she did was sleep & there was no guarantee that she would know who we were if she was awake so we decided not to brave an additional 4 hour drive with a 4 year old & 6 month old. I don’t regret it though. When she went into the assisted living facility, I started writing her letters; with pen & paper & printing out pictures of my kids to send each month. I knew she wouldn’t write back but I wrote anyway because I knew she would enjoy getting them & because I enjoyed sending them. I knew that it probably brightened her day when she got one. Who doesn’t love getting mail that isn’t a bill? Most of my cousins live closer than I do but I don’t think many went to visit. I don’t blame them. Life is busy especially with kids. I felt closer to her than ever before because I made that effort. It doesn’t take tremendous effort to make that connection. It isn’t an effort at all to show love in whatever way makes sense to you. Treasure your memories & talk to your kiddos about these amazing people. That’s how their stories will stay alive. Sending you e-hugs!
That post made me cry! I was very close to my Nanna and she passed away very suddenly 5 years ago and I still struggle and have a lot of regrets- like why didn’t I just randomly
Pack up and go stay with her for weekends? I’m sad she’s not around to enjoy my second daughter too-although, Miss 3 started talking about her at one and knows all these things she could never have known as Nanna passed 2 years before she was born- so I think my Nanna is ‘around’ but it’s not the same.
Also a little travelling tip. My parents did it with us and we’ve done it with ours- have dinner, bath, pjs and go! Travel during the night and they sleep. Or pile them into the car asleep around 3am and then they sleep for at least the first 4 hours
What a precious post! I can only hope that my Grans will one day have such sweet memories of me and want to come and see me when they are grown with children of their own. Blessings!!!
This post really touched me because today we buried my 98 year old grandmother. She was truly a saint of a woman and I will miss her soooo much – but I know she is in heaven and reunited with my grandpa! Those grandparents are special people 🙂
You are a wonderful Mama. It is evident the dedication to you family and all your passions. I also tested up as I wish my kids could have met my grandparents. What a gift!
This makes me so happy to see. My grandmother passed a way while I was pregnant with my third baby. I got to give her a surprise announcement but sadly she had passed before he came. She was the baby whisperer, she held my first child (through colic) while she sent me to bed to sleep.and she loved me, and me her. I still miss her every day. I feel a tiny bit of happy when my oldest talks about her and wishes she were. He asks for GeeGee, and tells his younger brothers about her. That is happiness to my heart.
I’m so sorry for your loss Jill. What a hard day.
xo – kb
Yeah someone else suggested that but our kids have a hard time sleeping in their forward facing carseats. It’s the belts.
xo – kb
I am totally crying now. I know it’s hard with so many littles but your effort is worth it. Your grandparents seem lovely, good for you for taking your boys up to spend time with them.
Just beautiful!! So happy your children got to visit their great-grandparents. Such special parents you are!! LN
Beautiful post. That is time well spent. I think of Tim McGraw’s song often “Humble and Kind”. This post reminded of that song as well. Don’t know if you listen to country music – I’m from Texas so it is a must! – but it is a wonderful song with some really great lessons.
Regarding school and homework, I’m a teacher and most of the time teachers in the younger grades only assign homework because they are required to. Skip the homework and let him play and just spend time with him. Reading with him is the most important thing you can do as a parent for his academic career .
His homework is spelling a lot and it is definitely not his strong suit. And each week he gets tested on it…so it’s constant in our house 🙁
xo – kb
Katie, I’m crying reading this. Family is so precious and I’m thankful that you got to spend time with your grandparents! My grandparents passed away a few years ago and I would give anything to spend one more weekend with them. Like your grandparents, they’d been married 60+ years and we also played rummy. The last few years of my Mimi’s life she lived 13 hours away from me. That distance is hard, especially with kids, so good for you for packing up your boys and making the trip! 🙂
I read your post last night and this morning you were on my heart. I have 5 boys all close in age like you. I’ve been homeschooling (my 4th year) and have wrestled with putting our kids in school each year. This year though I have felt so much peace about keeping them home. I adore having them around every day. I love that we can pick up and go to the beach mid week. I love that my boys can move their bodies all day long if they need. etc. I am finding that the responsibility is greater, but the time commitment and out side demands are less. If you’re spending an hour for home work in first grade, that’s the equivalent of half of my first graders whole school day. I hope I don’t come across as trying to convince you! I have just second guessed myself for years on this subject, feeling like maybe I wasn’t enough, wasn’t doing enough, that my kids would be better served elsewhere etc. and this year I feel such a peace. I just wanted cheer you on should you struggle with those feelings, it’s worth it!
I cried reading this. And I’m crying now. I miss my grandparents every day. They sound a lot like yours…family, tradition, simplicity, honor, love, kindness, faith.
I talk about them all the time with my kids. I wish I could hug them and talk to them again and play cards with them. Just to hear her giggle or his whistle. Oh my. Thank you for sharing and taking me back.
Thank you Katie, It went really well.
Hi sweet Katie! Have you ever considered a different school for Will? I think there are some schools out there that will offer more of what you want. Isaac goes to a school that is off on Fridays (permanent 3 days weekends!) and doesn’t have any homework until maybe 4th or 5th grade. Plus, he definitely isn’t sitting still for most of the day – it’s a sort of homeschool curriculum with lots of interaction and movement throughout the day. We love his school SO much. Obviously, the choice we’ve made isn’t for everyone, but sometimes I wonder if people realize there are schools out there who are doing things differently and can possibly meet their needs a little better! Just a thought I wanted to share. 🙂
I fell in love with Jekyll & honestly want to go there every yr. (VR is for villa Rica) I have 2 boys 19 & 14 & they declared it was the best beach trip ever.
Oh, Katie, I know exactly how you’re feeling. I’m sitting here ugly crying in the NICU….snuggling my new babe and just wondering when in the world I’ll be able to find time to make the trek to see my last remaining grandparent. I have so many wonderful memories of weekends spent with them, swimming and playing cards!
Oh man…that’s my dream…taking my big boys back one day and seeing them enjoy it!
xo – kb