You Know What They Say About the Best-Laid Plans

This summer started out predictably. The kids got off the bus that last day, full of energy and anticipation, ready to begin our adventures. Oh, the joy of seeing months of sun and warmth stretch out in front of us, with their promise of picnics and swimming and ice cream cones! We immediately started in on our summer list of fun. And we had a fantastic time! With Abram getting a little older, I was starting to feel human again, and life was finally settling into a routine. Like I said, predictable.

The Plan: Relish my time with the kids all summer. Do all the things that make the season special to us. Build wonderful memories together. Continue to hold weekly den meetings for my little 8-year-old Cub Scouts. Send my boys back to school in the fall and settle into normalcy once again. I remember thinking, "This is nice. The forseeable future is laid out...no major changes on the horizon. I can just relax and enjoy the ride."

What? You're laughing? It sounded reasonable to me.

And then there was the Lord's plan. (I'd be willing to bet He was laughing too. At least a little.)

At the end of June, a good friend of mine from our Baltimore days stopped by to visit us for a night on her way across the country with her family. I was thrilled to see Angela again, and like good women, we talked all evening. Now, this friend is passionate about two of my favorite subjects: motherhood and education. She described her vision for raising her children, her beliefs about education, and the joy she finds in homeschooling her children. Her words rang true to me and I kept thinking, "THAT is exactly what I want." But of course, my plan was already laid out. And I'm NOT the type of mother who homeschools. I'm not patient or entertaining. I like quiet. I'm uptight and a bit of a control freak. I don't do stupid crafts.

Angela left the next morning (to this day I wonder how she managed to completely turn my life upside down in less than 20 hours,) but her words and the Spirit that accompanied them would not leave me alone. I started to research homeschooling and the particular method that Angela had shared with me. I read and pondered and prayed. I met with local parents who homeschool, and checked out curriculum. When I broached the subject to Marty (purely hypothetically, of course,) I expected him to say I was crazy and didn't I already have enough to do? And remember, I like quiet?? Instead he said: "Well, it's about time! I've always wanted that for our kids." Uh-oh, that's two strikes. Three if you count my 100% supportive mother (who homeschooled my brothers and me for a few years.)

To make a long story short, with the clear direction from the Lord that this was what we were supposed to do, we withdrew the boys from public school and are now having the time of our life teaching them at home. The list of blessings we have reaped so far is too extensive to write here. They will likely make a post of their own sometime in the future.

Definitely NOT part of my original plan, but infinitely better.


That wasn't the end of the changes, though. Three days after my friend left, I was called to be the Primary president in our ward.

The week after that, I was asked to accept a small position with our local Musicale - an association for music teachers and students. Because things always happen in three's, you know.

The moral of this story is, of course, never to plan anything. And don't even THINK the word "relax," let alone say it out loud. With all sincerity, though, I am ever so glad that His plan won out over mine.