Day Ten

Public School is closed for some random reason.

We picked up a friend of Connor's last night and brought him back for a hang out and a sleepover.  They are already up and working through some puzzle on the Xbox360.  Their plan is to continue to do so, eat a mountain of my delicious mini chocolate chip pancakes (their record is 76 I think) then more mindless playing until I decide it's time to break it up and deliver everyone home.

HippieBankerHomeschool is closed today.

I am going to work on the Banker's daily/weekly schedule some more today, I'd like to have a few weeks lined up, at least including the week after we get back from a New Mexico camping trip we are doing in March.  I'm taking a couple of weeks off from "tweaking" the actual information/curriculum.  We can't tell if it's working if I keep changing it, obviously, d'uh.

I'm still feeling pretty, not too bad, almost sort of not quite as horrified by this new venture.  How's THAT for a solid statement of confidence?  Once he figures he figures out he IS learning something I think that'll be a real turning point.  I can see he learning. I think this is something he's just going to have to figure out on his own.  Unfortunately, he's had another influx of "but, dude, what about your school friends? do you have any FRIENDS left?"  *oh SHIT, really?*  Why are his friends telling him he has no friends?  Um, HELLO?!  The conversation left Banker assuring his friends that he'd be returning to public school soon.  WHAT? Oh nice.  I'm not going to give him a hard time.  I'm just going to watch.

Speaking of staying connected to idiots, part of this new deal is that I agreed to give Banker his FaceBook page back.  Sure, he's 12 but none of them are of age, are they?  We made a very strict deal about who and how we interact.  He used to have a FB page and I yanked it out from under him a year ago for unfortunate language and connections, friends he didn't know and we can't have that.  I think a year is long enough and he is right, it will help him connect with some of the people he'd like to stay in touch with and might help him and them arrange for some live visits and outings and even though some of them are up my nose for getting into his head about him becoming a social outcast, I'm willing to let him play, cautiously, and see how it goes.  Oh, yes, I'll be ALL over that page and we have agreed there is NO expectation of privacy online anyway and particularly with me at the helm!

He is definitely more relaxed.

That being said, this is not a family bash.  I adore them and love love spending time away with them. I am really looking forward to us going away in March, I love the 3 of us spending time together.  I assume it'll be the great, comfortable, relaxed time it was last year.  I just can't spend time here with not all of us working or  not all of us playing (although as the mom, no day here is ever a day 'off') when I feel watched and judged and feel so unsure.

It's part of the new life I've thrust us into, I think it's going to be sweet but it's definitely going to take a while for everyone to figure out what hat they should have on and how to best wear it. I will say I seriously think it's going to be amazing.

So, the long way around; school's out today, I'm on pancake/sausage/bacon/biscuit/12 and 13 year old boy duty.

/Tracy