Happy Holidays!
Here's some thoughts on my reflection of 2016
What an exciting and unpredictable year this has been for my family and I. I wanted to reflect on some major highs and lows of this year since I will be taking a bit of a posting break til January.
Homeschool
My kids have grown to be independent learners this year. The truth is, they've surprised me and disappointed me in some ways with old habits creeping in. But overall, kids are AMAZING! and Resilient.
They've explored much in their learning and I gave them a lot of freedom.
Speed Racer: He is an exceptional learner. Still he is a bit lazy, has a ton of energy, and can be rather defiant with a smart mouth. However, he is so much improved since we started - and since the beginning of our school year.
I have come to realize that I can't let him push my buttons, although he does and I lose my temper, the kid just doesn't take it too personal. Even so, he's grown as a person and a student. Each year is an adventure and he actually teaches me more about myself, stretches my ability for patience, and my need for prayer.
I wouldn't change a thing.
Tiger Lilly: She is growing into an exceptional young woman who knows what she wants out of life. Her passion for art, video games and authoring is something she cultivates in her free time. As a dual enrolled homeschooled and online college student, time management is still one of her major challenges.
She still needs mom to make her accountable and we are continuing to work on that. Her mind and desire for owning and operating her own business to sell her art, her video games and her talet is astounding in someone so young. I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey with her.
Home Life and Marriage
My husband and I took a huge leap of faith and decided to uproot our family and move to a place we'd considered retiring to. We realized that we were too old to do the work so hard so you could retire early road, or the take a mini-retirement every 3 years road and were left with the 'move where you want to retire' dream realization.
It was the best decision of our lives. It has been challenging, but we wouldn't change a thing. We sold everything we had, transferred jobs (I got a new job) and moved our family.
On the marraige front, those amount of stressful changes did cause a lot of debate, gnashing of teeth, and meeting of the minds. It showed us how strong our bond had grown and that we still needed to learn how not to argue so passionately about things that really aren't important.
Work Life
Both of us are working and homeschooling parents. Thus the change in our work environment has a major impact on our lives. My husband had an easy work transition (somewhat) but didn't get money to move for his new job. In my case I took a consultant (temporary consulting job) that transferred to permanent employment. However, even that has been a challenge as there was downsizing on the job as a whole and lots of changes.
Counting Down
Yes, we are counting down the years we have left to homeschool. Likely, we will be doing it for Tiger Lilly until (2018 when she gets her BS degree at 17 yrs old) and for Speed Racer til 2020 - 2021 depending on his emotional maturity. That means another 5 to 6 years O_o --- oh my!
What are your reflections this year?
