back to school ~ heidi swapp

The saying goes...the days are long, but the weeks are short.

None knows that better than me right now. It has been many, many weeks since my words have graced this blog. The summer was a bit of a hiatus. It was an intentional summer of hiking, swimming, lazy dinners on the back porch. And a most awesome family road trip.

But now. Now we are back in the swing of a brand new year categorized by that thing called back to school.

After fifteen years of schooling my kids here at home, all of them are now in traditional school. This guy is so excited to be a first grader. It has not been an easy decision for me to place him at a local charter school. But we do education one year at a time. And this year for the first time I placed a first grader in school. Sigh.

This girl here has quite the educational story. I am watching this freshman high schooler emerge into this young woman...I just can't even.

Here we have the resident seventh grader. A rising YouTube star to be sure. She too is blossoming and coming into her own in a big way. As a parent it is such a unique gift to watch these little people become big people. Amazed every day.

There is also a senior in the mix. But with her schedule these days I am lucky to have her be still long enough for a photo. This one is from her birthday earlier in the year. Cannot even believe she graduates this year.

The oldest of my tribe is living in town, working full time, pursuing his dreams, volunteering production tech, and may or may not have a girlfriend. Even his story as it continues to unfold is a complete God-thing to behold.

So much parental pride. To say I am blessed would be no small statement. These guys keep me young and full throttle. Every. Day.

Thoughts like this will be visible this year. Obvious. Perhaps. But we (and when I say we I mean me) need daily reminders. Just because I am on a new page of education does not mean I stop pursuing.

And daily we need to remember we are all living a story and need to be kind. We need to remember to love well. At school. At home. In all of life. It's no easy thing. And reminders are good.

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of jamiepate.com I do receive financial compensation and material product from American Crafts to develop my craft posts, but all ideas and opinions are my own.  Seriously.

Lightbox is a product of Heidi Swapp & American Crafts. Available now at most craft retailers and many online outlets. You can find specifically here >>> scrapbook.com