Breathe.

My boy went off to high school today. High school!!!

Yup. This year's different for us...because I'll only be homeschooling two of my three. Noah's going to high school at a local charter school that allows him to also take college classes in conjunction with nearby community colleges. His classes start tomorrow and will include both high school and college level classes. My understanding is that after this fall semester, having completed the prerequisites, Noah will be eligible to take college level classes from here out. All of his classes, though, will be located on the school's campus until Noah's old enough to take classes off campus at the actual community colleges. Awesome!

This is a picture I stealthily took as he headed off this morning. Today is orientation, but they'll be taking attendance, so it counts. I'll take official first day of school pictures tomorrow. ;)

Yes, the school is close enough for him to walk. (It's one of the things that attracted us to it in the first place, lol. Also, it's a good thing we live so close, as parking is extremely limited and the parking lot is quite congested for drop off and pick up.) Yes, he insisted on going alone. Yes, I know I shouldn't be emotional about it, lol, but I'll ask you to remember that I've never seen a boy off on a school bus or watched them walk to school. I'm starting with high school and trying to respect his independence (though part of me feels like it's the first day of kindergarten and wants desperately to hover, lol). :)

Whew. 

So. I don't normally do it, but I'm picking a word to help me focus during this school year. (I'm still enjoying my word of 2014...this is just extra.) I've been having a hard time narrowing it down to just one word, though. (Big surprise, right?) I wanted a word to express...

• my gratitude for this opportunity (for Noah to take this new path and for the rest of us to renew our homeschooling enthusiasm...feeling so thankful that this seems to be a good fit for Noah and that I'll have the time to really focus on the younger two)...
• my desire to celebrate the journey and the little steps, to welcome what comes...
• my recognition that there will be challenges and changes and a need to adapt...
• my need to simplify the "stuff" that can overwhelm me...to just go with the flow and try to remember the overall purpose and trust in my optimism...
• my hope in my abilities to guide us...with intention...through the year...

What I came up with, then, is: BREATHE. I want to remember to take my time...to listen...to appreciate.

So. Deep breath. Here we go.  :)