You guys,
When I was in high school my friends and I added “in bed” to our fortune cookie fortunes:
“You will be successful. …in bed.”
It was hysterical. We laughed for days.
These days I find myself adding “...when you have kids,” to most statements.
For example:
Don’t plan to write your newsletter on Monday when you send it out on Tuesday …when you have kids.
Prior to having kids there was nothing wrong with writing my newsletter on Monday. But now with two little ones it’s just irresponsible. Even when they’re complete rockstars (i.e. healthy, eat well, nap well, and are overall pleasant and joyful little beings) like they were yesterday, I was still unable to write my newsletter.
I had a tiny health scare. Something wasn’t normal. And while I’m all about transparency I’m not about TMI so I’ll spare you the details. I’ll just say it was a gynecological issue.
I called my OB and she wanted to see me right away. Unfortunately, we had just arrived in Charlotte — 3.5 hours from home — to visit my in-laws, and an appointment wasn’t possible. My OB encouraged me to go to Urgent Care.
A little freaked out, I spent an hour Googling “Urgent Care near me” and booking a 6pm appointment with an after hours OB/GYN. Then I spent the next six hours distracted. I took care of my kids because that’s my job. Otherwise, I worried.
I asked Sam a million rhetorical questions. Do you think it’s something serious? Should I go to regular Urgent Care right now? Should I go to the ER? Is it stupid to wait for the OB/GYN appointment? What do you think it is?
It’s hard to think about anything else when you’re concerned with your health. But you always have to think about your kids.
So that little brain space I had for myself and my newsletter disappeared.
Now it’s 10:40pm. I’m fine. Health crisis averted. My babies are asleep. Sam is asleep. I’m sitting in the living room with a glass of wine as I write this. My night owl MIL stands behind me ironing while watching some really bad Hallmark movie.
I’m not sure any of this makes sense. All I know is priorities change…
… in bed.
The Future Of Education
As Sam and I think about how to approach our kids’ education, I’m inspired by successful people who have been homeschooled, like music sensation Billie Eilish.
In his Netflix series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Dave Letterman asked Eilish, “When were you finished with homeschooling? What level of school?”
Eilish responded:
“Not really ever. The way we were home-schooled was not like, sit at a table, do homework, read, do this. It was throughout life and learning, and taking classes, and reading books together. It didn’t feel like work really, it felt like learning. And there’s a difference.”
Real learning doesn’t follow a curriculum and there are no levels. Real learning happens when we’re curious and excited to know more.
There is no end to real learning.
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Until next week,
Charlie