My oldest went to school in 9th and 10th grades. Academically I'd say it was not the better of the two choices (or even 3, counting our local PS--they both ended up in a tiny private school with limited resources), but socially and relationally for US, it was the wiser move. My younger kids went to school at the same time as the older, so they'll barely remember homeschooling, but the relational ramifications of homeschooling the older ones has made me leery of trying it again during the middle school/high school years. I GREATLY VALUE homeschooling during the elementary years, but I feel burned by the process even though you'd never have found a bigger advocate a decade ago. (Perhaps this is typical during the elementary homeschool years?) I hate that we've missed those golden years for my younger kids, but they have enjoyed being in school, so there is that. I guess if nothing else, we're a cautionary tale. 🤣

I just came back to say that, thanks to this thread, I began to research green burial online and learned of conservation oriented burial grounds. I suppose this is the same thing as human composting? I am greatly intrigued by this. Also--the bolded is exactly where I land. I don't want my husband or children to have to make these decisions. ETA: and I do realize I contradict myself above by saying I want my family to have a say because it's actually *for* them. This is what makes this hard!

I will say this--in my circle, a full-blown funeral is a given. The board here is the only reason I'd even consider it not the norm to have one. I had always planned to pre-plan my funeral so that my kids had no decisions to make until I began to consider they might not want one at all. I will say that having been in on the planning of several family members' funerals, knowing their wishes has helped. (There the board goes--shifting paradigms again!)

I'm torn on the event type. I definitely feel it's for the living, not the dead, so I feel like the feelings of those left should weigh into it.

Wordle 731 4/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I personally like the idea of a card instead of a plaque. It's probably the region I live in or the circles I run in, but I have literally never seen such a thing except on something like a park bench and would find it unusual in a home.

Simplest My favorite sherbet punch (fruit and color optional) Variation of tea punch Coffee punch Fruit tea (could be served as punch)

I wonder if all this depends on the size of the church. My childhood church, where I have attended MANY funerals and where my own grandparents' funerals were held, charges exactly $0 for any lifetime events (weddings, funerals, parties like for graduation--most anything I can think of) of its members. The ladies of the church even sometimes fix a post-funeral meal (in addition to sending food the night of the death or the night of the visitation, as appropriate) for community members that are related somehow to the church, though not members. It is a small church. Members are family. ETA: My actual point is this: A grieving family would incur no extra expenses by having a funeral at the church, just what the funeral home charges for transporting the deceased, etc. (The church itself wouldn't charge anything.)

Yes, English. I am also state certified to teach math (middle school, specifically) and history. English is the only thing I'm college-level qualified to teach. Do you mean tutoring online?

What could it hurt?

I HAVE considered tutoring. My hold up with going forward with that is that I still have two school aged children, and a tutoring schedule would make me miss more of their lives than I do now, not less, the best I can tell.

Yes, I actually taught off and on for about 15 years part time at our local community college while we were homeschooling. I taught English--mostly freshman comp--and got SERIOUSLY burned out grading essays. I even taught online one semester when I first started (& online was still pretty new). I don't know how I'd feel about it now. The pay STINKS for the amount of work it is. It's not something I've ever thought about returning to.

I've been in a small scale mission to make sure my boys have been exposed to as many of the Disney classics as possible. My 10 yo really liked Bedknobs and Broomsticks last summer. We watched Pollyanna a few weekends ago and enjoyed it.

My sincere condolences

Yes. She said she had been to something like 20 conferences by the time she was a young adult. (I don't remember details--something like that.)

Crystal Paine shared her thoughts about it in her latest podcast. I admit to being not an enthusiastic fan of hers (I once heard her say VERY adamantly and repeatedly "STRESS IS A CHOICE" at a homeschool conference, which was NOT what I needed to hear, and if memory serves me, I got up and walked out). But she has personal experience with IBLP (any later Vision Forum) and I will say that she has changed a lot since that fateful conference 15+ years ago.

Good catch! And good assessment! 🤣 yeah--I mostly just got that the author REALLY hates men. It was one of those books I WANTED to like, but that unlikely event in the end where the modern protagonist "forgot" to do something that immediately put her life in jeopardy--yeah, no. I'm out at that point.

I'm so sorry. That is so disappointing. It feels like the crap of the 'Vid just keeps on going.

@sarahaThat's tough! I am sorry! I'm sure your village is happy to help out in these unusual and difficult circumstances.

Kudos to you for sticking it out! I always had such a complicated relationship with teaching, from the very first year I taught, which was a long time ago now. I HATE how much of my life it requires. I love to teach and feel it's one of the things I'm really good at. Finally, my desire to not spend all my time either doing it, working to do it tomorrow, or thinking about it won out. My current job also provides me with state benefits, and they're pretty good. That's DEFINITELY in the back of my mind!

Ugh! Hope your day turns around soon!

I second (third) Kobez Dus Mez's and Allison Barr's works. It's not hard to find podcasts on which they are interviewed, either.

I don't want to derail the discussion, but as a vitamin snob, what brand do you recommend? (Sorry OP! Tell me to get my own thread if you wanna!)

Along the same lines--how do y'all envision time/the calendar/months? I see it as linear, much like a calendar, so that Monday is to the left of Tuesday and so on. This is kind of an "of course" thing, but it's a stronger association than just "it is what it is" because OF the calendar.

It's hard for me to even think about this! Lol. I THINK I think in words. I e always been a word person, but how I THINK hasn't been something I've given much thought.