Day 23: Parse

It was apparent early on that yesterday wasn’t going to work. School was boring, brothers were bugging, mom was annoying. If only there was a garbage truck to take us far, far away.

There was also the matter of the beautiful day. If I hadn’t had my own work to do, I would have scrapped official school for outdoor unschool. But my deadlines carried me to the late afternoon, at which point no one could breathe in another’s direction without causing offense.

We needed to get out, but I didn’t want to take this act public. Then, I remembered. Jess is going on 12. He can stay home with the dogs.

In a family of young kiddos, it’s not about quantity; it’s about dynamics. Taking one out of the equation can shift everything, and that’s what happened.

I dusted off my camera. We took to the trail. The boys puttered in the dirt and water, and I followed them around.

It was a perfect day, a perfect match – the kind where you can’t feel the air against your skin.

The hour brought us all back to ourselves.

When we got home, Jess was building Legos and listening to jazz music on Spotify.