Three days before we were supposed to start driving to Oregon for the LIFE is Good unschooling conference last April, my littlest boy bounced himself off the couch onto the hardwood floor and cracked his skull.
It was ugly. Very scary. He was 10 months old at the time, and the guilt and worry were nauseating. After spending all day between doctor and lab appointments, we ended up in the ER until midnight waiting to find out what was going on underneath the enormous bump on my poor baby's head.
And hoping Child Protective Services wasn't going to show up to take him away from me.
Fortunately, it was nothing that warranted hospital admittance (or CPS), and my baby appears to be as just as brilliant as he might have been if I hadn't left him sitting on the couch while tying my 4yo's rollerskates.
We also didn't have to cancel our trip.
Unfortunately, several people insisted on calling him "Lumpy" for a long time afterward. The bump on the side of his head (which was simply protective fluid covering the hairline fracture) stayed that size for over a month.
So, what does this have to do with karma? Well, nothing. But when we walked outside this morning to discover that our car was missing from the driveway, it did make me wonder if someone was deliberately trying to keep us from another homeschooling conference.
Because we're supposed to leave for California Homeschool Network's 2008 Family Expo on Thursday. And we weren't planning to fly.
Having our car stolen isn't going to keep us home, however. It just slowed down my packing a bit this morning. We'll find a car to rent, trust our excellent neighbors with our chickens, cat, and the garden, and pray that the car will be found and God will be glorified even in this.
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God... according to His purpose."
--Romans 8:28
We know we are blessed to have a car in the first place. (Actually, we had two, we just don't all fit in the second one.) And we have car insurance, so this will work out somehow, even if it's a little complicated along the way.
We have so much to be thankful for, despite the empty driveway. My baby's round head, for instance. The fact that my husband is on vacation and could make the necessary phone calls while I fed the kids breakfast.
The fact that we can actually afford to attend this conference right now, and that not even having our car stolen is going to stop us.
Well, thank goodness he's okay!! And, I'm sorry your car was stolen but your optimism is inspiring. I hope you enjoy the conference. Unschooling fascinates me and was something we were seriously considering before we heard the "autism" diagnosis. My parents like to tell me that public school "dumbed me down" and I agree. I was a brilliant child and I loved learning but the things they forced me to study (like equations and world history) instead of what I was really, truly interested in (american history, english, and science) numbed my mind and killed that desire to learn. I'll definitely be back to read about your unschooling adventures :) Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteWhy are you calm and I'm crying?? I am SO SORRY this happened to you guys! Geez, what a big, big bummer! I'll be praying that it's found unharmed, QUICKLY, and that any insurance issues are no big deal. And omGOSH I didn't even KNOW that about baby fish. ACK!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the prayers, Emily! And, yeah, I didn't talk much about H's fall last year. Brad's STILL making fun of me about it! :)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, my husband and my experiences of school were similar -- we weren't miserable, just felt like so much time was wasted not being able to focus on what we were really interested in.
I'm so sorry Amanda! You'll be in my prayers, and have a safe trip!!
ReplyDeleteAh the lump you spoke of months back, you weren't kidding...ouchie, it was large :(
ReplyDelete