opportunity

Andy and I talk about how, as parents and homeschoolers, we want to be the kind of people that seize an interesting moment when we see one.  We want to embrace life's opportunities full on.  We want to give our children every crack at seeing what this wide world has to offer.  We want to be people who pack up on the spur of the moment to join friends for a camping overnight in the middle of the week.

Our life provides a fair bit of accessibility for this kind of lifestyle.  But getting our minds wrapped around it can be another matter.  It's so easy to feel like packing all the camping gear up at 4PM (after work) and driving an hour, then hiking in 3/4 of a mile to the campsite for one night, is too much hassle.  It's easy to worry that the pigs will get out, or the chickens will be too hot in their coop, or the tent will be too crowded and sandy and buggy and hot (4 people and a dog in a 4 man tent is hot).  It's easy to stay home, where the ordinary is not so much work.

But, then we go and we see why we want to say "yes" more than we say "no".  Because a long hike in carrying your own pack the whole way when you are five is a big deal.  Because swimming and playing on the beach until dusk is important work.  Because staying up til after dark to roast marshmallows with your buddies and then crawling into your sandy sleeping bag with marshmallow in your hair and falling asleep to the grown-ups talking in the dark breeze by the lake is good.  So good.

Hope your week is full of found opportunity too.