Rough Week and Looking Ahead

So I think we had a kind of rough week last week in terms of not seeing too much of our friends and having our plans fall through. That's the brutal aspect of parenthood, one day you're feeling invincible and the next day you're crushed like a stone. I know, I'm being way too dramatic, but I feel sad for the fact that A's best friend has been absent and completely incommunicado. Rather than be resentful, I'm more curious as to what's going on. A has almost given up, she no longer goes bonkers when the phone rings thinking it's her friend, it's almost as if she's resigned herself to knowing it's over, which breaks my heart. Somehow, deep down, she knows what's up, as if the signs were there and now they're coming to fruition. It makes it awkward because we will see them, no doubt, and they live right down the road, but it's maybe just not to be.

Our regular gig at mentor #2 house, GS, has fallen through, as well. With no car, we can't get over there, and we have had no interaction with the Macks, who are way too busy anyway to get together with that it's not worth planning. So what to do. As I've mentioned before, the whole homeschool crowd is busy doing their own thing to be a regular thing. They have the regular meeting, and I get a sense the kids meet regularly and have made connections, but somehow I long for our kids to have a regular meeting with imaginative, smart and creative kids who are accepting of each other's quirks and not so hell bent on conformity. Some comformity is inevitable because such is the interaction of a group, but as long as there is some joy of commonality and regularity, like you would get at a school that you loved.

I guess in the end, that's what I'm looking for, a school our kids would love. I want to believe it exists, and that if we found it, we could find a way to make it work. I love homeschooling, but I do feel it falls short in that one area, having a regular group of kids that you are friends with. The kids over at CH are in their own world and for the most part keep to themselves, but we enjoy hanging with them when we get the chance. And this summer should be interesting.

We'll see how things transpire. I'm hoping to check out one place and see how it looks, though it's far away. But, if there were a Hartland contingent of kids, maybe it could work out in a group setting. Not sure what to make of it all, but it does make me a sad when our kids are sad.

Now mind you, I'm not saying they are sad, we have fun at home and enjoy time together as a family, but you simply can't replace a child's time with friends with time with mom and dad. It just doesn't work that way. Kids need other kids, or at least our kids do. What to do.

Needless to say, I'll continue obsessing over this until I find an answer. Until then, thanks for reading.