Sweet 16. . .a story in pictures

Fast forward. . .

. . .to April 1st, 2010. Obviously keeping this blog up-to-date is not successfully high on my to-do list. It's spring vacation for Emily, and Wayne and I have the week off, also. For me it is a delicious oasis from the daily grind of work. I just read my last entry, and there is a fair bit of catching up to do.

Instead of taking a trip this spring break, we're enjoying our home, shopping for needed summer clothes, and spring cleaning.

This has been a good year for Emily. Last year she felt displaced and short on "belonging" anywhere. This year, she really enjoys "Beyond Basic" school and Mother Lode Youth Symphony. . .and feels a sense of connection. Last school year, during frequent bouts of "we can't do this anymore" and "where in the world will Emily finish high school" we concocted a plan. The plan has been consistent for about a year: finish 10th grade at home, then attend Rio Lindo Academy for one year in their accelerated program, graduating in 2011. The plan hasn't changed, and we've worked toward it, and planned for it, for a long time.

A couple weeks ago we attended Monterey Bay Academy's recruitment program called "academy days". It consisted of a Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon campus tour to convey the flavor of campus life to prospective new students. We saw buildings, met students, heard music, and met teachers in their classrooms. We saw MUCH to be impressed with. I loved the library, and the English program alone would be a selling point. I was less impressed with music played in a building they call "Set in Stone". It had a pretty strong "disco" flavor. Who knew I was a closet conservative? My negative reaction surprised me, since I love lively music, and like to clean out cupboards propelled by Lady Gaga and Steppenwolf in high volume. We came away from the tour in a state of ambivalence, and returned home divided equally into thirds as far as the "where to go to school next year" question goes. Emily saw much to like, but is not a "beachy" sort of girl, and Monterey Bay Academy is a decidedly "beachy" sort of place.

After sleeping on the idea of boarding school some more, and some self-examination regarding the importance of graduating from a Seventh-day Adventist school, we came to the conclusion that it probably doesn't matter so much in the grand scheme of things. We told Emily the decision is hers--she could attend either one of the two boarding schools, or stay home. It took about three days for her to decide to stay home.

So, there you have it--another unexpected decision about where to go to school next year.