Back to school

The kids haven't even been in school for two weeks, and it feels like we never left. This is the first day of school they are delighted to be back resting every day. The farm is still in full force. The last few years we have wound down and relaxed of sorts when school started. This year due to the track experience and spring work taking forever the crops are not mature and we continue slugging through the mud and breakdowns. So these kids who weren't working on a problem and were happily leaving for the day. Livy had just been told she would indeed be working with Greg after school She was not happy with that. 

Addie came in and got ready quickly leaving Mark and Reed to finish fixing the centerdrives. She had a recruiting responsibility the first day of school.

Finally, the guys came in. I had already emailed the office to excuse them. This break into high school has been harder on Reed. The other two are experts now and understand how to work the system, he is taking it in stride. We are all looking forward to the water turning off. 

At home, we worked on school and wrote a letter to Aliza. 

She is advanced from the rest of my kindergartners. It's a joy to teach her. 

Football has high expectations this year. The seniors had a dinner party. Mark had been out chasing cows and arrived just in time.

I spend at least an hour each day cleaning moss, resetting tubes, and restarting the pivots. That's between the laundry, dishes, and cooking for the family. The days are busy. It's good to get outside and exercise a bit but mostly I just miss my kids. 

August has been a bit of a heartbreak month. With John gone and now most of the kids gone the sense of loss is very real. The return to the workforce of women my age leaves very little social interaction during the day. The major changes combined with continued very hard farm work, and very low commodity prices leave life looking pretty bleak. I marvel at the faith-filled women in history who serenely accept their lives and plod on hopeful and filling their lives with prayer and faith. Looking back after a month of plodding through and checking off activity after activity I'm sure we are blessed. We just keep moving forward.