This summer, for the first time in twenty-five years, I am NOT making lesson plans, perusing textbooks, ordering lab specimens, previewing video courses, or gathering school supplies. Last week, my youngest and I attended Summer Orientation and Registration at our local state university. In just over a month, she will begin classes as a full-time college student.

I have been teaching children around my kitchen table for two and a half decades. Now that all my students have graduated, what’s next?

Well, the homeschool gig didn’t provide any kind of a retirement plan, so now I begin Career Path B. I am thankful for a roof over my head and pinto beans in the crockpot while I figure out how to turn writing into a more financially profitable endeavor. Freed from the time demands of homeschooling, I want to write more (and to read more), to dedicate consistent time to studying the craft of writing, and to learn more about the marketing side of the industry.

I guess you could say Mom is going back to school. I’m okay with that: I love school!

I also plan to spend lots of time loving on the grands. And reading books together…lots and lots of books. I’m okay with that, too: I love books!

I am looking forward to this new season of life…new, but not unfamiliar. I can’t wait to see what the year ahead has in store!