It’s been a year since we upended our lives. In this season of reflection, I’ve been thinking about that anniversary.

Our life was good in Davis. I loved my job – who I worked with, what we were doing, the values we embodied in the projects we built. And Davis is a community straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. We were exceptionally lucky in our friends and our schools. But… we were so busy with our daily lives that we barely saw each other. I didn’t want to miss any more of Amelia and Duke’s childhood.

So when we decided to re-think everything, it wasn’t because we were unhappy with any one aspect of our life. We decided to move toward a life that better matched our core values as a family. And then… we leapt.

As I think back on this spectacularly tumultuous year, I haven’t had any reason to regret our decision. Although I’m only working part-time, I work with great people, and my job provides me all sorts of challenges to keep me mentally engaged. And my work is still an important part of my self-identity.

I have also loved homeschooling! We’re slowly figuring out our approach to homeschooling. In short, it’s a preference for all things experiential. Nature walks—field trips—experiments—design—art… well, you get the idea. We have lots of beautiful books for science and history and we’re still figuring out how to tackle math.

But some days we toss all our books aside and go explore. After reading about forest ecosystems last week, we packed into the car and drove into the mountains. We found a park delightfully named Lair o’ the Bear near a creek and conifer forest. We were so enchanted with the mountain stream that we never made it up to the bluff and the pine trees.

We started out the day with pencils and clipboards and a conifer forest scavenger hunt. But then Tim found a midge nymph and we were mesmerized while the nymph emerged from its exoskeleton. After that, I chucked the clipboards and surrendered to the beauty and wonder of the day.

These are the days that bring me immeasurable joy. The days that make me feel confident that did well when we upended our lives. I usually can’t point to specific learning objectives that we cover, but the lessons of curiosity and joy are the real gift.