Sunrise

 With a house filled with four pretty daughters, we have seen many boys come and many boys go.  Sometimes they stick around for a season, some, only a date or three.  The picture here was taken at sunrise at a dock not far from our house.  We happened to be on a dock at sunrise because Josephine was seeing a boy - Adrian - and it was his birthday.  For his birthday, Adrian wanted to watch the sun rise with his girlfriend.  So, James and I double dated with them and drove them in the dark to the dock so we could watch the sunrise.  Adrian and Josephine walked out to the end and sat on dock, but, since James and I have seen more sunrises, we stayed closer to the car.  The colors and the light were worth the early morning drive.  Josephine is no longer dating Adrian - they are just friends - but, what a great birthday request, right?

School - socially distant

Maybe you remember in our story that our fourth daughter, Josephine, decided in the ninth grade that she did not like people  She began high school in a new town and made a valiant effort to be a part of her new community.  She tried out for the volleyball team but, decided it was not for her - she wanted to concentrate on academics.  After a few weeks of trying to start conversations with people she thought could be her friends, and a two weeks of being rejected, lunch in the library - poor soul - she was adamant that she could home school herself.  So, she found a program online and we pulled her out of ninth grade.  We enrolled her in Acellus - an online platform for home schooled kids.  She had straight As and she set her own schedule.  When tenth grade began, she decided it was time to return to school.  COVID, in the meantime, had closed the schools.  

Josephine sat for the ninth grade finals through Easton High School and passed with all As.  So, she enrolled back in school as a sophomore, but, was still online as was the whole county, and the whole country.

As the pandemic lessened, the high school offered that a small number of students could return to campus.  To my surprise, Josephine wanted to go.  Her thinking, she said, was that the social distance would make everyone eat lunch alone.  So this photo is her first official day of school in the tenth grade.  This patch would only last less than a week - COVID shut us back up in the house.  But - what I learned here from my beautiful little wonder is that if you want something, you have to make it happen.

She didn't like people - she found an online school.  She wanted an in person teacher - she went back to the classroom with all its restrictions.  Basically, if she sets her mind to it, she gets it.  

The outrageously fun part of all this for me is that I remember that house full of toddlers and babies and how James and I would always say to them, You can do this, you solve the problem, you fix it.  Turns out that might have been good advice, right?

Also, please note Josephine has ten fingers up - for tenth grade.  Also, on her hand, see where she wrote her classroom numbers in order?  Plus, she had a map in her pocket.  She never did get lost.  Why?  Because she was prepared.  Prepared is her middle name.  That black thing hanging from her wrist her is her mask.  She wouldn't let me take a picture of it with it on.....