We were driving in a car with the dog. We borrow a car to drive to training.
Bjorn said, in his not-kidding voice, "Would you consider moving to New Jersey..." He stalled; he was task-switching, backing into a parking space. Back-in parking is familial, like the religious use of napkins and honing steels. His not-kidding voice is unmistakable. He was born and raised in NJ, so NJ has charge. It's a suggestion more and less plausible than "let's relocate to Latvia shall we?" So where I might have laughed or said "piffle!" I balked. "?!?!?!"
He continued "... or maybe Texas ..." and finished parking the car. Um. Texas? I said, or maybe sputtered, "What. What what. WHY."
He put on the parking break. "So that we can educate our kid(s) the way we want." [Yeah, he speaks with finial parens.] I figured out where this was coming from. At dinner a month ago I made some remark
regarding laws, rules, hoops to jump through to
homeschool in WA. He didn't know. He began research. He found 10 states that are minimally invasive. "Or Idaho." "No." He doesn't like Washington's hoops. (You have to (i) submit a curriculum meeting XYZ reqs, (ii) have it approved, (iii) get your child tested (&c).)
In the last month he has read books, set up appointments, contacted alternative schoolers, and made phone calls to explore what he can do to protect his education choices for his child(ren).
Now all I have to do is get pregnant again and get a baby this time, eh?
If you're wondering, I said well if pressed I suppose I might be open to Texas because we have some family there and family is the main thing I'm attached to providing and experiencing when we have kids. Good Lord — the words I thought I'd never say.
About the napkins. They to me (more than back-in parking, or the honing steel) are the hallmark of the Onzwit family. Napkins abide at breakfast, lunch, supper, tea, snack (even be it a single banana). Will you partake? Touch the cloth. The gesture is Grace.
All my favorite prayers are prayers of the hands.
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