Changes

 Not all dreams come to fruition, not all adventures go as planned. We (the Dupreys) moved off of Quadra on October 1st, 2021.

It's been an emotional journey, but we are working to find our place as a single family again. Since Phil was working under-the-table at the time, we didn't qualify for a rental, so a dear friend offered us space in his driveway and we used some of our tiny-home fund to buy a travel trailer. Our current location is Courtenay but I won't say more due to bylaw infractions 😂

The kids and I are taking a healthy step back from stringent requirements, and have been unschooling or de-schooling for the past few months. We needed it to adjust to the small living space, and let emotions settle down. Now, I'm starting to work in daily learning again, and I'm optimistic. 

De-schooling looked like: 

• Including them in the work of budgeting and grocery shopping, (financial planning, math, problem-solving, delayed gratification) 

• Days spent playing Magic the Gathering online together (emotional regulation, self-control/impulse control, reading comprehension, strategy, basic math) 

• Sorting my friend's extensive collection of Magic cards (often complex alphabetical order, attention to detail, classification and sounding out long and unfamiliar words/names)

• Daily dishes and laundry together. (basic care/maintenance for human beings)

• Weekly visits to the local pool, unsupervised by me (teamwork, time management, independence, problem solving, social skills)

• Reading, together and independently. 

We burned through Percy Jackson book one, Harry Potter book 5, The Black Stallion, and are now into The Black Stallion returns. Asher is an avid reader, getting into novels now. Micah still prefers non-fiction like National Geographic fact books and Ripley's Believe it or Not, and Rose is still back and forth between non-fiction/informational books, Chicken-soup books, and children's novels. All of them love graphic novels, and will devour any I find in an afternoon.

Phil has a job with a security firm based out of Campbell River. He commutes 45 minutes each way some days, other days he's working in town, and sometimes as far afield as Parksville. He's learning lots of interesting software and becoming familiar with various power tools, and even helped out a locksmith for a week. For fun, he's been designing a board game, and running with our friend. Phil's registered for a half-marathon this spring. Micah has started run/walking with him, proud to do 5.5km in less than an hour. (Phil runs ahead then back to join him, ending up doing a much longer rout)

Rose cooks and bakes every time she has the opportunity, her dearest wish is for us to have a proper kitchen again, and we are excited for the day when we will. For now, we have friends who let us use theirs and share in the bounty, so it's win-win! She's crocheting a corner-to-corner blanket, and it's already almost as tall as she is.

God's plan for our future home is yet unknown, but we are taking advantage of a safe space and an opportunity to put away money, hopefully for a down payment, rentals being so expensive and difficult to find right now. I'm working once a week with a lovely autistic little one, and life is slowly finding a semblance of order. (as if order was ever in the cards for me!) Phil assures me that the adventure is why he married me, which reminds me that we are both crazy, and that's what we love about each other.  God's got us, and that's enough.