Back to school! It was a little bit of a crazy back to school week with a delayed start on Tuesday, and 100th day on Thursday, but we did it! (Both teachers and students!) Because we had a delayed start on Tuesday, it meant a very short morning in the kindergarten class! But we keep moving forward with letters, sounds, math, and Bible lessons...one lesson at a time.
On Tuesday afternoon, I was able to have lunch with my friend, Allison. Somehow there is never quite enough time to cover all our conversations, but I am so thankful for her friendship to me. We went out to a restaurant for lunch (one of the restaurants you can sit down in and eat at). It was such a fun afternoon of laugher, fellowship, and just spending time together. I treasure these memories.
It was kinda funny to be back at this particular restaurant because the kids and I had just come to this restaurant over break week to have lunch with Terry. Last Thursday when we meet Terry for lunch, we all walked into the restaurant together. Keep in mind that I had our five children with me- children that I drove to the restaurant and live with me! When we asked to be seated, the manager came over and told us that we had too many people to seat. I was like, “What? These are my children, and this dear lady is our friend.” He said that it was against their restaurant policy to seat parties of more than six people...EVEN IF THEY ARE ALL FAMILY! Please someone stop this ridiculousness! So our family of seven would not be able to come to this restaurant to eat (there are no signs on the door or in the restaurant stating that parties of seven are not allowed). He looked at all the kids with me, and then said that he would seat us today, but we wouldn’t be allowed to come back! Why is this not discrimination against large families!? So I can plan a dinner date with five of my dear friends which all live in different houses, but I can not come with my family out to dinner because there are seven of us? This is unreal! It completely baffles me how some common sense seems to have completely vacated our society in recent months! When the kids were telling Roger of their lunch date with Terry, Chandler made the comment that he didn’t understand why that was the rule. There were only about six other people in the entire restaurant for the lunch hour. Chandler said he felt awkward when the manager was telling us that we weren’t allowed to come back, and that to me screams discrimination against larger families. When I went to this restaurant with Allison, I didn’t have any of our children, so I was allowed back (insert large eye roll here!). Now that it’s behind us by a few days, I can kinda shake it off, but wow, it really bothered me a week ago!
Our 100th day of school was on Thursday! This is more of a milestone this year, I feel! We’ve had 100 days of in-person learning, and that is because of God’s protection. That’s due to so many praying for our church and school and the families involved. God is so good! In kindergarten we counted to 100, found 100 letter cards, read 100 words, and discovered that we’ve read almost 100 books (read alouds) in our classroom. It was a fun day, and now on to the next 75 to finish the school year! Thank you for praying with us for the Lord’s continued protection.
We’ve continued to work on our house projects. Wyatt really enjoys helping Roger with cutting pieces for the flooring. Chandler is good at painting- as long as it’s a big wall and not trim! We are still trying to figure out what Garett might enjoy as we aren’t building an airplane in our basement. (If it was anything with aviation, he’d be all about it!)
We continue to press on. As many of you, the future seems uncertain at times, but we know that God has a plan for the Robertson family. For now, we continue to do the next right thing. I tell our children often that I don’t know what the big picture looks like, but for today we will do the next right thing...be faithful, read God’s Word, pray, love Jesus, and love those around us. One small step at a time and God will continue to direct our steps.
Last Saturday we had dinner with some dear friends. It was such a fun evening. Most of our children are quite a bit older than Nick and Hannah’s children, but for whatever reason, they sure do enjoy spending time with each other. My kids always look for their kids at school and they all enjoy legos, outside play and lots of food! Years ago when we were back in Wisconsin, Chandler had an experience where some older boys told him he was too little to play with them. And yes, Chandler was probably about six or seven at the time, and these boys were probably twelve to thirteen years old. However, that experience stuck out in his mind. I remember having a distinct conversation with him about it. He was disappointed and upset that the older boys wouldn’t include him or even try to let him play with them. I told him that he had a choice to make (keep in mind I’m talking to my young son at the time). I said that in a few short years he would be one of the “older boys”. I told him that maybe he should remember what it felt like to be left out because he was younger, and when he got to be that age he should include those younger than him. Chandler is not one to have much for patience with his siblings or classmates that are annoying, but for the most part, he is very good at including younger children to play with him. When I look out my classroom windows in the morning, I see Wyatt and Chandler pulling younger kids on sleds around the school yard. I see Garett helping a younger student put his mittens back on, and these moments fill me with thankfulness. (Yes, I sometimes look out the window and see actions I don’t like also!). I’m thankful that our children have the opportunity to interact with younger children around them, and while not everyone is gifted in working with young kids, we can all be kind!
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