Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Out Of My Hands

Terrifying words for a control freak.

I turned in the paperwork yesterday to Sioux City School District requesting they release our girls for open enrollment in the Sergeant Bluff School District. After a week and a half of frantic school visits, discussions, and praying (frantic because we didn't know that the deadline for applying for open enrollment was March 1st), Keith and I decided that the smaller district (particularly the smaller high school) with the more modern facilities and which seems more accustomed to accommodating homeschoolers and dual enrollers was the better choice for our girls.

But, as I said, we're after the deadline. All the schools involved -- both in Sioux City and in Sergeant Bluff -- seemed to think that as long as we got our paperwork in soon, there shouldn't be much of a problem.

But the lady at the main office who actually took the paperwork from my hands yesterday didn't seem as optimistic. Not necessarily pessimistic. Maybe she just had to make sure I was prepared for a denial if it came.

In a way, I suppose this is good. This leaves the whole situation truly in God's hands. If the girls are supposed to be in Sergeant Bluff, He can move the heart of the superintendent to give us grace (we didn't know there was such an early deadline, after all!). If the girls are supposed to be in Sioux City, He won't.

I'm afraid I'll be disappointed, though. And I hate the wait. Some people would say I should be able to relax now, because I've done all I can do. But I'll probably still kick myself about something --should have checked about deadlines sooner . . should have attached a note about our circumstances . . there's always a should-have.

And, really, it wouldn't be a terrible thing for them to be in Sioux City schools. There's nothing wrong with them. They have their advantages, too. The girls would be fine there. They just aren't our preference.

Anyway -- it's out of my hands. We should know by the end of the week or the beginning of next. Then I'm sure I'll find something else to stress out about.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Gwen, I have a little story from our lives which I hope helps you during your wait and even after you have your answer from the school districts.

When our 2 older boys were getting ready to take algebra, I had an idea of who the best teacher would be for the boys. I was told about this one teacher who was supposed to be the best math teacher in the district. Being one who always wants the best for my boys, I was quite disappointed when they didn't get this particular teacher. In fact, they got this new teacher... one who we thought was right out of school.

We decided that we needed to push for a change in teachers so we went to the school to put in that request. We were told that it was not possible to change teachers... that this teacher would be just fine for the boys. I was ready to go to battle, but Irene convinced me that we should just accept the situation. Maybe this other teacher would also be good.

Well, she wasn't good... she was AWESOME!!! (she also was not right out of school) My dyslexic son was learning algebra and was not struggling. This teacher knew how to apply all learning styles so that all students could learn.

We subsequently found out that the teacher we wanted was not all she was cracked up to be. She had this tendency to belittle the "jocks" which would not have gone over very well with our boys.

In our case, we found that we had to trust that God was in charge. He knows better than us what is best for our boys. If we would have pushed, we would have been going against God's will.

Just keep praying that God directs the right decision for your girls.