Decisions, Decisions . . .

Forcing myself to post. I don't feel like I have time, but it's good for me . . . I always feel better after I do . . . like exercise.

Last year, when we were deciding what to do with the girls' education this year, we were leaning toward enrolling them in the schools at Sergeant Bluff, a small town just south of us (we live right on the southern edge of Sioux City, so Sergeant Bluff is as close or closer than most of "the big city"). And we were going to, but by the time we decided that, we were past the deadline for open enrollment. Oh, well, we said. If the girls are miserable in the Sioux City schools, we can always send them to Sergeant Bluff the next year.

Well, it's getting close to that open enrollment deadline again, so I thought I'd revisit the question with them, thinking I knew the answer. I was correct in Leslie's case. She feels settled where she's at -- she's enrolled for East High, has a locker partner even, and doesn't want to start over again at another school. Understandable.

Eastin, however, surprised me. Turns out, she really liked Sergeant Bluff Elementary when we visited it last year, and thinks she might like to try it. Not that she's had a bad experience at Sunnyside, here in town, but the other school looked very inviting. (I kind of think she's one of those people that just wants to experience everything, afraid she's going to miss out, you know?)

And so now we have a decision to make. Stick with the devil we know, or chance things with the devil we don't know. Will the smaller school environment be a warmer, more comfortable place for her to learn and grow, or will the smaller school have less resources for her education? I'm not sure. And how difficult will it be to have kids in two different school districts? I can't really say.

And then there's always the homeschooling option again. Before we mentioned Sergeant Bluff, Eastin was wanting to be homeschooled again next year. Too many choices....

When we were considering homeschooling in the first place, I remember that once I (we) got to a point that I was truly willing to do whatever was God's will, whatever was best for my kids, even if it was not what I desired most . . . then the decision was easy. The best choice was clear. Not so in this case. I can see advantages and disadvantages to all three options, and none stands out of the pack yet. Maybe I'm not yet really to a point of personal neutrality and submission on the matter. Unfortunately, this decision has a deadline which is coming very quickly.

We're blessed to live in a nation where we have so many choices. But choices can really be a pain in the rear sometimes.