learnaswego.com

We had to take a pass on an awful lot. There just wasn’t enough time to do everything.

All in all, we were picking up a lot. But could we this new knowledge to state requirements towards Ryan’s graduation? That was our challenge.

From time to time we stayed with friends, some of long-standing, others met along the way. We camped in RV parks, state and national parks, on islands. We free camped.

Now and then, we splurged on a motel.

When we dropped back down into the States, we focused on American History where it was made. Concord with its North Bridge from where rang out “the shot heard round the world.” Lexington. Boston and Beacon Street and the Church from where shone the lantern: “one by land, two by sea.” Plymouth and the Mayflower II. A week in New York gave us the new as well as the old, so there was Ellis Island, all the neighborhoods, comic opera at Lincoln Center, and, of course, the great lighted pits where once stood the two towers.

Hightailing it home for Thanksgiving, we stopped at Valley Forge and Gettysburg.

We were pleased with ourselves. We got on each other’s nerves. We found great, unplanned opportunities for learning, met fascinating people, found treasures. We made plans for course work, revised them and then revised them again. I was thrilled how much Ryan was reading and, again, lost good night’s sleep worrying that he wouldn’t get credit for the year. When I became concerned that our days were getting too disorganized, I initiated morning coffee and donuts at Canada’s Tim Hortons, where we set goals, reviewed work and solved problems.

I insisted he write regularly. He resisted. Then, when I least expected it, he picked up his journal. He read, more than he ever had in his life.

Second semester we dropped south for two months in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico, where Ryan studied Spanish along with history and culture and music and, well, all the things one learns when they love where they live. Our last weeks we spent in Silverton, Colorado, with mountains and snow. In Silverton, also, Ryan snagged a construction job for a week and made enough money to pay me off for his snowboard and a weekend trip he made with friends. He also learned that playing with children can bring good money from parents going bonkers with cabin fever. Baby-sitting worked for him because he always liked kids.

At mid-point I had some doubts: was this year giving him what he needed? Would we end the year on speaking terms?

By the time we returned home in May, I was proud.

And, in spite of the fact that his friends thought he was crazy, he reported,“I’m very, very glad we did this year. Nothing can take it from me.”

On my Learn As We Go blog, I want to share our year, as I finish my book with the same name (a working name, anyway) I promise to be honest about our foibles, missteps, magical moments, surprises, loneliness, false starts. I’ll tell you what worked and what didn’t, let you in on the human kindnesses and my nights of anxiety. I’ll recount our annoyances and friendships formed. And, in case, doing something like this appeals to you, even for a week or two, I’ll talk about the books and museums we loved, and how we managed our everyday lives. We blundered into plenty of pitfalls and potholes along the way. I’ll tell you about some of them.

I’ll pass on some things about my son; as much as he wants you to know, anyway.

When I drive across this country, and sometimes Canada and Mexico as well, I come across special places that make me think; there’s a lot to learn here. I’ll report those, too. Maybe you’ll want to take your kids if you are in the neighborhood. Or take yourself.

Because we never stop learning. That is, if we still love life. That is my belief. Probably yours, too, or you wouldn’t be reading this.

By the way, in case you get the itch to do something of the same, whether for a week or a year, know that other families are out there doing the very same thing. I know. We met them.

All right. This is a long-winded introduction. But now you’ve got a clue about what you might find here.

Hope you enjoy.

Mary Lois Sennewald