31

Everyone has them...things you thought you'd never do that you end up doing.

For instance, there's an old Bill Cosby routine where he talks about kissing a girl and the punchline is "I'll never do that!" It's what children say - "I'll never move away from home" or "I'll never leave you, Daddy" or "I'll never eat broccoli."

As a child, and even later, as an adult, you have those moments where you think, "I'll never do that." Then, at some point, you're doing exactly what you never thought you'd be doing.

Actually (and isn't THAT an overused word? Marv Albert even uttered it as I wrote the last few words) my original thought - the one that started this post - is slightly different. There are things we thought we would never do, then there are things we never thought we would do.

That is, the thought of doing or not doing never even existed. You didn't know it was possible. You didn't know it could happen.

When I think about the things I thought I'd never do that I have done - they tend to be more negative than positive.

But the things I never thought I'd do that I have done - those tend to be more positive than negative.

Homeschool dad.

The possibility of being one was unknown to me when I was in high school. I had never heard of it. I thought about the possibility of one day being married and having children. But having children that did school at home, taught by their mother and me? Outside my universe.

As we end our 12th year of homeschooling - Shae is finishing 11th grade - it's pretty cool to think about what we've experienced and how different raising our children has been than what I ever would have expected.

Shae got her A.C.T. scores back today. 31.

What a blessing.