We Have a Senior

It is really sinking in now that Olivia is a senior in high school.  Which means that my homeschooling duties are ending.....for one person, but since Sam is a first grader, and there are 3 other children in between them, that I am really only a little more than halfway through my homeschooling career!

Anyway, Olivia will be 18 in April, and graduating from our homeschool the next month.  We gave her an early birthday present a couple of weeks ago--an iPhone!  She was most excited!  Actually, that is an understatement!  She shrieked with delight and disbelief!  She had previously been using the family "Go Phone" when she was away from home, but we knew that eventually she would need a cell phone of her own.  So we got her one for her birthday!

We had the first round of senior pictures made of Olivia last Saturday.  It was a most fun experience.  Uncle Russ, Aunt Megan, and Jimmy were the photography entourage.  Russ and Jimmy took the pictures and took turns holding the big "white board"--something to deflect the light or make the light brighter or something like that--and Megan was the photo stylist.  She posed Olivia, touched up her blush and lip gloss, and adjusted her accessories.  What fun!  It was a freezing cold day, and there were live horses on the property to liven up the photo shoot.  When the horses appeared (and they followed us around--even galloped after our van), I would get inside the van!  Olivia loves all animals, and we got some pictures of her and one of the horses "talking".

The next thing that makes Olivia's being a senior a reality is college!  She plans to attend college next year, and she has narrowed her choices down to three.  She has been accepted to all three, and so now she just has to decide.  We have already visited one campus, and we have visits to the other two campuses scheduled over the next few weeks.  Her choices include (1)  a local community college where she will live at home and either attend classes on campus or take classes online.  (2)  a public university located about 2 hours from our home.  (3) a private college located a long, long way from home.

It's hard to believe that Olivia may be away from home next fall.  Our entire family dynamic will change! The time from rocking a newborn to helping them fill out college applications is so short!  So short!  If you are the mother of one or many small children, remember this--The days are long, but the years are short.