How We Got Here: My Homeschool Story

(Hygge = HOO-gah, remember? Just saying it out loud again so I don’t forget... 😉)

Remember when all the kids left for spring break in 2020 and just… never came back to school? Oh, how COVID turned everything upside down. The uncertainty touched every part of our lives in different layers and different ways.

My boys were so little back then—too young to navigate technology on their own. Online classes on iPads were… not for the faint of heart. I will forever be grateful for the teachers who showed up and adapted, even as I ached for what they were navigating too.

But the year that followed? That was even harder.

The Year I Couldn't Go In

I sent my boys back to school, but I couldn’t walk them in. I couldn’t meet their teachers, the people who would be with my babies the majority of the day.

For me, that was HUGE. I’m an in-person kind of person—through and through. Give me a face-to-face over a Zoom any day.

And yet, there was Jenn—my youngest son William’s second-grade teacher. I never met her in person that year, but somehow she still made a lasting impact.

While the world was "sheltering in place,” I was working around the clock. Mortgage rates were at historic lows, and the housing industry was booming like never before. For a commission-based job, it was a gift—and yet, I was exhausted. By the time I got home, I had nothing left for the two who needed me the most.

It was during that season—overwhelmed, worn out, and stretched thin—that God spoke clearly: “You will homeschool your boys.”

And I laughed. A full-on, Sarah laughing at the angel kind of laugh.

“Father,,” I said. “So I must be about to become a millionaire who can afford a full-time tutor… or get married and become a stay-at-home mom, right?” Still, I didn’t doubt what I heard. I just didn’t know how or when.

So I tucked it in my heart and waited.

A Nudge Wrapped in a Gift Bag

At the end of that second-grade year, Jenn retired to have her first baby. For someone I never met in person, I truly felt the loss. I knew other students would miss out on her heart and presence.

I sent her a baby shower gift through the school. And that’s when I heard it again:

“She’s going to be part of your homeschool journey.”

Now listen—I didn’t say a word. I hadn’t met her. Didn’t know her faith. She’d probably think I was crazy. But I heard it. And I believed it.

Fast Forward… God Was Already There

Two years later—David finishing 5th, William wrapping up 4th—and I was staring middle school in the face.

I had so many thoughts, questions, and concerns. So I took them to God. And He was clear: “Now is the time.”

Of course, this was also during the real estate slowdown—rates rising, the cost of living increasing, and no millionaire status in sight. Still single. Still unsure. And yet… somehow, unshakably at peace.

As I began talking about the possibility of homeschooling out loud for the first time, a teacher friend mentioned Jenn. I told her I didn’t have Jenn’s contact info. And just like that—God reconnected us.

The God-Winks That Followed

Jenn will share her story from her side (and you have to hear it), but here are a few bullet-point God-winks from my end:

• Just weeks before I reached out, Jenn had been praying about homeschooling her own children.

• She started asking God what community could look like.

• Jenn was homeschooled herself and had worked in public schools—so she had the tools and perspective to help me “unschool,” explore options, and breathe through all my fears.

• She reminded me that God entrusted these boys to me—and that meant He’d put everything I needed in me to raise them for the purpose He designed.

No, being a single mom was never God’s original design. But He wasn’t surprised.

He had prepared me. He had prepared a place. And He brought the right people in at just the right time.

This Isn’t My “Why”… But It’s My “How”

I’ll share our list of “whys” in another post, because there wasn’t just one. But this? This is how we got here.

This is the doorway to our homeschool life. And in this season, hygge (HOO-gah) became something new for me.

It wasn’t cozy lighting and a cup of tea. It was creating a place for my boys—even when it was inconvenient. It was trading hustle for presence. It was discovering, together, the beauty of His unforced rhythms of grace (Matthew 11:28–30, MSG).

We didn’t know how much we needed it. But now that we’ve tasted it, we’re learning to live differently. Slower. Closer. Together.

💬 Reflection: Is there a part of your life God whispered to you about long before you could understand it? What would it look like to trust His timing—and open your hands to what He’s been preparing all along?