We won! (sort of)
This period of waiting to know “what’s next” has been an interesting limbo land for us. It’s a *bit* like being seniors in college, trying to figure out all over again “what to do after graduation.” Except that this time, we have less angst about making a decision that will define who (or what) we’ll “be” as grown ups. [We have come far enough to know that the answer to that question likely will be dynamic throughout our adult lives. . . ]
Instead, we have replaced that with angst about how our decisions impact our kids. I say that half-jokingly, since we believe that their little lives are shaped much more by who we are as parents than by where or how we live. But, the truth remains that “what’s next” for us does have a major impact on what their lives will look like for the next few years. And for Simona, who soon will be leaving behind early childhood for the elementary years, SCHOOLS are becoming an issue.
Though it’s impossible to know for sure where we’ll live after May, the nature of Caleb’s career makes a large city more likely than a smaller town. And for a variety of reasons, we prefer urban living to suburban life. Which makes schools something to “figure out” rather than just “attend.”
Here in Atlanta, we happen to have moved into the district of a new, highly touted public elementary school. We like the neighborhood for other reasons, too, and would be happy to stay in this area. Enrolling in a great school would mean filling out a few forms, and that would be it.
Should we return to Washington, D.C., matters would be a bit more complicated. The District also has some high-achieving public schools, but we would not be able to afford to live in-bounds for one of those schools. Fortunately, the DC public schools “out of bounds” lottery allows residents to apply to up to six OOB schools, and all public charter schools admit students by lottery, too. Which means that, despite our Mennonite connections, we’ve been hedging our bets and rolling the dice, so to speak.
The results of the OOB lottery were published last week, and Simona “won.” She’s been admitted to one school and is in the top 3 on the waitlists of three other schools. Of course, we still have to figure out whether we’ll be moving back to the District or not; whether she is accepted to any of the charters; where Caleb’s job would be; and where we can afford to live without being terribly far from schools or work. Minor details.
All of this planning and applying and pondering may, in fact, turn out to be wasted time, since we may end up moving to a totally different city. In which case we’d be back to square one, trying to figure out school options all over again.
Yes, it’s not like it used to be, folks. Gone are the days when Grandpa walked eight miles, uphill both ways, through the snow to get to school. Somehow, though, that doesn’t seem so bad after all. . .
