and just like that

last night i went to bed thinking homeschooling lay a good 2 to 3 years ahead of us on the horizon. this morning- a different story.
chris called me at 10. he said that the school had called him. "why him?" i thought. they ALWAYS call me.
"mrs. a, max just fell into a puddle, could you bring a change of clothes?"
"mrs. a, henry has a fever."
"mrs. a, samantha forgot her lunch."
but no. they called him. so i waited patiently to hear the reason for their deviating from routine.
he told me that they wanted to meet. they were concerned over max's piling unexcused absences. he wanted me to email the teacher and excuse the last three absences that happened in the past two school weeks.
i could tell he was mad. the man hates to be pinned. he starts to get bigger. flexing and grunting and tearing his shirt off. this is all figurative. instead of tearing his shirt off he threatens to pull the kids out. to homeschool them.
he doesn't tell the school this. he tells me.
so i emailed max's teacher and make an excuse for his absences. he was ill. it's true. the clinic nurse asked me on tuesday, as she held a thermometer in her hand, not to bring him in on wednesday because they have a 24 hour fever free rule. and there's been a stomach thing going around so sometimes it's best to keep him home if things look like they're headed downhill even before breakfast.
after i sent the email i got an email from chris. it was just a link. georgia home educators association. "how to get started" was the name of the page. i was still not sure he was serious. i reply, "ummm, don't tease me." i read over the material loosely.
he called when he got out of work- the gist of the conversation?- he's serious. he actually was worried that we weren't including the kids on the decision. what do i say to that but a big fat LOL. the kids have been praying and fasting for at least a year in favor of homeschooling. they are super excited. he suggested that maybe we take them out after spring break.
i asked the kids one at a time as i cooked dinner. each and every one of them were SO excited. i asked them what they thought about starting after spring break. i think max's answer was the most telling. i reminded him that the day after the end of spring break is his birthday.
he got excited, "oh, yeah! and also, it's when we start CRCT testing."
hmmm. that got me thinking. all of this ruckus that the school is raising. is it all just scare tactics to make sure beyond a reasonable doubt that my kids will be dutifully filling in those bubbles? i'm well aware that my kids will be on the above average side of the bar- bringing scores up in each of their classrooms. it makes the tiny devil on my left shoulder chuckle a bit. those poor rubes at the school. what will they think when their scare tactics don't work.
so we just talked. it seems during his run at the gym he got even more peeved. he wants to bring them out after fridays bell rings. so we officially start homeschooling monday morning.
all those years i've been praying i thought to myself, "wow, it will be truly a miracle when chris changes his mind about homeschool."
i witnessed a miracle today. it just makes me believe that my daily prayers are so much bigger than i once thought they were.