I may lose some friends here but I'm going to be really honest.  I have not thought twice about the school year ahead.  Maybe once, but not twice.  And I keep reading posts about families starting up school, some since the beginning of August.  I'm not sure if I should feel guilty or not.  O.k., not.  I don't feel anything.  It's an encouragement to read what others are doing.  But I'm still not ready to let go of summer.  I read somewhere that a family had started school last week and they said it was really hard to keep the kids focused, what with the sun shining on the shimmering pool outside.  I don't normally wish to say anything bad about anyone on here but I just had to think, "Man, is it so important to start school up so soon, when there is still so much play time left of the season?"  I really relish summer.  I wish that summer was more than just a few months, it really should be longer.  Where I live, there has been very little summer and I can tell I'm feeling dismal from lack of sun.  Sometimes I wear a tank top and shiver, pretending it's warm.  Pathetic.  Where I grew up, it was summer for months.  Sometimes nearly the whole year.  At least, compared to where I live now.  I really didn't know much about seasons until I moved north. 

Back to the school thing.  The best thing about homeschooling is that each family decides when and how they will proceed.  My problem is that I seem to be the only one around that will be starting in Sept.  We do go through June, usually, because it's still so cold, we might as well stay inside.  I guess I feel like the "odd (wo)man out" because I won't be posting anything about our school year until next month.  But that's o.k.  I've never been one to follow the crowd, anyway.  I just hope I don't lose any friends because of it!