I don't put masks on my kids. It feels like putting a muzzle on them. I see other kids at parks and on hikes all masked up and it breaks my heart. I was planning to homeschool before covid hit, but seeing all the new restrictions just reinforced that decision. I couldn't send my kids to school and make them wear a mask all day :( Not a single vaccine either! I've got in-laws calling me crazy, but I'm just trying to do what my gut says is right for them.
I love this, thanks! This is exactly why I lurk on this board, for gems like this.
It's ridiculous. One way aisles but we all walk around each other/pass each other... it makes no sense at all. Several stores in my area ripped out the one way signs. I don't think many people actually followed them anyway.
I was living near Corvallis until a few months ago, moved to the Portland area for work. Corvallis has so many crazy liberals... I walked about 4 feet up the wrong way in Safeway because I didn't want to walk all the way around to grab one thing. Some old lady started telling me "they have arrows on the floor, and we should be following them so everyone can be safe". I told her I really didn't care and kept walking the wrong way.
I have been to parks up here in the Portland area where there are 30-40 people and not a single person is wearing a mask. No one is trying to keep their distance. It's great, and super surprising for this area. I think a lot of people are sick of wearing masks and don't care anymore.
I am also near Portland for the moment and hate it. I want out of this state as soon as possible. I realize your wife does not share your views, but do you still love her? Is she still your best friend? What brought you together in the beginning?
Before you do a trial separation or suggest a divorce, I think you need to talk to her honestly about how you're feeling about everything. If you aren't happy with the marriage or where you live, tell her. It can feel very isolating to be the only one in a marriage with certain views, so tell her if that's how you feel. Does she have any idea that this is an issue between you guys? She might not realize how you feel, so before you dump her, try talking to her (it might take several conversations) and expressing what you're feeling...and listen to what she says as well. Did you do premarital counseling? Maybe finding a good counselor or pastor to mediate your conversations would help.
I think a lot of marriage problems are the result of poor communication and misunderstandings. Yeah, sometimes there are other issues... and maybe you will end up divorcing, but at least do your part as her husband to make an effort to communicate your feelings and work on repairing things before you write her off completely.
I personally don't support trial separations because you can't work on your issues when you're apart, and when things are stressed in the marriage and you leave...of course it's going to feel better and seem like the better option. Taking a trip to visit family for a week or so, sure that's great! But you need to go back and face the issues between you.
It isn't your job to change your spouse, but do love her and pray for her and be an example of Christ and his love for us to her. Get up and go to church every week, even if she doesn't (invite her every week). Pray for her, let her see you praying for her, pray outloud over her before bed. Refocusing your attention on your relationship with God will help you, and maybe help her and your marriage as well.
I find this super disturbing because I've been there a few times and given them my money. But I had no idea... I always thought their donut names were a bit outrageous, but in a funny way. Now viewing their business with a different, more "awake" perspective, I find it very upsetting. Thank you for sharing this info.
Thank you!! #6 is super interesting. I don't understand why they would put out a video like that. Something seems really off/fake about the whole thing. And I probably would not have seen it if you hadn't included it, so many thanks to you and all your hard work!
Thank you! I look forward to these posts every day! :-)
Art Robinson had a good curriculum as well. If you look up the Robinson curriculum book list, it has a lot of good books on it (it's the list I read from as a young homeschool kid). Many of the books can be downloaded for free from https://www.gutenberg.org/.
Beautiful Feet Books is a good resource for reading, history, language arts and character all rolled into one. I like it because it encourages learning through stories and reading (I think young kids learn this way) - https://www.bfbooks.com/
https://www.christianbook.com is a good source for all kinds of curriculum.
I have been using The Good and the Beautiful this past year and it has been working pretty well. Definitely give it a try. They have language arts and math levels 1-5 available FOR FREE on their website. Also, marine biology science unit is free.