Two Gunslingers

“Two gunslingers, walked out in the street
And one said ‘I don’t wanna fight no more’
And the other gunslinger thought about it
And he said, ‘yeah what are we fighting for?’
I’m takin’ control of my life,
I’m takin’ control of my life…”

Thursday, August 27, 2020, The Gray School officially registered as a homeschool in North Carolina. We are free. The synchronous learning required by CMS as dictated by the NC legislature did not fit our children’s learning styles. I applaud every family out there doing their best to make education work this year, one way or another. For us, 5+ hours of Zooms a day is no way of living, especially for a child. So we’re taking control of our children’s education. Robert says it feels like a weight off our shoulders. I feel this. And I also feel the daunting responsibility of being in charge of our children’s education for the foreseeable future. What an opportunity though!

So the real question is, is a Tom Petty album from 1991 dictating our 2020 COVID pivot life? If not, then how are these song lyrics fitting in so perfectly each week? Creepy.

Petty’s Two Gunslingers is about self-realization: identifying and then breaking from old habits that no longer serve. “Yeah, what are we fighting for?”

Since becoming a mother and especially over the past couple years, I’ve experienced great change, both internally and externally. My ability to see what needs changing, adapt, lose what no longer works, but keep the good lessons learned along the way, and be willing to move forward even when I can’t see exactly what the road ahead looks like, is what I’m working on and also what I am proud of.

This latest step of leaving a school system that no longer works for us is my family’s next step in growth. We’re not here to stare at screens, check the boxes, and do everything we are told. The time is now to think for ourselves, and I am privileged to get to do this with my family in beautiful places around the country.

But back to Two Gunslingers. I highly recommend you listen to this somewhat obscure Tom Petty song. It may be my favorite on this album. YouTube link here.

And now for the daily notes:

8/23

Our family took a full-day rock climb in Stryker, Montana. We learned to tie figure-8 follow through climbing knots, belay, and of course climb actual rocks (no plastic hand and foot grips here). It was simply one of the best activities our family has ever done together.

I hadn’t particularly been looking forward to this adventure, and even the night before I told Robert I thought he and Aubrey, our strongest and most interested climbers, should go and Cameron and I would find something else to do. I’m so glad we all went. Climbing actual rocks in a beautiful canyon is nothing like climbing on climbing walls.

We had an excellent teacher! His name is Tim and he works with Rock Climb Montana. He was able to establish trust with us and the children immediately and empowered us to work together. He was patient and supportive (I took mental notes for my Gray School teaching role), which is very important when you’re climbing a boulder 50 feet up.

I had no idea my eight-year-old daughter would be climbing a 5.7-level difficulty boulder by the end of the day. “Try new things and you will have fun.” – Aubrey. Well said, little lady.

8/24

There was the cutest little protest in downtown Whitefish! We watched from our balcony, and then got some ice cream from Sweet Peaks and walked through the protest. Impromptu lesson on free speech.

8/25

The kids and I took a drive to Flathead Lake. It was hazy because of the wildfires in California. Aubrey and Cameron loved the lake. It is huge! It’s the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi and was formed when the glaciers north melted at the end of the Ice Age. You can see to the bottom even at 20’+ depths.

The phrase “just add water” came to mind. The children were thrilled to play for three hours in the lake literally on the side of the road with nothing but the lake, its beautiful rocks, small trout swimming around, and a bucket.

Whitefish, MT is famous for its Tuesday night Farmer’s Market. Aubrey and I had a girls’ night out at Abruzzo’s and then danced to the live music at the Farmer’s Market. It was our first GNO in Montana! When we came home, we joined the boys in our hot tub. Not a bad Tuesday!

8/26

After another The Gray School morning, Robert joined us on the Big Mountain where we hiked the East Rim and picked huckleberries. We saw our first grouse. Cameron calls them “mountain chickens.” Luckily we did not see any bears because on our very first family hike, I forgot the bear spray! And I had planned to be such a bear safety fanatic! We did keep the children between us on the hike and made as much noise as possible, which wasn’t hard for Aubrey or Cameron, to let the bears know we were there. Apparently bears don’t like being startled.

8/27

We are officially The Gray School! Submitted paperwork in the afternoon and were impressed at how quickly our application was processed — must have been Robert’s diploma:)!

Sent messages to Aubrey and Cameron’s old teachers and Principal. We will be back someday! But for now, we’re adventure learning!

Robert and I celebrated with a date night at Tupelo. It was so nice to enjoy a dimly-lit restaurant with live music.

8/28

First day of official Gray School and we have swag.

Made pizza at home with sourdough dough from Fleur Bakery in Whitefish. It was the yummiest pizza we’ve ever made!

8/29

Another “Just Add Water” day. Spent most of the day at a public dock within walking distance of our condo. Kids swam, played, fed ducks, and then we all had a “Duck Dance Party.” That is, in case you’ve never had one, when you play Hilliard Studio Method beats on your phone, and dance hard enough to rock the floating dock, all while a raft of ducks swarms you because you are at the same time feeding them peanuts. The kayakers passing by were entertained, as were we.

And a few more photos from the week:

Thank you for following Into The Gray Wide Open! We hope to hear from you soon! Love, Clary, Robert, Aubrey, and Cameron