No Thank You, St. Mary's.

The thing I feared happened. We got started homeschooling -- purchased curriculum, joined a Classical Conversations community, worked on lessons, started finding our routine -- and then a Catholic school called with an open spot.

"This is very unexpected," the registrar office told me, "but Monkey1 is the next on the wait list."

That evening, when my husband and I stretched out on the floor to talk, eat, watch TV, and surf the internet, we both felt this was a great chance, but not quite right for our family.

Academically, St. Mary's School has a wonderful reputation. When I visited the school for an orientation and tour, I was happily touched by its similarities to the Catholic school where I spent grades 2 through 8. During the administration's introduction, the church pastor was emphatic that even through the church and the school were separated by four blocks, it was the parish school, not just a private school, not just a Catholic school, but the parish school -- the priests were there frequently, and when the children went to Mass, the seventh and eighth graders took the hands of the kindergartners and first graders, and they all march up to the church together.

But St. Mary's is not our parish, has not been our home. We went there a few times, and I went to the Moms & Tots group a few times, but we did not click there. We found another Catholic parish, also with a school, also with a Moms & Tots group, and we found and made our home there, for a bit over four years now. Monkey2 is going to preschool there. Monkey1 is on the kindergarten wait list. Our friends, both traditional school and homeschool, are there.

"Not our parish" also means we would pay a higher tuition, and making St. Mary's "our parish" would remove any seniority we have gained for admission or wait list rank at our home parish.

Monkey1 is "doing school" by having to sit in a chair and pay attention to a teacher and interact with classmates once a week for three hours at Classical Conversations. The rest of school work/learning we do at home, in the car, walking to the playground, at the Nature Center, or wherever we are. Friday morning she just completed reading her first book, with not too much help. Friday at lunch she counted six items on her plate, and then skipped counted them, 2, 4, 6. (Okay, to be honest, she didn't stop at six; she got carried away with the song and went all the way up to 24.) The rest of socializing we do with close friends, several times a week because both Monkey1 and I like being around people, and without anyone calling out, "No talking! Do your worksheet!"

Give up Classical Conversations? Trade for a school day of 7:55 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. on the opposite side of town from Monkey2's preschool? Not at our home parish? With none of her friends? Nearly a month into the school year? My husband and I thought about our first-born and shook our heads.

So, No Thank You, St. Mary's.

The thing I feared happened. We got started homeschooling and then a Catholic school called with an open spot. And we chose to homeschool!