1. I have a responsible, self-directed graduate.

My oldest graduated this month. It’s pretty awesome. For the last 18 months or so I have not only not checked on his homework, I haven’t even known what classes he registered for. He’s taken the reins and is doing a great job.

He works full time hours at a local retail home & farm supply store. He finished his two-year AA degree. He won’t be 18 until August, but he is an adult.

He fills out all his paperwork, has a plan, is working toward it, and I am just a cheerleader on the sidelines of his life now.

That’s a pretty sweet gig.

2. My family likes rice and beans from the Instant Pot.

So this month inside Simply Convivial Continuing Education our monthly topic has been menu planning. Lauren shared a recipe during one of our meetups for rice and beans that I tried and it was a huge hit. It’s simple, cheap, and fast, so I’ll share it here. Maybe it will be your new family favorite, too:

2 cups rice
2 cups black beans
8 cups chicken broth

Cook in the Instant Pot on high pressure for 24 minutes and use quick release when it’s over.

We eat it topped with cheese and sour cream.

3. I have one more year before I’m 40.

My birthday is in June and next year I will be 40. What do I want to do before I’m 40?

I want to ride a bike on the local bike trail that loops around the Columbia River, through all 3 towns of the Tri-Cities.

I want to lose 20ish pounds because it’s only going to get harder if I don’t buckle down now.

I want to grow rhubarb.

I want to clean and organize the whole house, too, like always. Ha!

4. I can finish a book draft.

I did it! I finished my first book draft, turned it into a professional editor, and succumbed to a mental fog.

The plan is to release The Convivial Homeschool: Gospel Encouragement for Keeping Your Sanity While Living and Learning Alongside Your Kids in October.

5. Old friends are gold.

Elly and I have been friends since we were 16, doing Running Start – the program my oldest son just graduated from. We were then roommates for one year in the dorms at University of Idaho. We were both married the next summer, at nineteen, and spent our first married year as college seniors, figuring out homemaking together.

We had 5 matching children – boy, boy, girl, boy, girl – all the same ages.

She started out homeschooling but now not only sends her kids to their church’s classical school but also teaches there. We live about 3 1/2 hours away and see each other a couple times a year.

We’ve seen a lot of life change in unexpected ways over our twenty-three year friendship and helped one another process it and stick to our duties with cheerful, submissive goodwill. I hope we continue to do so for another twenty-three years at least.

This month we met halfway for a moms’ day out and it was delightful. We walked, talked, ate, and window-shopped. We’re old and not on social media, so we totally forgot to take a picture together. It was great.

Friendships take time and effort to make, but also time and effort to keep. I’m not the best at making that effort, but I benefit from the fact that Elly is and I am grateful.

Bonus: Books Finished in June

Uh-oh! I have multiple long books in progress and finished none this month!