October 2013. It was a Friday and I was picking up JK from Kindergarten at our locally zoned public school.
JK: *in a tired and relieved voice* Mom, I am SO excited about this weekend.
Me: You are? What's so special about this weekend?
JK: We don't have school on Monday.
What he was referencing: In our school district, we are given a "State Fair" day. Basically, the children get off a day from school and a free ticket to the state fair, held in our town.
While most kids are excited about having a day off from school, my heart broke. Just a mere two months earlier, I had sent a child to our public school system that LOVED to learn. The year before, his preK schedule was MWF so TTH were always sad mornings for him - no school. So in two months time, I had sent an excited little sponge and received back a lifeless, exhausted rag of a child that couldn't wait for the weekends, especially long ones. What had happened? I had worked in corporate America for 15+ years and had seen and experienced this same burnout. It was all too familiar. And heartbreaking for me to already see in a little boy, two months into his school career. I didn't realize it at the time, but the Lord used this experience to change my heart for my children.
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