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Hi guys! I just got home from a two week trip to Idaho.  I helped with some projects while there but this post is more about life happenings than projects so I’ll share some project photos another time.  Some of you have been hanging out with me for the whole 6 years that I’ve been blogging and you’ve watched Madison grow up.  I don’t share as much family stuff as I used to when Madison was a little girl.  Madison was in grade school when I started blogging.  At that time a lot of the projects I created revolved around her;  Halloween projects, building things like a playhouse under the stairs and other crafty projects that we did together or I did for her class as a “room parent”.

Well Madison just turned 17!  Can you believe that?   Her birthday is part of the reason I went to Idaho.  Wha?  Idaho?  Why?  Well let me tell you…Madison - 17 going on 30

Once upon a time…

Sandra met Wes, they fell in love, they married and 5 years later they had a beautiful little girl, Madison.  Wes and Sandra loved and nurtured Madison and she grew into a lovely young human being; smart, strong, thoughtful and intentional about life and her place in the world.  Madison has many strengths and talents and has always loved learning.  She chose her career path around the age of 5 and it has never wavered.   When Madison started high school last year (10th grade here) she hated it.  She is an old soul and very focused on life goals and not so much interested in “silly teenager stuff”.  Having her sights set on becoming an author has helped her through some difficult times.  Having a long term goal helped her not get lost in herself when the social scene was very difficult after moving to TN in middle school.  Yikes!  THE WORST TIME in a girls life to leave all her friends and move to a new town and school.

16

Socially, school was not fun.  Intellectually, the structure of her new school seemed to be holding her back.  So 3 months into her sophomore year, Madison withdrew from conventional school and started “homeschooling”.  That is what they insist on calling it here even though she was enrolled in an online high school program.  So Madison got to do school on her own terms and timeline.  This allowed us to take road trips and vacations while she was literally in school!  Cool!  Madison is very driven.  She managed her own program and did her work on her own.  She owned it.Road Tripping

Since she could work at her own pace she pretty much blew through it.  Madison graduated from high school in December, two months ago; with a 4.0 GPA and a year and a half ahead of schedule…   So now what?

She wanted to go to college in England but there was NO WAY we were going to send her off to school in another country at 16!  So we planned on her taking some classes here in TN for a year (or so) and then pursuing England. My sister invited Madison to come live with her in Boise, ID for a while and we all thought that was a great plan.  Move across the country instead of across the globe and “dip your feet” into the well of independence before you dive in head first.

So in October, Wes and Madison road tripped from Knoxville to Boise in the car that is now deemed “Madison’s” and she has been living in Boise since then.

Road Trippin'

She got her first job and is taking one class at BSU.  We’re calling this her gap year (even though it’s only a half year and she’s actually taking a class but Astrobiology is just for fun so…).

She has been doing really well in Boise and will stay until May when she finishes her class.  Then she’ll be moving back home and going to school here in TN.  At least for the next year or two.  My sister, Julie has been a great surrogate parent for Madison while in Boise but Julie is moving to CA this summer and we aren’t ready for our 17 going on 30 year old, little girl to live on her own.  Instead of waiting another whole year to go to England, she is going to dive in and get her BA degree here.  England will still be there when she’s ready to get her graduate degree in 4 years (or so).  With Madison, we never know what to expect so we just kinda’ keep an open mind and try to figure out what’s best for her as each life transition arrives.  It’s a journey.  On a side note, she did get accepted into all 5 schools she applied to in England so she’s hoping she’ll get accepted again when the time comes.  Our little smarty pants.  Literally, she is quite a smarty pants at times but she is a teenager so I guess that is to be expected…

College at 16

And now you’re basically all caught up!  I’m back home and ready to dive back into my craft room.  Though I have to clean it up first.  It was quite a mess when I left.

See you soon with some project updates!

craft_room_mess

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Comments

  1. Congratulations to Madison & to mom & dad for accepting her wish to finish on her own terms. While “homeschooling” here in TN does have a terrible connotation for many, I wish I had done so with my two very high !Q daughters back in their high school days. Their high school was/is considered on of the top in the state, but they were bored with so many of the classes. Best of luck to Madison in her endeavors and future trips to England. I know she will do well. Is she going to MC? We have a family friend who is on staff in the music dept. Well, last I heard, he was! Envious of your customized craft room.

    • Thanks Beckie. She will probably do PSC for her AA degree to save money because she wants to make sure we don’t run out of “school funds” before she gets to England. We’re still just figuring it all out.

  2. Neat – but now what is that game in the last photo?! We are big game fans and that looks cool!

  3. Astrobiology for “fun”! Yeah, I don’t think she’ll have any troubles in college. Good job to mom and dad, too.

  5. Great post! It’s always exciting and a bit scary seeing our kids transition into adulthood. I have known some kids who did a semester abroad in their final two years of college, and it was great for them. Congrats on your success Madison!

    • Two years from now studying abroad will probably be perfect so we’ll definitely look into that. Sounds like a great idea.

  6. Congratulations to Madison, she is quite the girl! I bet you, Sandra, have missed your helper?

    • I do miss her but she has never caught the sawdust bug. LOL She is excited about the sewing area in the new craft room though…so we have that. 🙂

  7. Congrats to your daughter for taking the initiative to move forward with her education and with the support of her parents. I have worked in higher education for the past 9 years and I would totally encourage Madison to do a term or a full year of study abroad. She can always go to grad school in England (I work with a lot of European schools actually). But she could take that time while getting her undergrad degree to explore and settle on a place in England or even find somewhere else she wants to explore!

    • That is a great idea and we’ll look into that. Our main goal is to allow her to get on with pursuing her intellectual goals while still being able to continue our “parenting role” while she continues in her physiological growth. 16 to 18 are important years — so I’ve heard. LOL

  8. Gosh! Congratulations to Madison, and to you Sandra, and to Wes! Reminds me of the time when my daughter went to university in London at age of 17.

  9. Congratulations Madison!!! When I first began reading your blog I remember commenting to my husband how similar Madison is to our daughter (same age)…she’s also an old soul. She homeschooled in 6th grade (using the K-12 online program) as we were transitioning out of the military and did really well as she’s very self motivated. She’s been in public school since then and often says how she wishes she’d continued with K-12 but here in MA there are so many hoops to jump through and strange requirements that neither of us was comfortable. She, too, wants to become an author and study in England (I’m English & she’s a dual citizen…& I’m still not thrilled at the idea of my baby girl being so far away!)…it’s too bad they hadn’t met in school! They could’ve been old souls (kindred spirits!) together! ? I look forward to reading Madison’s continuing story!

  10. How wonderful that Madison knows what she wants and is goal oriented. When she is back in TN and going to University, she might want to look into seeing if the program she will be in has either a year or semester abroad. They are wonderful programs and she can see in a short term if living overseas for graduate school is what she might like to do. Many Universities has multiple undergraduate programs abroad in different locations as well, not just one. It really adds to the college experience!

  11. What a great update! I love hearing stories of people – kids especially – who carve a different path than the one that is placed before them. It’s not only Madison’s achievement, it’s yours and Wes’s because not every parent is willing to see or get on board with the idea that their child is a square peg and doesn’t want to be crammed into a round hole. Bravo to all of you.

    • Thanks Deb. It’s so difficult for so many kids to make the traditional school environment work for them. I’m glad we were able to find an environment that allows her to thrive.

  12. It’s fabulous to read stories of bright, driven daughter’s. Good for you and her! Wishing lots of luck and I hope she relishes her college journey and all the opportunities that she will encounter!

  13. So good to hear an update and see pictures of Maddie. She is such a beautiful young woman.

  14. Anyone that takes Astrobiology (or any class that ends in ology) for fun has to be pretty cool!
    Best wishes to Madison, sounds like she has an amazing life ahead of her!

    Your craft room is looking amazing! My studio is at the same spot it was when you were here in October 🙁

  15. Anything that starts with astro!!! Look forward to seeing your talents on display here every week. You are really talented and I am still learning from you. Seems the “apple” is not falling far from the tree.

  16. Congratulations to Madison on her achievements. Studying abroad is such an amazing experience. It’s probably super scary for mom and dad, but I cannot encourage you enough to let her go to England now. It reads as if y’all are holding her back. Who knows what will happen in the next 4 years. It would be a shame to squander such a fantastic opportunity. I say that will all the best intentions and the memories and lessons I learned in my years abroad.

    • She is intellectually ready for anything but at one week into 17 years old, she is still growing, physiologically. We just want to give that frontal lobe a little more time to develop before she ventures out into the world on her own. She will learn abroad, just not yet. 🙂

  17. Happy Birthday and Congratulations Madison!! May you continue to be blessed in Love and happiness in all you heart desires!! You are cared for by many even though we only have a glimpse into your life, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Mom and Dad you have done a great job in guiding your sweet little girl, yes you know the pull of your heart in the distance as she has been away, always hold her close in your heart.

  18. How wonderful to have such a lovely child! I too have a 17 year old, a boy with Asperger Syndrome. He is extremely bright but a very, very lonely soul with a profound sadness at not understanding how to fit in a world that seems to be always trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. Some day he may find his nitch in the world. Your daughter is going to do amazing things with that brain of hers. How exciting! I look forward to seeing where her destiny lies. Thank you for sharing. Congratulations to all of you!

    • It sounds like your son has a difficult path to pave and I wish him success and contentment. It’s so hard for kids that are extraordinary to make it work in a mainstreamed ordinary environment.

  19. Woowoo! So exciting to see young people charting their own course! I’m right outside Boise and we’ve got family in Tennessee! Want to visit there someday! Go Broncos!

  20. Wow! What a whirlwind of change! Congrats to Madison for being such a self-starter and working so hard to achieve her goals! And good job Mom and Dad for being so supportive! It must be very difficult to let her live far away from you when she’s still a teenager.

    Sandra, I’ve only recently discovered your blog and I find it so inspirational (and a bit intimidating, because you’ve got mad skills!). I’m hoping you might be able to help me with a home improvement challenge.

    My husband and I bought a fixer upper a little over a year ago and we’re at the stage where we need to start installing an HVAC system (our house has forced hot water baseboard heat). We’ve gotten about 7 HVAC quotes, all of them recommending completely different (and equally terrible) solutions (like: “Install 6 condensers on the back of your house.”) and we’re at our wits end trying to figure out how to move forward. We live in New Hampshire where HVAC professionals don’t seem to be on the cutting edge of technology. I’m wondering if you can recommend any resources for finding competent professionals when you’re faced with a job you just don’t have the skill set to do your self? We are both pretty handy and are willing to do some of the work ourselves, but some of the work requires a professional and we need help figuring out what the best option is for our home. We’ve used Angie’s List, Googled our brains out, and basically have come up empty. My husband has spend hours researching the myriad of HVAC options and it seems Canada and California are light years ahead in this department. What do you do when you can’t find a professional to help you in the area where you live?

    I know you do most of the work on your house yourself, but thought you might have some suggestions. Thanks so much for any advice you can offer! All the best to you and your family!

    • Wow,sounds like a major headache. I have NO HVAC knowledge and have never been in that kind of position where I couldn’t find someone I felt was right for the job. Angies list and word of mouth are how I usually find a new tradesperson. If I had to guess what I’d do next, I’d Google and Youtube the heck out of the problem and possible solutions and figure out how to fix it myself. Try contacting Remodeling Dude on facebook. He might be more help.

      • Thanks Sandra! Much appreciated! I posted a comment on finehomebuilding.com forum and got some pretty helpful advice there – basically, “do it yourself,” which is how my husband and I were leaning and that gave us that extra push of encouragement. Thanks for the recommendations! I’ll check out Remodeling Dude on FB.

  21. Yay! Welcome home Madison and congratulations! What an exciting path she is taking, and what awesome parents you are for supporting her the entire way! I can’t wait to see what her future holds.

    • Thanks Jacque. She’s got the world at her fingertips –we’re just happy to be along for the ride!

  22. Congrats to Madison! and congrats to you and Wes for raising an awesomely determined young lady. We moved to Boise 8 months ago and love it!! Hope Madison is enjoy our great city!

    • Thanks. Wes and I are both from the Boise area so we visit at least yearly. It’s a great city!

  23. Way to go Madison and congrats to Mom and Dad on a job well done!! I wish you all the best on your new chapter in life Madison. That craft room is looking good Sandra! Cheers.

  24. Congrats to Madison and as a Mom, I hear ya! My daughter is currently a sophomore and is also mature beyond her age. As a military family, we moved her in the middle of middle school and at the end of middle school. Luckily she’ll complete all four years of high school in the same school. She doesn’t always get all the “teenager” stuff and is always planning for her future. She’s looking at schools in England and Canada and can’t wait to travel the world. I totally understand your position of wanting to support your daughter in her independence, but still not ready to let her “go” due to her age and the world around us. It’s nice to hear about parents in the same position as we are 🙂

    • Thanks so much Janet. That’s so tough to move twice in middle school! wow. Hope she enjoys being in one school for the final years and gets to see the world as she desires. Most of all, I hope she has safe and happy school experience. 🙂

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