Around our dinner table every night we share our high of the day and our low of the day. It’s a ritual we’ve come to enjoy and it breeds good discussion around the dinner table.

Last night it was very sweet to hear that my children’s high revolved around my book release. Sophie said, “People at school started looking at me funny because I kept talking excitedly about two things: the Seahawks and your book release.”

Two nights ago Aidan didn’t say much when the high low came to him. Later, as Patrick was patiently helping him with his homework, Aidan started crying. Turns out his teacher ripped several pages out of his cahier (notebook) as he sat at his desk. She said his handwriting was terrible so she ripped out his work. Then she gave him another kid’s cahier who had neat handwriting and told him he’d have to recopy the pages exactly like the kid who wrote well.

Grrrrrrrr. Patrick later worried, “I wonder if our children will resent us or our choices by moving to France.” I worry about it too. They have such a hard time in school. Sophie tells me that teachers at her school regularly yell out test grades (particularly the failing ones) in front of class and openly ridicule failing students. Gotta love this school system!

And then Patrick realized that Julia can’t translate. She is fluent in English and French but can’t seem to translate between the two. So, we’ll have to work with her. Thankfully, we have some friends coming in February who will bring some teaching materials to help us.

So, we have our share of highs and lows as a family. And sometimes it seems like too much to endure. But I have to believe God is good and His ways are right.