God answers prayers...

I think, as humans, there's a natural ebb and flow to our lives.  Just like the seasons change, we have to expect our lives to change.  If we continue to focus only on those things that are constant--or try to hold on too hard to things we think SHOULD be constant--we miss out on the opportunities God is sending our way.  
I've been asking God to bring new things into my life that will help me guide my way through the rough spot I seem to have hit with the social part of homeschooling.  Being with other homeschoolers has been such an effort;  we have to drive far to attend activities (minimum 10 miles, but generally a 20 minute drive to any activity).  A simple one hour homeschool swim class turns into a two to three hour effort.  With four little ones, it's actually an entire afternoon.
Today was a beautiful day!  It was almost 70 degrees (in the middle of January, just the opposite of other parts of the country with record lows).  We decided a park day was the prescription for our lazy morning spent watching the Inauguration.  
There was a group of moms meeting there.  After some time, the last two moms remaining struck up a conversation with me.  I learned that they had both considered homeschooling, but hadn't really pursued it any further.  We had a really nice talk and I gave them my email address to contact me.  They seemed really genuine and renewed my hope that finding homeschoolers closer to us may be possible.
I'm not sure if it was the chance encounter or if I finally got enough Vitamin D this week, but I was feeling rather renewed and positive.  So much so, I finally gave in and joined one of the committees for our Homeowner's Association.  I had to take all of the kids to the meeting at the neighborhood school and, at the beginning of the meeting, I felt like the "crazy homeschool mom with all of the kids."  But as soon as we broke out into committees, I realized God had sent me there, once again.
After spending about a half hour talking to one of the Board Members who was starting the committee and the one other volunteer, I realized that 1) I really did have something to offer and 2) the other committee member was a HOMESCHOOLING MOM that has homeschooled for 16 years and lives two blocks away!
How fantastic.  She said she'd like to get together outside of the committee as well and chat about homeschooling.  I cannot believe God sent me this opportunity to talk to someone at the "other end" of homeschooling.