So I visited my brother-in-law and sister-in-law the other day, and I mentioned my schedule. This was probably in the context of figuring out when’s the next time I can get over to visit them.

I casually threw out how sometimes the kids have basketball games at the same time out of town in two different directions, and how much fun it is trying to figure out how to get them there.

“Don’t they have a bus?” my sister-in-law, who used to play high school basketball asked.

I was taken aback, not sure how to answer that not only did they not have a bus, but in homeschool, there is no ‘they.’ It is all we. As in, the coaches are parents (like in Little League), the players are all someone’s child, and we know all the other parents and children, and the people who schedule the games are also in the group of parents that have agreed to do this sport together. So, while me may agree to play thus and so game in thus and so town at thus and so time, there is no bus to take all the children there.

We take ourselves, or rely on email to carpool.

Tonight I had a conversation with one of the dads from Xay’s team. We’ve done carpool a couple of times, but we don’t know each other’s names, really. I know his wife, and she’s the one I usually make arrangements with. He asked if we had reserved a hotel room for regionals yet. I told him that we usually just drive up and back for regionals; we don’t stay overnight. (Large families and hotel rooms are not a good match).

The Dad looked a little lost. I asked him what his plans were. “We’ll work something out,” he told me. “Do you want us to call when we figure it out?” “Yes,” I told him, “please do.”

Because that’s what you do when you’re in a community, right?