We had a meeting last night with the dojang’s booster club (basically a group of parents who do things like bake sales to raise money for scholarships and charities; they originally wanted a say in how the dojang was run, but hell no) to discuss the reality that we were closing the school on Saturdays for the foreseeable future. TK and I expected opposition across the board; after all, these people are paying money to have access to lessons for their kids at reasonable times, and they’ve always had Saturday classes available.

Out of thirty parents, only one had issues with this; the rest of them were somewhat relieved, because this eliminates one weekend time-suck. Most of them have more than one child at the school, and those kids are spread out over different ranks, and therefore don’t have class together; some of the families are there in three hour blocks, and it’s too much for them. The consensus was now the kids can sleep in and they can get more done with their weekends. This is a relief. It won’t solve our money-flow issues, it won’t even come close, but it’s a start.

Inevitably, we’ll have only two choices: move to a smaller space and sell this building, or close the school and sell the building. I can bridge the money gap for a while, but I’m not willing to so do long term, and TK understands this; he pays his bills from his teaching income, but this was initially an investment for Char and I and as an investment it’s no longer viable. We’ll wait before making any final decisions, and may close for one more day a week until we have a more clear vision of where the school is headed.

If more students withdraw and fewer new students come in, we won’t have a choice. If the economy takes a sudden turn and inactive students return, we may be able to just move into a new space (minus the amenities that make this building attractive but expensive) and keep things running. If we do that, however, it becomes TK’s baby entirely, and my kids will simply be his students. I’ll teach a few classes a week as time permits.

At some point, when Char is sufficiently recovered that she won’t need someone nearby all the time, I’ll be expected to find another job, go back to school, or stand out in the yard for 8 hours a day so that I am not always here. I don’t know; I think it may be time for her to re-enter the working world and leave me home to be a house husband and stay at home dad. That sounds fair. ;)