Ahhhhh…… The life of the Homeschooler!

Sooooo, I homeschooled my children for a number of years!  There, I said it!  I get a mixture of reactions from folks, when I mention this fact.  It ranges from an encouraging smile to a distrustful, and often judgemental frown.  I am, however, very proud of what I accomplished with my kids!  My past is filled with so many fun adventures.  There are memories of camping for weeks at a time, trips to endless zooz and parks of this sort or that, and many different arts and educational groups.  If nothing else, at least I know that my kids were never bored!  As I write about my perspective on this subject, I also realize that my kids may not have entertained the same pleasant recollections as I did. 

The other morning, while enjoying my morning coffee and music, I was pondering this different viewpoint.  I can tell you for certain that I hated at least 3 different hairstyles my mom made me wear!  I also have a plethora of stories recalling my perceived trauma at the clothes I was forced to wear, and to some of the most embarrassing moments I had to be a part of (western pictures with my parents) …it was aweful!

With fresh memories in my head from my own childhood, I perused the memory storybooks I keep of my homeschooling adventures.  I was able to revisit some events that I realize my kids probably cringe at, each time they remembered.  There were a good number of memories, however, that restore my faith in believing I did right by my girls.  Here is one in particular that I thought you might find humorous…

It had been a pretty nice morning so far.  With the classroom workbook session finished, I sat in my office with a cup of coffee, having sent the little ones outside to play in the yard.  I finished the article I had been reading, and set it down next to my now empty coffee cup.  It dawned on me that I had been reading for nearly 20 minutes without interruption…not normal!!!  Just as I reached for the front door handle, my oldest was opening it and coming inside.  The look on her face was that of guilt, fear, and anger all rolled into one! 

Apparently, her sisters had hopped on their bicycles and gone for a bit of a ride.  She wanted it to be very clear that she had tried valiantly to block their escape, but was overwhelmed by the treachery, and she had decided to come get me!  With that information I grabbed my slippers…yes, I know, wrong shoe choice!  Don’t blame me, there was no time…my little hooligans were on the loose…on wheels!!!

I headed down the block at a soft trot…you would think that I would be sprinting, as these were my tiny little vulnerable babies.  Why did I not do said sprinting, you may be asking?  First of all…SLIPPERS!  Besides, I could already hear them singing from 3 blocks away!  The hilarious reason I could hear them from such a distance, was due to the amphitheater style baseball field that rested just below our local elementary school!  And NO, it was not recess time!  The whole of my neighborhood had to know exactly whose little escaped convicts these two were!  As I rounded the corner leading into the above-mentioned park area, they were belting out their own version of some childhood song.  It was being broadcast loudly across the park by my little Tina Turners.  The speed at which their little bikes were racing from the top of the hill all the way down to the bottom was impressive!  So was the speed at which their little hind ends raced home to get there before I did!

In honesty, I think my oldest daughters’ lecture and judgement had a bigger impact on them than mine, lol!  And lets face it people, my kids are just as wild as I am!  Perhaps, more so…