Oh,;busy;mom.;Here;it;is;Janu- ary;and;we’re;not;even;half- way;through;the;traditional school;year.;Are;you;feeling
the;pressure;slowly;starting;to;creep;in?
Me;too.;This;is;the;time;of;year;when;I
have;to;remind;myself;of;why;we;are;do-ing;what;we’re;doing:;why;am;I;doing;the
hard;work;of;homeschooling;when;dur-ing;this;time;of;year;I’d;rather;be;sitting
on;a;beach;somewhere;warm;and;tropi-cal?;I;feel;this;way;so;strongly;every;Janu-ary—I;even;wrote;about;this;very;subject
back;in;the;January;2012;column;of;The
Littlest;Homeschooler.
It’s;also;the;time;of;the;year;when;I
have to remind myself of the truth. I
have;to;remember;to;tell;myself;the;truth
instead;of;allowing;those;disingenuous
thoughts;like,;“If;I;had;a;corporate;job,
I;could;be;earning;a;trip;to;the;Bahamas
like;so-and-so”,;and,;“If;my;kids;were;in
school,;I’d;have;the;time;to;keep;up;on
my;hair;color,;get;my;toenails;painted,
and;make;my;house;look;like;the;Pottery
Barn;catalog.”
Maybe.
But the truth is, God hasn’t called
me;to;those;things;right;now,;and;even
though;those;scenarios;aren’t;off;limits
or;wrong,;they’re;just;not;where;God;has
planted;me,;and;the;truth;is,;I’m;only;go-ing;to;be;truly;happy;when;I;am;smack;in
the;center;of;God’s;will.
That’s;the;truth.
Then;more;often;than;I;care;to;admit,
my;wandering;heart;strays;and;looks;in
someone;else’s;backyard;and;wishes;I;had
a;different;life;or;at;least;one;that;doesn’t
include;kids;who;complain;about;doing
school work or argue with each other
over;whose;pencil;the;baby;just;bit;into.
As;if;those;things;don’t;exist;in;a;non-homeschooling;family.
And;I’m;back;to;the;truth.
We;fail;to;tell;ourselves;the;truth;in
so;many;areas.;Last;summer;two;of;my
close;friends;sent;their;firstborn;children
off to college. Both moms were emo-tional;and;struggling;with;the;reality;that
the;raising;of;our;children;does;indeed
fly by way too quickly; and both just
couldn’t;believe;that;they;were;dropping
their;young;adults;off;to;stay;and;begin
the;first;leg;of;their;journeys;out;of;their
childhood;homes;forever.
I;listened;to;both;friends;tell;me;that
they;didn’t;do;enough,;didn’t;parent;well,
didn’t;listen;closely,;and;didn’t;seize;the
time;they;had.
“The;worst;moments;are;when;I;think
about all the things I did wrong, and
think;of;her;flaws,;and;how;I;could;have
helped;differently;and;done;so;much;bet-ter;of;a;job,;without;being;so;selfish;while
time;rushed;past,”;she;texted;on;a;hot
120;January-February;2014;•;The;Littlest;Homeschooler;www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
Tell;Yourself
the;Truth:
How;Homeschooling
Mothers;Get;Bogged
Down;in;Unreality
This;is;the;time;of;year;when;I;have;to;remind;myself
of;why;we;are;doing;what;we’re;doing.
