Chronicles of a soon-to-be homeschooling mom...v2

All you mothers who are already homeschooling have (or maybe you still are) dealt with the criticism that comes along with taking your children out of "real" school.  I'm hoping to take the advice of those who have offered it and not let it bother me.  I want to be able to support my decision to those that question it, so I've given it a lot of thought over the last several weeks.

Let me be really clear upfront.  I, in no way, think that anyone who has their children in public school or in private school is doing wrong by their children.  And also for the record, I absolutely love the school my children currently attend.  This has nothing to do with any problems we had there.  I would recommend the school to anyone looking for a Catholic education for their children.

This choice really came down to what was best for our family.  Money was a big factor.  But it was more than that.  Another reason is simply that I miss my babies!!  My children were gone over the weekend and into this week (we're in the middle of Spring Break), and I was miserable.  Yes, the quiet was nice.  But I don't thrive on quiet.  I thrive with my kids next to me.  They are a constant reminder for me to keep going and not waste the day away.  The decision to homeschool will help me dramatically with all of that.  I'm so excited to have every day with them.  Remember back to all of the snow days we had this year.  I clearly recall Facebook being crowded with comments of, "please let them go back to school tomorrow!"  My status read, "Am I the only one not wanting my kids to go back tomorrow?"  Now, clearly some of this is selfish.  I love my sleep.  God knew this and gave me three wonderful sleepers.  We are usually never out of bed before 7:30.  When we're in school, I have to drag them all out of bed at 6:00.  For the next hour there is screaming and threatening and whining...and this is just what I'm doing!  It seems we fight every morning to get out the door on time.  I don't want this for us anymore.  I want things to calm down.  I don't want my morning prayer time with my children to be in the car on the way to school, as I'm trying not to curse at all the drivers who are repeatedly cutting me off!  And don't get me started on our evenings...we don't get home until 4:00.  And there is snack, changing out of uniforms, homework, piano lessons, dinner, and then guess what?  It's already time for bed.  When is it my time with my children?  When do we get to be a family?  The majority of my children's awake time is spent with teachers I barely know.  There are many other reasons that we have chosen this route for our family as well.  Some of which are the ability to include more religion into our activities throughout the day, being able to tailor the education for each child individually, and also to keep them from being exposed too young to a world that is much too advanced for them.

I know it's unusual, and it's not the norm.  But that's okay...I too often follow the crowd.  The crowds usually intimidate me, so maybe it's time I start being a part of the minority for a change.  I know it's not going to be easy.  I'm sure there will be plenty of days that I'm counting the minutes down until daddy arrives and I can have my afternoon beverage.  I really have no idea what I'm in store for, but I compare this to that of a new mother.  For 9 months, every one that could get her to listen told her how much her life would change.  They told her stories upon stories of how hard things would be.  The mother listened and secretly thought that SHE would never have those problems.  She, of course, would be the perfect model parent with the perfect model newborn.  And then the baby came, and she quickly changed her tune.  I was that mom just as I am that soon-to-be homeschooling mom.  But you know what, five years later I can look at my three children and think...yeah, it was hard, but I did it!  And in five years from now, I think I'll be able to look over at my children hard at work at their desks in our home and know that I was able to do this as well!

Look at me blogging twice in one day!  I'm counting this as tomorrow's post...just for the record!  ;)