"What?" I asked my husband. "Can't I just change the date??"
"Uh, no. That means you have to schedule a new appointment with the eye doctor to get an updated prescription."
"And when am I going to do that?? In between the therapies, Dr visits, errands....!?? Why would they make a prescription expire??? I can't just drop everything I'm doing and make an appointment for myself. I hate making appointments for myself. I can't believe an eye prescription would expire!! Don't they know I can't just drop everything and go?!?!...and on and on I went.
Of course I realize the importance of why they would do this, and I think I am a prime example. It's to make sure people set aside time to take care of themselves.... but sometimes it just seems like too much effort. I would much rather take care of the kids and family to ensure things keep running smoothly and the house doesn't fall apart. Yes, I realize this habit could be a recipe for disaster if the needs of mommy are ignored, but..... wait a second! A thought just came to me. I can take one of my kids along with me and have some one on one quality time with them. Yes! I think I will do just that. I quickly picked up the phone, made an appointment and got ready to go.
My oldest came along with me. It was nice to get some quiet time with him. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up. I tried to size him up to see how we are doing as parents. He was smiling. That is always a good sign. I am so happy we chose to homeschool. He seems to really be growing. It's interesting that the very things that motivate his younger brother to learn, such as a little peer pressure, comparing grades and progress, a bit of competition, are the very things that seemed to be turning our oldest son off. As soon as we found an educational path of no tests or grades, just a laid back enjoyable approach to learning, he relaxed. He is enjoying learning and is once again embracing it. It's beautiful to see. This morning he was busy looking up facts on the Hindenburg, helium balloons, the Wright brothers and the Gold Rush in 1849, just to name a few. We do not follow a set curriculum for everything. Often times I find that the most effective path to true learning is to just let him follow his interests. He has discovered a great interest in Halacha and Chumash. It's really beautiful to see.
Yes, I worry that the kids may "fall behind" academically and not be up to where their peers are in "regular" school, but I need to keep reminding myself why we are homeschooling.
Why are we homeschooling? There are many reasons that come to mind and for the most part they probably overlap each other. Where to start? Well, I was having a hard time connecting with each of our children after they would come home from a long day in school, tired, irritable, hungry, homework... Then there was dinnertime and bedtime. I guess the pace of life seemed to be going too fast with too many deadlines to meet. I don't know. I don't know how other parents are able to successfully do the "brick and mortar" school and still have plenty of quality time and downtime together as a family. But I knew that our daily routine wasn't working for us as a family. ....and of course there was the morning insanity of getting everyone out the door in one piece, dressed, fed, homework in hand, on time and smiling. Having spirited children with all sorts of different needs, special needs, high energy etc... I was frantically looking for a different way of life. And then of course, there was the individual reasons for each child why we chose to homeschool.
It's amazing to me how there are no two homeschool families who are alike. Each of us are on our own individual journey of connecting with our children, finding joy in learning and bringing spirituality into our homes.
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