Hi moms! We just returned from a college visit with our oldest (who is 16 and an 11th grader - how can this be?). I may or may not have felt fearful, excited, tearful, and relieved all in the span of a four hour period.
Mostly, the feelings of deep thankfulness and joy (and ok - maybe a teensy weensy bit of sadness) pervaded throughout the day.
Many of you have been with me on this journey since we began, so it's only fair I share my heart with you in this final year of homeschooling my oldest.
Truths of the Homeschool Journey
You will make more memories and create more connections with your children than you could ever imagine. Time spent reading aloud, rowing beautiful books, and taking field trips will stick with your children for the rest of their lives. My heart swells when my oldest tells me she feels she is so good at writing because I read good literature TO her.
Refinement will be beautiful - and painful. My dear friend, Denise, told me early on in my homeschool days that children are "holy sandpaper". She was right. I have been refined in a myriad of ways. My patience has been tested (and hopefully grown!), my tongue has been tamed, and my selfish ways have been challenged. All of the reasons I said I never wanted to homeschool have turned out to be the exact reasons why I am GLAD we homeschool.
You will learn how to think outside the box in MANY areas. Once you abandon the ideal of public school, you will begin to abandon other ideals that have been accepted "just because". As you gain the confidence to take control of your children's education, you learn the truth that you don't need experts for everything. Your love and advocacy for your family are enough. NEVER forget that.
Reclaiming our own educations is a precious gift. I never dreamed of the knowledge I would gain through teaching my own children. A love of learning weaves its way through all of my days. I am reading voraciously. A culture of truth, goodness, and beauty has found its way into my home. Praise be to God for this!
You will make precious friendships in the homeschool community. I cannot imagine our lives without our community of homeschool friends. Tonight, as a dear friend dropped my youngest off after a day of fun, I shed tears thinking about the blessing this particular family has been in our lives. Iron sharpens iron - this is most certainly true.
As I looked at my precious daughter today I was flooded with all of these thoughts and emotions. I imagine I'll be writing to you a lot in the coming year.
Please forgive me now for my nostalgia and sentimentality.
I'm just so thankful we chose this path, and I hope you are, too!
(Stay tuned for more posts about approaching that homeschool finish line. They're coming. I just know it.)