Becoming a Homeschool Veteran

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  • Sue
    Participant

    As of “sometime” next week, I will be a homeschooling veteran.  Retired.  From homeschooling.

    My youngest will finish her last two high school courses at some point next week.  I say “at some point” because we have a whirl of activities going on here.  My soon-to-be 92-year old Dad has been moved to a nursing home (about a month ago). His house (where we have lived for the past 12 years) was placed on the market the day after Thanksgiving.  The house sold yesterday.  We have to move in 29 days.  I am frantically searching for an affordable place for my daughter and me to live (and a place I can afford and feel safe living in when she leaves for the Army in June).  We have also been clearing out an overstuffed attic, jam-packed basement, and a garage that exemplifies the pack-rattiness of my father.  In her later years (when she was still alive), my mother never, EVER went into the garage.  She was probably afraid she would get stuck among the piles of “stuff” and a rescue party would never arrive to save her.  (I feel very brave for having climbed into the garage at this time.)

    So….I have started working three days a week and will (hopefully) soon transition to five days, and DD18 just started waitressing five days a week at a small famiy restaurant down the street.  We are extremely busy, and it’s a wonder that we are able to finish her schoolwork, but finish we will!  I promised myself and her that she would be a high school graduate before the Christmas holiday.  However, we are somewhat exhausted.  My plan for Thanksgiving was to sleep through the day, but nope.  I was talked into cooking a small turkey and a few of our favorites, and actually, DD18 did more than half of the cooking.  It was just her, DS19, and me, but it was nice.  I may sleep through Christmas Day, though.  Again, nope.  Gotta pack.

    Please pray for my dad.  Back in October, he was able to walk up and down the stairs, and he even walked down to that small restaurant one morning.  By himself.  Of course, I did not know he had gone, it was 5:45 in the morning, and they were not yet open…..fortunately, he has been going there for breakfast nearly every day for the past 20 years, so they let him in and called me.  In the meantime, he proceeded to tell the owners that his daughter (me) was insane and he just wanted to wait there until the police came.  (Did I mention that he has Alzheimer’s disease?  Apparently, he had an infection at the time, and it can make Alzheimer’s issues a whole lot worse.)  He was admitted to the hospital that day and stayed there for almost 3 weeks, after which he was moved to the nursing home.

    In less than 2 months time, he has gone from being physically able to walk a city block unassisted to being unable to lift himself out of a wheelchair to go to the bathroom or get into bed.  Yesterday, he complained of “chest pressure” as well.  They ruled out a heart attack, but we don’t yet know what is wrong.

    Still, I am tremendously blessed.  If my Dad had not allowed my children and me to move into his home 12 years ago, I don’t believe I would have been able to continue homeschooling.  And we would not have been around enough to make sure he got to this point in life.  92 years is nothing to sneeze at.  (All of the dust we’ve stirred up in the attic, the basement, and the garage have been making me sneeze, though!)  And I feel almost a sense of victory in knowing that, even though we were constantly barraged with that nagging question, “You are going to put your kids into a regular high school, aren’t you?” I felt called to homeschool all the way through high school, and we did.  WE DID!!!

    (Going to get a tissue….talk amongst yourselves.)

    Whether you are just beginning your homeschool journey or have graduated a few with more to come, thank you for standing with us among the millions of homeschooling families worldwide.  If you choose to send your children to a brick-and-mortar school somewhere along the way, I support you for making a choice that is right for your family.  If you homeschool your children all the way through high school, I applaud you as well for making the right choice for your family.  Keywords:  your family.

    Never question yourself about whether you are a good teacher for your children.  If the decisions you make for your children’s education arise from a combination of research, wise counsel, prayer, and your heart’s desire to teach your offspring, you’ll be fine.  More than fine, you’ll excel, and so will they.  Not every educational plan fits every family (mine never studied Latin–gasp!–but one did study agriscience), so don’t second-guess yourself.  You are your child’s best teacher; you are called to do it!

    My calling is now moving along another path, but I will find it hard to resist lurking here now and then.  I still have a Valentine Party to throw for our large co-op, and then there’s commencement in June….if she is not already gone to basic training, LOL.  And what will I do with all of my free time?  Well, you might find me roaming the aisles of the local supermarket on the hunt for Spam.  (It’s an inside joke.  If you’ve been here long enough, you’ll understand….)

    sarah2106
    Participant

    Congratulations on the closing of one journey and the beginning of another! I was the youngest of 4, all of us homeschooled, and when I graduated it was bitter sweet for my mom, an end of an era.

    I hope things are managed well for your dad, my grandma is mid 90s are there are challenges, I often pray that she has peace about decisions made for her, they are made because the family loves her.

    Thank you for the words of encouragement to do what is right for my family, for each of our families. Raising kids and homeschooling is such an amazing and often overwhelming experience, thank you for encouraging others on your journey.

    Wings2fly
    Participant

    Thank you for sharing your encouraging and often humorous words here with us through the years.  Thank you for sharing the success of homeschooling through high school, which can be challenging as I am finding out this year.  I see His perfect timing in your life’s story.  And I see the great care you have for your aging parent.  Blessings to you and yours on your future endeavors.  How exciting.

    bethanna
    Participant

    Oh, Sue, your post made me cry!  God bless you in this new chapter of life.

    HollyS
    Participant

    Thanks for sharing.  It’s great to hear how things have worked out for you guys, and your words are very encouraging.  I’ll be thinking of you in the days ahead!

    sheraz
    Participant

    Oh, my goodness, Sue!! Congratulations! I am so proud of you!! I love that you still want to hunt Spam, and I hope that you still linger about! 😉 I am grateful to you for all the years you have been here, especially when I was first starting this marvelous journey. Please know that you have been a blessing to my family.

    Praying that all of this will work out for your sweet family as it needs to, and that you will have peace and joy amidst the chaos. <3

    Karen
    Participant

    I’m so glad I saw this post! (I just popped in after being too busy for internet for a long while.)

    Best wishes for both you and your daughter (and your son, too)! And congratulations!!! What a sense of accomplishment!!!

     

    Karen

    Tristan
    Participant

    I just found time to get back here one SCM today and read this. Praying for you as you transition! What a wonderful moment in life, to look back on accomplishments and ahead at what is yet to come. Life is always moving ahead and I love when we can see both directions for a bit and realize that our day by day, one moment at a time living moves us so far.

    Melanie32
    Participant

    Congratulations on a job well done Sue! I so enjoyed reading your post. I am nearing the end of my homeschool journey as well and it is truly bitter sweet. I have a year and a half to go. May God bless you and your family as you begin this new chapter of your life together!

    Oh, and lol at the spam reference!

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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