Force or not to force hs: Case closed!

    Just wanted to share my huge sigh of relief!  After 6 weeks of uncertainty, (since my 14 yr old son first announced his desire to go to a “real school”), we finally have closure.  After posting my dilemma here on the forum, (while being preoccupied with this mess on the vacation of a lifetime, bleh!), I followed many of your suggestions.  We offered to “spice up” things by adding: a science class with a local homeschool group doing Apologia Biology, various park and rec. sports through our city programs, and 4-H activities.  While this sounded fair to him, he still wanted to explore other options.  Soon my dd (12) and (5) began to follow his lead, and chime in their requests to go back (and my lttle on hasn”t even formally started!)  So, I began a quest to explore all the options; my heart wasn’t in it, but out of respect for them (at least the  older two) I felt like I had to.  I scheduled a meeting with our local high to see what they would offer.  I thought maybe he could take an “elective”, or play a sport, maybe even join the FFA.  Unfortunately in our state (MS), homeschool kids are not allowed to participate in any public school activities unless they are enrolled fulltime.  This was definitely not an option; with he and his sister’s special needs (ASD), they would have been set up for disaster.  The extra-curricular would have been fine, but the school said “No”.  I also went back to the  private Chritian school he and his sister attended for 5 years, and they agreed to let all the kids come; my husband and I reluctantly agreed to give it a chance if this is what they really wanted.  I felt so depressed; I had so many plans, improvements to offer, and even a new helper at work (literally a blessing from above) which would allow me to be home more to help my husband with school.  None of this made sense to me; I prayed that God would just help them to change their minds without an “iron fist approach” by us. I didn’t want to be the mean Mama that “forced them” to stay.  He didn’t have to change their minds; He simply closed the door!  Only one day after being told they could come back to their former school, the pricipal called and said she had bad news; they couldn’t come back after all.  The school board had met that AM and decided not to let back any families from the public; (the school is part of a Children Home; they decided it needed to be for the residents only).  I couldn’t believe it!  The kids were sad at first (and I literally had to hide my smile!)  I explained to them that this didn’t just happen for no reason; I fully believe God intercepted for reasons we could not know.  I reminded them again, of all the struggles, bullying, and hectic lifestyle we left behind 3 years ago.  I told them if they thought it was bad then, the highschool years would only intensify these problems.  I explained that this was most likely a “God thing”, (not a mean mom/dad thing), I really tried to respect their wishes.  They agreed; if this is a God thing, we better not argue with Him!  They are now looking forward to my original proposals for a better, more “social” year.  Praise the Lord for fixing this mess!  I should have never doubted Him.  So, I guess I will still be lurking around here from time to time, asking my silly questions etc…. 🙂  Thanks for your support and prayers! Marie