Thanks for that input too! Um, we live in a rural area as well, and that is part of the problem too, as we moved from our hometown where all of his PS friends and two HS friends live…which makes him resent living here. We only live 25 minutes away though, but to him it is MILES! I understand his frustration, but he simply refuses to make new friends up here. We have visited several of the co-ops, church groups, youth, etc… and there for awhile it seemed he was thrilled to have met other hs kids, but then as things go with kids, things were said, and the friendships faltered, and it was right back to, CAN WE PLEASE MOVE BACK TO HUNTINGON!? We thought this move up here would be great. There’s acres of land, a creek, a pond, etc…but since we have moved up here, he is not much into the outdoors. He is not into hunting, fishing, or any of that! He is into computers, Xbox 360, books, etc…another words INDOORS! I feel this guilt hanging over me all of the time about our move. All four of our girls LOVE it up here! We have always had his friends up here a lot, and we make trip after trip to Htgn. to take him for overnight stays with them there. He even goes and stays with my parents, who still of course lives there, and spends lots of time with her so he can visit with his friends! Of course, this it totally off of the subject of what I originally posted, BUT, it has somewhat to do with it because all of his PS friends pressure him to move back there and go to school. He says he doesn’t want to go to PS, but he DOES want to live closer to them! For the time being I have told him that we will pray about it and just see what the Lord brings our way. You never know what doors might open. It’s just hard being the only boy, and like you said, that awkward age of 14! Some of his friends I believe envy him because he does have it so good I think, and that is why they make their comments…not to mention they ALWAYS want to be up here. I just don’t know sometimes! It seems that it might just be trivial things I am worrying over! My Husband gets tired of hearing me constantly go back and forth on these issues so much! But, I just want Everyone to be happy along our journey…and if one person seems as though they aren’t, then my world seems to fall apart around me and I feel so helpless and like I am failing somehow…just keep us in your prayers to all please! AND THANKS FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL POSTS!
Christie, I know somewhat how you feel. We are in a similar situation–our move wasn’t necessarily by choice and we’re 2 hours away from the friends we loved. We also were able to move to a place that is rural and our girls seem to be thriving, but our son isn’t the outdoors type either. It seems that we battle the “I want to be like other kids and just go to PS.” syndrome with him–not all the time, but enough that it bothers me. I’ve had to just pray that God will help him be content, because with him I feel like that’s the root issue. I too want everyone in our home to be happy and feel that failing/helpless feeling from time to time when things aren’t going great. I heard a sermon recently in which the pastor said “It’s not your job or responsibility to keep others happy. Happiness comes from within.” That really made me think—and I felt somewhat relieved of that burden. After much prayer and looking back, I feel that God is revealing to us that we let our “friend time” encroach upon our “family time”–I feel that He wants our children to have stronger bonds with each other, whereas before, they had much stronger ties with their individual friends. I’ll pray for your family that God will meet each individual’s needs and that He will cover you with His peace.
That sermon that you spoke of is actually so true and really hit home with me. Like your son, most of the time my son is content…but it really seems to hit hard during the summer time when all of the public schooled kids are out. They all start calling him up and wanting to hang out. I can always tell when he’s been around them a bit too long because the symptoms return about wanting to move back and how it seems they have a better life…etc. etc. etc! You know the routine I am sure! But once we get over this summer hump and get back into the “fall Mode” then things seem to simmer down quite a lot! Oh well….this too shall pass..and thank you for remembering our family in prayer.
You mentioned that Math wasn’t your son’s favorite subject. When I first homeschool my daughter (I had pulled her out of PS at the end of 10th grade), Math wasn’t her cup of tea either. Teaching Textbooks helped her tremendously. She was able to gain some confidence and she was willing to try pre-calculus in her 12th year.
She graduated last year and Math is still not her strongest area, but has other great strengths. She is an excellent writer. The Lord gives all of us gifts, some stronger than others. I’m not a Math / Science person either so I can relate.