Part 4 – Falling In Love With My Child Again

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

I knew that I wanted to homeschool but remember when I swore it off solely based on the antics of Satan’s Sister (AKA my kid)? Yeah, she’s not around so much anymore. When we figured out her trigger ingredients (red dye, TBHQ, BHA and BHT if you were curious) it was like magic. My sweet girl came back… and she slept too! It was a miracle.

Don’t mind the patch. She was going through a pirate phase. 😉

I even declared 6 my new favorite age. My previous favorite age was 2 so it had been a hot minute since I had really enjoyed her on a consistent basis. Don’t get me wrong. I love this child to no end. She just wasn’t always easy to be around.

Somewhere around age 3 she came into her personality with a vengeance and was rather opinionated. About everything. She gets it honest, bless her heart, but tact had not yet been developed. She was once described to me as a wild colt looking to break free. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t always embrace her uniqueness. But now, I adore and can even appreciate every ounce of her spirit. She became my best sidekick. She’s creative and crafty and has some crazy ideas. She’s also loving, thoughtful, helpful, and eager to please. She’s tactile and still loves to be held and hugged and kissed. She returns that affection and I eat it up.

If I could go back I would try to do a few things differently. See, our family went through a rough couple of years. It was a combination of things, really. More than just school and way too much to go into right now. We all lived in this house together but I’m not so sure there was a lot of free-flowing love and acceptance going around, from anybody. We were in survival mode, plain and simple. The timing just wasn’t right for us to even think about homeschooling, much less do it. I didn’t have the support I needed and my patience was practically non-existent. It’s amazing how far we’ve come in the past few years. I crave to be around my people more than ever and little things make me smile.

Saturdays are one of my favorite days. Mike is usually at work but me and tLG have our own little groove. She’s pretty much a homebody like me. When we first learned the days of the week, Saturday was referred to as Stay Home Day, and stay home we do! Well, we try. We bake and clean and dance and veg out and organize or work on a project. She’s really quite the helper at the ripe old age of 6. We get along so well and I really do cherish how delightful she is to be around. So, you can imagine my shock and frustration when she comes home from school on Monday like a crazed evil twin. It’s a night and day difference, I tell ya.

This past summer was quite possibly our best one yet. I was so sad when it ended. I had never cried on the 1st day of school until this year. I missed her terribly and it made me incredibly sad to go back to the grind. When first grade turned out to be the grind-on-crack, homeschool became a viable option.

It’s fascinating how the Lord seems to knit things together in perfect timing and I’m learning more and more to just be patient and wait on Him. I don’t think homeschool would have worked for us before. I still have no idea if it will work for us now but my heart has been changed and I’m willing to try. Can I be honest? I’m scared to death.

Stay tuned for part 5 and I’ll address my biggest concerns about homeschool.