No Regrets

February 22, 2006 at 3:58 pm (Uncategorized)

Due to the recent passing of my
mother-in-law and sister-in-law I have been thinking a lot about living
my life in a way that I will not have regrets.  Thankfully I had
no regrets in these relationships.  We loved each other & it
showed in our day to day dealings with each other.  Although we
lived in 3 different States thousands of miles apart, we were
close.  We called, emailed and visited as often as we could. 
We said “I love you.” often and we meant it.

So all this
thinking about regrets has led me to think about homeschooling.  I
homeschool because I do not want to have regrets with my
children.  I want to look back at my children's education and say
that I did everything I could to give them a great education and
especially to encourage them in their walk with the Lord.

So what things do I fear I would regret had I not homeschooled my children:

1.  I would not have had unlimited time with them. 
This would have been so sad to me.  I think of all those stories I
have heard about a Mom crying t the school bus the 1st day of school
only to become desensitized to the separation in a few weeks.  I
don't want to become desensitized to my kids.  I miss them when
they go to a friend’s house to play and look forward to their
return.  I can't imagine them leaving all day every day!

2.  My husband and I would not have been the main influence in their lives. 
Because we are their teachers we can pick their teachers!  My kids
will never get teachers they don't gel with and then have to suffer
silently all school year.  I went through this is school and I
remember being miserable all year long hoping for a better teacher the
following year.  Their education is too valuable to waste!

3.  They would not have spent the zillions of hours together that they are privileged to spend. 
Since my oldest and youngest and 9 1/2 years apart I appreciate that
they are still able to spend every day together.  I cannot imagine
their relationship would be as close if they were in different places
all day.

4.  Outside influences would creep into our house more easily.  I could go on and on about this, but the best explanation can be found over at Path of Grace.  Read it and weep!

5.  I would not be able to know their friends and love them in the
way I can because of the amount of time I spend with their friends. Sometimes I think I am more attached to their friends than they are!

6. I would not be able to directly influence what they learn. 
I am thrilled that I get to choose the curriculum my kids use.  If
I don't like a book we can drop it.  When I find something else I
want to teach mid year I can add it.  If we want to go off on some
crazy tangent no one will stop us!

7.  They would not have unlimited time to explore their interests. 
My 11-year-old is currently learning Japanese in his spare time. 
It's his interest and because he is homeschooled he has time to pursue
this interest.  Who knows how God will use this in his future?

The list could go on forever, but the point is this.  I am truly
grateful for the privilege of homeschooling.  I thank God for all
the people who went before me to make my journey possible.  I
thank him for curriculum for homeschoolers, homeschool groups,
conferences, homeschoolblogger.com and so much more!  I am so glad
I am able to fulfill this dream and not live my life with regrets.