Her Last First Day

All of the kids headed to school last week.

This was a very big deal in this house.

I've been homeschooling for the last 11 years.

I always said that we would take it year by year.  I was flexible like that.  Every year we made the decision together.  We would figure out what was best for the kids at the time.

Johanna and Grady had both gone to Kindergarten but I had pulled them out when Johanna started grade one.  That's when my homeschool journey started.

Johanna went back to school in grade 6.

Grady and Sophie both started the same year....Grady in grade 9 and Sophie in grade 1...that was two years ago.

And now it was time for Jack and Lydia to go.  Jack is off to grade 9 and Lydia to grade 1.

I'm no longer a homeschooling mom.

I no longer have cashiers asking me why my kids aren't in school.

Or the general public....when I go out in public.

It always amazed me how people needed to know why my kids weren't in school.

One older gentleman actually followed me up and down the aisles of the grocery store telling me that my kids would never have a future if they didn't go to school.

One woman told me that when they did start to school that they would be placed in the Kindergarten room.  After all....that's where you start when you go to school.  She said that it didn't matter how old they were....they would start in Kindergarten.  I was fascinated by this.  Luckily, this didn't actually happen to me.

People are interesting.

Homeschooling in a rural community was hard at times.  There was no support group.  There was no support at all.  I could tell when people didn't support me.  I was sometimes introduced as 'the homeschooling mom'....which I thought was sort of odd.

So anyways, I packed the lunches and sent them off.

Jack had an excellent day of people watching on that first day.

Lydia said it was the best day of her life.  I enjoy her school stories every night.  They are very good.

Johanna reminded me that it was her last first day.  Her last first day of high school.  She only has one more year here with us.  I know it will fly by and she will be gone.

How can I ever be ready for that?

Brenda