When I meet someone on the street and they see me with my children in tow and then ask me if my kids are in school yet, it's becoming natural to blurt out, "Oh, I homeschool."
There you go. It's said. I'm not mainstream, I'm alternative. We're not like everyone else, we do this mysterious thing where we stay HOME and somehow learn what we "need" to.
For the majority of homeschool moms out there, they hear you saying, "I'm not part of the workforce, I'm at home all day." You immediately begin to assume that the other person is assuming that you are also religious, anti-government, anti-social, and a granola-eating hippie. Even if any of these listed are true (and you may be very proud of them 🙌) , our minds still do something when someone asks us if we homeschool: we immediately start to think defensively and think of all the things that we could possibly say or do to make this person get a real idea of what kind of homeschooler we are. Maybe we should take the opportunity to make sure the person knows our differences, reasons and knows what we believe, or maybe we succumb to just spewing excuses for why we said homeschooling, or maybe we switch the topic as fast as possible to avoid any explanation at all before a heated debate starts to brew!
I Homeschool.
I am a homeschooling Mom. I DO fall into the stereotype of a mom that is at home all day. I mother my kids, I teach my kids, I nurse my kids, I babysit my kids, I play with my kids, I cook for my kids, I clean up after my kids, my kids are my world. I don't hate it; I love it.
The truth is moms have so many hats to wear. Some days we want to talk about it, and some days we want to talk about something different for once when we have the opportunity to actually be around other adults.
Yes, when I'm on duty 24/7 it does take a lot of coffee to get through the day with open eyes...but every bit of sweat and energy I pour out is absolutely worth it. Truly, there is such a huge value to being a mom who can spend time with your kids in any capacity...and any mom who that has the opportunity to homeschool is, in my eyes, fortunate and should not be taken for granted.
Yes I homeschool. Nope, I wouldn't trade it for the world! It's not all I am, but part of me.
Happy homeschooling friends! Own it! Be greatful for it!