Family Togetherness

I recently heard an all too familiar story about a mom who took her children
out of school as a result of bullying. Her daughter had been having trouble sleeping and started vomiting  on the way to school. This busy mother of four finally realized the severity of what was going on and pulled her daughter out of school to begin homeschooling.

As I talked to this mom I was inspired by her journey of faith. She has grown as a person and a mother through the process. But the thought occurred to me after our conversation, what if parent's didn't have to wait until something horrible happened to inspire them to homeschool? What if it were more than just a lack of a better alternative that caused parents to actually want to homeschool their children?

There is something so precious about the relationships that form in the family when you spend so much time together. That alone is a reason to consider homeschooling. Like the song goes, "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone." This was true in our house tonight as we sent our eldest son off to stay the week at the cousins - out of town. There was weeping from his brother wondering what he was going to do without him. His younger, happy-go-lucky brother, the four year old, even commented on big brother leaving, "It is kinda sad."

I was sad too. Not only is my eldest my best cleaning helper, but he is a joy in our household. The thought of him being gone all week is a little tough on all of us. Tonight this just made me grateful. I am thankful that these boys, who seem to be continually at each other's throats all the time, are genuinely going to miss their brother. They spend a lot of time together and it has made them best friends.

Even for me as a mom, having my kiddos around all the time blesses me so much. I realize now how much I would miss them if they were gone all day, five days a week. Having so much time together really is a gift.  Homeschooling my children has allowed me this gift of closeness in relationship, it is not always easy, but it is so worth it.

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