8 things to never say to a homeschooling mom...

1. Oh. Aren't you worried your kids will be weird?
Uh, no. Aren't you worried your foot will never come out of your mouth?

2. Oh. I could NEVER homeschool my kids, I'd just go crazy.
Um. What exactly is it you're trying to imply? Actually, I am certifiable, so I'm already there.

3. Wow, you're a better person than me! I'd kill my kids if I had to spend all day with them.
Well..... I do want to kill them some of the time. I just drink a lot of wine... Ok?

4. What, did you think you could do a better job than all those teachers?
I AM a teacher, thanks. Who do you think taught all these kids to eat, sleep, play, pray, and NOT act like they were raised by wolves? And by the way, have you taken a look at my college transcripts? The ones that have straight A's, multiple scholarships and published scientific articles and creative writing awards? Stuff it, smarty pants.

5. What, exactly, do you do all day?
Teach my kids. duh. Well, that and wipe butts, clean stuff, cook, run errands, drive the Mom's taxi, yell, read...

6. Are you one of those God freaks?
Sure am. Gosh, are you one of those satan freaks damned to eternal hell? Let me know what it's like there in your firepit.

7. Do you get a big tax break for that?
Nope. Why don't you write to your congressman and our esteemed leadership and let them know we wouldn't need one if they'd quite wrecking our school systems with their ridiculous "accountability" legislation, budget cuts and all the other things I think stink.

8. Are you CRAZY?
I believe I already addressed that one. You betcha. Just ask my husband, Kristina and Cassie. They'll vouch that I'm wacko.

Ticking...ticking....ticking....

clock.
uh oh, here is another dirty sock.
the hours of the day flew by
so briskly i often want to cry.
for in those tiny ticks of time
my littles morph like climbing vines.
the sweetness of the days is lost
amongst the chaos of all that is tossed.
i yell, pell mell, and change many a pant
until i am just too numb to rant.
i wish to collapse like a sack of beans
i am quite simply out of steam.
i long for hours spent reading rhymes
with no distress about the time.
i wish to take the road that is spent
loving my littles with no regret.

with love,
clan mac mama

A crossroads...

has presented itself to me. Either that or I've finally reached the blow point and now I'm standing at the crossroads, thinking I'd better pick a road or I'm gonna wreck...

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

Have I chosen the road less traveled? You betcha. Is it easy? Not on your bloody life. Will I turn back and take the other? Can't tell ya right now. I only know this. I want the end of that poem to mean something to me. I want so badly to embrace this less traveled road. I want so badly to embrace this life, let it flow, learn to love the moments, good and bad. I want to stop resenting my choices and somehow accept that this is the life God planned for me. I love my children SO much more than I ever dreamed I could love another little human bean. And I'm watching it whizz by, like the paper on microfiche in a library reader, so fast...and I just want it to SLOW DOWN, just give me the time to iron it all out.
Please wait for Mommy, little macs. I just need a little time.