Well, the time has come to get back into the routine of things again. School is back in session in the Meyer house after a few weeks off for the holidays. I actually never thought I would say that. I never thought I would be homeschooling any of my kids. Never say never!
You just don't know what life will throw at you. I'm a list-maker and a planner. And I had it all planned. (I should have learned my lesson when I only "planned" 2 children.) But thankfully, God really does know what is best for us... and the journey that led us to homeschooling is one of the main reasons I wanted to do this blog. I wanted to share our fears and reservations and how they eventually turned into triumphs, empowerment and happiness. But they only changed when we saw God's plan and let Him do His work.
Earlier this year Morgan was going through a very tough time. She had some medical issues going on... and on top of that school was just basically stressing her out. It had been a progression of things getting worse over the last couple years leading up to the point that she was not able to go at all. People underestimate the power of stress! She was in advanced classes, Avon has a very rigorous band program even in the 7th grade, and she is a perfectionist. With the combination of all that stress and missing almost 3 weeks of school due to H1N1... she had reached her limit. Her school was very accomodating and let her do her work at home the last semester of last year, but basically told us that it could not be a permanent thing. Understandable. Our plan was to take the summer off and just deal with it later. I knew what we had to do in the back of my mind, but I didn't want to think about it.
We quickly found ourselves at the end of the summer and the decision of what to do about school was upon us. Selfishly, I wanted her to go to school. I knew it was going to be a big undertaking to home school her. Would she miss out on friends. She loved playing in the band. How would I work part-time and do this. Would she receive a quality education from... me. Not that I didn't want to do it... but I just was scared. Plain and simple. I was scared of the unknown. When it comes to your kids though, wouldn't you do anything? Chris totally supported me in whatever decision we made about this.
(About that time we finally found a doctor who would take Morgan's symptoms seriously. She was eventually diagnosed with PCOS, pre-diabetic insulin resistance and a thyroid that was not working. She also has bouts of anxiety and OCD because of dealing with the untreated medical problems for so long. Her journey to a diagnosis really is a story of its own that deserves a post (and more!) dedicated to it. I will talk more about it another day. But, God is truly working miracles in her life!!)
And so we made the decision. We would be homeschooling this year!! And when that decision was finally made I immediately felt a sense of peace. Through all of this the only way I can describe it is just turmoil. But with that decision things changed. I felt empowered. I talked to some friends who home schooled. I ordered a curriculum that I had no clue about - but thought looked good. I started searching on the internet. I bought a teacher's plan book. I read all the state rules regarding homeschooling. And I prayed and asked God to give me the strength. I also prayed that He would give Morgan the strength as well. She was excited, but apprehensive the same. Her biggest fear was missing her friends. I promised we would find some support groups or something. And a support group for me as well.
The day before school was to start I went into her school to withdraw her. I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my life. It felt so final. Yes, I had a peace about it but I still couldn't stop thinking about all the "what-ifs". I've heard how schools give parents a hard time when they withdraw their child. But the school counselor knew my heart. And she knew Morgan. Even she was very encouraging and wished us well. I appreciate everything she did for us.
Tomorrow I will continue talking about our first few weeks of homeschooling... the disasters, the successes and the few tears that were shed as well. Along the way it also changed my whole concept and perspective of education for my children... and a few life lessons for me as well.
Until then... have a blessed day!!
No comments:
Post a Comment