There is something in the heart of a mother that always wants to know how her child is doing.  Having homeschooled my children for the past 10 years, I always know how they are doing with that.  But, what about in other areas?  We don't have parent/teacher conferences or progress reports to tell us how our kids behave when we are not around.  When they are involved in activities outside the home, I am always looking for feedback - positive or negative.  I want to know how they are doing in Sunday school or at youth group.  I want other's views from a more unbiased perspective.  Are they getting along with the other kids on their baseball teams?  Are they being polite and respectful?  When I do ask I sometimes get the feeling that I am being an interfering parent or that I am holding on too tightly.  What is that anyway?  Isn't that in the job description?  Shouldn't I know what my kids are doing and how they are behaving?  You can't train your children to be godly adults when you aren't involved - very involved - in their lives.  Wouldn't it be nice if someone would volunteer that kind of information once in a while so you didn't have to seem so nosey?  Well, that is just what happened to me yesterday. My 16 year old son started his first "real" job yesterday.  He is going to spend the rest of the summer working part time for a man that does home remodeling.  On my way to pick him up after work I promised myself that I wouldn't ask his employer a dozen question about how my son did.  After all, he is 16 and getting older everyday.  At some point it becomes his responsibility to make sure he is doing what he is supposed to be doing.  Instead, I asked HIM at least a dozen questions, which I guess is a step in the right direction.  He was happy to talk about his day, but I still had to wonder if the boss thinks my boy is as great as I do.  Well, when I dropped him off this morning, his boss came over to my car and told me that I have taught my son to work hard and that he has a good work ethic.  I was so happy to hear that he did his job well.  His boss must know how nice it is to hear feedback from someone other than a doting grandparent.  He knows because they homeschool, too.

Posted by magina

I love to get feedback on my children, too. Positive is the best kind!!!

Posted by mrsclark

I'm looking forward to reading your blog!

Posted by BarbaraFrank

Your post brings back memories of when my older son got his first job. It stretched him and matured him in ways we couldn't have imagined. Hard to believe that was five years ago! Congratulations to your son :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm glad you like the title of it; it's also the name of my Web site and newsletter. I chose that name because when I first began homeschooling 17 years ago, the few magazine articles I could find about homeschooling made me feel like the families featured were perfect. Our family is definitely not perfect, but God has blessed our efforts just the same, and we consider our homeschooling experience to have been a tremendous blessing in our lives. I'm so glad I didn't bypass homeschooling because we weren't "perfect"!