Under the Grow Light!! - A Dash of Perspective

Nov. 15, 2006

A Dash of Perspective

My daughter is turning 13 in two weeks. It seems to DH and me that the hormones have been flowing for a long time, like since she was 5...We keep hoping and praying that we've already weathered the hardest part. Hint: My favorite books are Raising Your Spirited Child and Homeschooling the Challenging Child. Get my drift? In fact, when my husband spotted me with my own copy of RYSC, he said, "Didn't you get that at the library?" I replied, "Yeah, but I really need my own copy to hide under the mattress for those dark nights when the words 'boarding school' keep appearing before my eyes." (The funny thing was that when I read the forward to this newer version, it said almost that exact thing!)

Anyway, our schooling has never been smooth for any long period of time. She has come a long way, but never, never, never would say that school is worthwhile or important, just forced. She's a VORACIOUS reader, a great mimic, very artistic and dramatic. She's very funny and mega-watt bright, but can't stand schoolwork of any kind. What am I supposed to do with that?!

I'm task oriented. I see the list. I want to accomplish the list of have-to's so I can get on to the want-to's. I just want to accomplish, glory or no, just get it done. So, I guess I am not very inspiring or creative, as far as school goes. I think the fact that my house is half-remodeled, my barn is 1/3 built (with horses already in it), I have a toddler and my in-laws need adult supervision regularly contributes to this lack of spontaneity, but I could be wrong.....

Anyway, I'm sure I've created an atmosphere of drudgery. I have been a little low about this lately as I continue to see that I am not meeting my goal of raising someone who loves learning. I asked her if she had a favorite subject and she said, unequivocally, "N.O." At this rate, she will never consider college anything other than incarceration and I don't have bucks to waste on that kind of experimentation.

So, I'm bumming. My friend, Leslie brought a much-needed dose of perspective for me today. I worry so much about sharing too much of this with DH, because he views it as me suffering and he wants to eliminate the struggle. Anyway, Leslie reminded me that what's going to matter later rather sooner is that I have a loving relationship with this child, especially when she turns fifteen.

It won't really matter then whether she knows the gross national product of Tanzania or who was the architect for the Capitol of the United States. Fractions can always been learned, but if I lose out on the trust, love, and enjoyment of this young life, I will truly have missed an important and once-in-a-lifetime trip.