*
(Above: The kids, and a school friend, on their first day.)
*
I loved homeschooling. I loved our wild days, and our shoeless kids, and the romps in the field and afternoons in the woods. I do look back on that time wistfully. And while I’m not envious exactly, I also feel a certain yearning when I see my friends who homeschool share their posts and the photos of their classrooms in the treetops and meadows and cozy living rooms.
*
Homeschooling, for most kids, is, I think, optimal. Just as it’s my conviction that home birth is optimal. Do I need to specify that I mean “optimal” within the context of “normal” circumstances? Oh I do. Alright then. That’s what I mean.
*
However, I didn’t “fail” at homeschooling. Despite one of my podcasts being all about how we homeschooled (also available on iTunes if you search for “The Bauhauswife Podcast”), I don’t feel in the least ashamed, or even sheepish about the fact that my family and I are now on a different path. I don’t feel guilty, or defensive, or bothered by my decisions.
*
(Just as I would never consider it a “failure” on the part of a woman, should she end up birthing in the hospital, even if home birth had been her desire.)
*
I made choices that put my family in a different circumstance and because of those choices, homeschooling is no longer the best option for my kids.
*
(Just as some women make choices that render homebirth unreasonable—as is their prerogative and their right.)
*
Our three oldest kids now attend a tiny Catholic school located in a church basement, run by the most wonderful women, and they are nurtured and loved there, and treated with kindness and respect. Lee dedicates his time to his art and sculpture as well as caring for our two youngest, and I work in marketing & communications part of the time, and then I do freelance writing and pottery-making and birth-consulting (mostly online) the rest of the time.
*
We are incredibly incredibly lucky, and this dynamic is proving to be a winning combination for all of us. Is it a compromise? Yeck yes. Every choice in life precludes another option, and only occasionally do we have the opportunity to refuse to compromise. Of course, sometimes refusing to compromise can be a choice too…
*
Have you made your schooling choices work for you?
*
Have you made your birthing choices work for you?
*