“Would you be willing to be the Fiber Arts Room Coordinator at the homeschool convention?” The question came right smack dab in the middle of homeschool burnout, the first one I’d ever experienced in four years of homeschooling. My youngest son began the year at public school, so I only had one at home, but the school year had been difficult so far: I was unprepared, unmotivated, and emotionally tired, not just from homeschooling, but from some life trauma and grief. I had a few days to think about my answer and in the midst of my distress, I considered saying no but I knew we all loved the homeschool convention and of course, I love all things fiber arts, so I had to say yes.
Planning and organizing a full program of fiber arts activities kept me busy and gave me a focus. I was trying to climb out of my funk. But, by the middle of December my oldest son told me that he also wanted to try the local public school. That statement from him was so shocking and so unexpected, it knocked the wind out of me for more than a few days. After a lot of processing (mine) and total panic (mine), he made a pros and cons list and we enrolled him to start at our local public school after the winter break (even though he had more cons than pros – but, oh yeah, those were mine). Honestly, I was devastated, but I was burnt out, I had forgotten my homeschooling purpose, and I tried to look on the bright side of all the extra time to myself. Maybe this was the answer to my burn out.
The New Year began, I had two kids in public school and plenty of time to call my own. Both boys had been quick to confirm that we would all still attend the homeschool convention even if we weren’t technically homeschoolers. I assured them this was so. We got into our new groove – but not really. My older son discovered that school hadn’t changed much from 2nd grade when he left to 6th grade when he returned. My younger son was feeling the effects of boredom and the complaints were getting louder and louder. And me? I had so much time to myself – more than I had ever had in all my years of parenting. I washed my hair every day, the meals were better, the house was a cleaner but…, something was missing.
My oldest son lasted one month exactly at public school. I won’t go into all the details but it was clearly not working for him and I was surprised at how eager I was to have him come back home. My younger son lasted a few weeks longer after that and then he also threw in the towel at public school. They both asked me if they could come home again.
I didn’t feel burnt out when they came home again. I had the same feelings I had when I started homeschooling in the first place: excitement, relief, and a feeling of empowerment. I remembered my purpose and found my aim again. I didn’t feel burnt out anymore. I felt grateful. I felt grateful that I was able to go with the flow of things even amidst sadness, grief, and less than clear thinking. I was grateful to give my kids the opportunity to choose their education and I was super grateful that they chose to homeschool. We just got back from the homeschool convention. Our whole family had such a great time. It really was the best one yet.
Recent Comments