Super mom

    It was one of those wonderful moments when all five children were behaving nicely, ironic considering the really rough morning we had had, the second rough morning in as many days.  But, of course, looking at the kids all smiling and sitting quietly the nurse could not tell that when she asked me about them and why they were not in school.  “I home school,” I told her as we went to the scale to weigh the youngest for her one year old well-baby appointment at our pediatrician’s office.  “Really?  You must be a supermom.  I only have one child and I feel overwhelmed half the time,” she said.  Now I have to admit I much prefer this reaction to the other common one I get when I tell people I home school my children, the one where the person looks at you funny and says, “You home school?!?!?  You are crazy.”  But, though I was flattered by her admiration, I was honest and I assured the nurse that I was the farthest thing from supermom.  I was secretly glad she hadn’t been able to peek in my windows that morning to actually see how far from “super” I was as I got frustrated with the whiny older children and the baby getting into everything and finally had to put myself in “time-out” for a while to cool off.  
    The truth is both reactions are pretty off base as far as home schooling goes, at least at our house.  I am not super, nor am I perfectly patient or impeccably organized, like many people assume I must be, but neither am I crazy for choosing to educate my children at home.  And, really, I would like to be super mom.  I would like to be perfectly patient and impeccably organized.  All these things would help me to home school and to parent in general but thankfully they are not requirements for the job.  The greatest requirement, that I can see after 5 years of home schooling, is willingness.  Willingness to be with my children 24/7.  Willingness to learn with them, even those subjects I did not particularly enjoy during my own schooling, and even more importantly, from them, so many lessons that cannot be found in any of our workbooks.  Willingness to be flexible and open-minded, and always on my toes because nothing is predictable in a house with young children, not even with perfectly organized lesson plans.  Willingness to take on this monumental task of teaching four different grades at once to four very different kids (five, if you count the baby who is always learning with us, about everything that is going on around her).  Willingness to keep on trying even when I lack confidence in my ability to do it all as perfectly as I think I should.  Willingness to do the job that God has asked of me in raising and educating my children to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him.  And willingness to depend completely on Him, never forgetting that I am not a super hero, but my God is the greatest super hero ever and He can do anything through me, as long as I am willing to let Him.