Apples for Oranges

An apple is an apple with apple qualities and an orange is an orange with orange qualities.

A little vent... I am SICK of having to defend that we

used

to exclusively homeschool. You guys and the friends I have here have been so wonderfully supportive, I think I took it for granted. Some of my OLDest friends and my OWN sisters have not been so encouraging. I was thinking about why it irritated and stressed me out so much and came to the conclusion that I wanted to control their thinking. Well I can't. So why stress about it?

Instead I thought of a good one or two liner when they imply that they're soooo glad he'll be going to school and try to convince me his needs weren't being met previously. "As a parent knowing your child better than anyone else would you do what is absolutely the best for your child?" "That's exactly what I have done and

continue

to do." I never stopped!!!!!!! As a parent can anyone argue that? Seriously I'm doing the best for my children that THEY need, and you're doing the best for what YOUR children need. I'm not telling you what you're doing isn't what you should be doing, so please don't tell me that what I'm doing and have done isn't what I should be doing.

People have NO clue how much homeschooling has inspired Justinbustin to be the man that he is. They have no idea what creates the lump in my throat as I type this. You know the struggles that I have gone through, the struggles that I continue to go through. The struggles HE has gone through and how he has so amazingly come through all of them. Even his speech therapist who is qualified beyond expectation says that the reason he has the confidence he has today is BECAUSE we homeschooled him. So don't tell me that I have EVER done him wrong in that way in the past.

This child has compassion beyond the normal years of his life. He holds babies, feed them bottles, burps them, and kisses them on their forehead. He is by their side when they start to get fussy comforting them. His friend he attached to immediately in the fundamentals class has had challenges of his own during his life. The compassion they have for each other and the obliviousness to differences in human beings is priceless. I have more compassion because of all that we have gone through, but I

wish

had as much compassion as my seven year old boy. I KNOW that being in school with other children not so familar with the hardships of life would've been only a scar and not a development into the mature little man in front of me today.