From Ideal to Real Homeschooling

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be near the end of your homeschooling journey? I don’t have to wonder anymore, I’m almost there—just a year away.

In the olden days, when I first started homeschooling, I didn’t like to think about the end. That would mean my kids would leave home and we wouldn’t get to do all the fun homeschooling stuff anymore. I didn’t like those thoughts.

Somewhere in the middle of homeschooling I started wondering if there was even an end in sight or would this be what I did the rest of my life. It’s the same feeling I had about 20 hours into labor with my first child when all I knew was that I was in pain, but couldn’t remember why. It’s easy to lose sight in the thick of things.

Now, I’m almost to the finish line and how do I feel?

Happier than a pig in poop!

This is not how I expected to feel! I thought I’d be weepy and sappy and longing for the good old days. Not so.

I’ve already told my daughter that when she graduates next year the party is for me, not her.

Why do I feel this way?

-I’ve given it my all. I didn’t do it perfectly. I didn’t do it awesomely. But I did it with heart. And I sacrificed time, money, career, life, limb and sanity to get to spend all these wonderful years with my kids. But when it’s over I can say with Jesus, “It is finished!”

-My kids are awesome! Hey, real fruit comes of this homeschooling stuff and now I’m seeing it in the people they have become. It’s harvest time!

-I actually get to have a life of my own. I’m not sure what that looks like anymore, though my husband hopes it looks like a job with income attached to it, but I’m eager to see what God has in store.

Wherever you fall on the homeschooling spectrum, take heart that the end can be a good time, a happy time.

Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Either that or homeschooling killed me.

Image by comedynose on flickr

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