I pulled up to the preschool, after much debate, told our daughter she would be leaving and not returning. We were going to homeschool, we were going to explore. The plan was quickly being rewritten, the best preschool, the good school district, the house in the suburbs with a husband in finance and myself working for the schools looked good on paper, but was no longer the life for us.
The new desire to homeschool was strong, it just hit me one day, not out of sadness from missing my daughter, but because I had this ideal notion that school could be done differently.
We debated for months, I was unsure, I didn’t know anyone that homeschooled. Then one day, we made the decision. I pulled up to that preschool, told the teacher and director we were going to homeschool, they were noticeably unhappy and made audible sounds of displeasure with our choice. I told my daughter what her dad and I had discussed,. I was clear she would not be going back, that she would be home with us, that I would try to make playdates, but I couldn’t be sure what people would say. Despite all my nervousness as I waited for her response she was thrilled. I thought, ok this is going to work.
I had visions of grandparents, aunts, and uncles, all coming together spending time learning and growing as a family. Homeschooling became my dream, a dream I did not know I had. Thankfully, my husband could see how homeschooling supported our collective dream of a close family that learned and adventured together. The only trouble was that we expected the dream that became so clear to us to be obvious to the rest of our world.
But the truth is we must have courage to follow our dreams, despite how the world responds. Because they are our dreams for a reason and it is up to us to live those dreams out to the best of our abilities.
I found solace in authors of the past. Testing ideas and theories as they came, keeping the parts that proved beneficial and ditching those that did not work.
At times we felt isolated, people would either openly protest our decision or remain quiet on the topic claiming support. Little discussion was often had, ideas were not openly shared. We learned that we are the roots, our children are the branches. It is up to us to provide the firm foundation for generations to come.