The Beginning

Growing up in a family of 9 children had it's Plus's and Negative's. I always shared a room. Plus! My sister wasn't as "clean" as me. Negative. I had a wardrobe that was shared between 3, sometimes 4 sisters at a time. Major Plus!!! When I was a teenager, my job was laundry. Major Negative. I always had a buddy to talk to. Plus. I never had any space to be alone. Negative.

I knew someday I wanted to have a home of my own, with lots of children running around. I imagined a wrap around porch, a beautiful garden, children who would run in and out of the house. I imagined home cooked meals, warm bread from the oven, salad from our vegatable garden, and children who gobble everything up I ever made! I never imagined that they wouldn't get a long. That they would whine a whole whole bunch. That some would be HORRIBLE eaters and others would tell me point blank, "this is disgusting". That I would have to exercise an unbelievable amount of patience...daily. But more than anything, I never imagined how hard it would be to keep an orderly home. Looking back on my childhood I always thought my house I grew up in was tidy, well kept, even clean. However, I know my mom experienced the exact same feelings of disorder that I struggle with now. I also didn't realize that the responsibility of teaching my children the importance of cleaning and keeping tidy, would rest soley on my shoulders. How on earth am I to do this if I can't even seem to make my own bed each morning?

So while I'm feeling overwhelmed with my daily to do list, a nagging thought keeps popping into my head. "Homeschool". Ha, I'll just push that silly idea right out of my head. Nope, keeps coming for a full two years! Can I do this? Do I want to do this? To be continued...