Yesterday I drove down to Albuquerque for the Christian Association of Parent Educators (CAPE) annual convention. Last night some of the other Santa Fe homeschooling moms and I went to dinner, and when the hostess asked, “Do you need any children’s menus?” I can’t tell you the euphoria I felt saying, “No!”
Isn’t that awful? I love my children, and of course miss them now when I’m away from them, but eating with them in restaurants is just so much work, and it felt so, so good to be able to have a meal with friends and know that the only person whose food consumption and table manners I had to be concerned with were my own.
Motherhood. It makes you appreciate the little things
Comments 9
I think you might enjoy this, its about another mom’s reaction to a response to a similar blog (actually twitter I think) post.
http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/04/13/i-hate-david-dellifield-the-one-from-ada-ohio/
Posted 17 Apr 2009 at 3:18 pm ¶I can see where you are coming from and there is nothing wrong with being happy to be alone for a bit. Penolope (in the blog linked by Dan) seems quite different.
For a woman to say that she is not meant to be a stay-at-home mother just doesn’t sound right. Not being able to be one for financial reasons is another matter. I think I understood where she was coming from (as much as a man can, anyway) and the hate mail was a little extreme but I – my opinion only – can’t help but think less of a woman who says that. It is kind of like saying “My internal programming isn’t right”.
I was not aware, as I am new to this blog, that you home schooled your kids. Though I would be concerned about its effect on their social skills, I think that is a hell of a thing to do and requires dedication and patience that few people possess. Of course, I hope and assume that you are educated enough to fulfill that duty.
My own wife could not do it, though I wish she could and we are very careful about day care and teachers now. We had, until last year, a Serbian immigrant nanny/housekeeper who was wonderful and whom we trusted completely with our two kids (3 & 7). Then last year I was at a bookstore with my, then 6-year-old, son Aristotle and I saw someone reading the book Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West (I highly recommend it) and we struck up a nice conversation. I asked her why she was reading the book and she told me she was Croatian by descent and suddenly Aristotle starting ranting about how the Croats were as good as Nazis and should be exterminated (he screwed up the word, but we knew what he was saying) and he went on and on and started cursing them and then told her to “F-off you Croatian Bitch!” We do not curse in our home or speak ill of anyone (including Native Americans) and I knew that he couldn’t possibly know what he was saying and, after some investigation, I found out that this Serbian bitch was feeding him twisted, though possibly based in some fact, lies and views that I didn’t want him to have. I am only sorry that I let him go on so long at the bookstore but I was stupefied. You are much better taking care of your kids yourself.
Posted 17 Apr 2009 at 6:38 pm ¶Dan, the difference between what I wrote and what Penelope Trunk wrote is that I am home with my kids all day every day, week in, week out, year in, year out, and I left town for a 2-day getaway without them, while she works, has her kids in school and has a nanny for when they get out of school, and even a couple of days on her own with the kids was just about more than she could take.
JT, my educational b/g can be found on my “About” page, and ought to reassure you about my children’s academic preparation, if not about their socialization.
Posted 18 Apr 2009 at 2:02 am ¶This is exactly why New Mexico needs a Dept of Hispanic Affairs. Chicanos don’t have the luxury of sitting at home on their chalupas and homeschooling their kids. Only gringos can get away with that. Maybe I’m just jealous that I didn’t get to stay home with my mom (God rest her beautiful soul) and play whack the pinata every day with her.
Posted 18 Apr 2009 at 2:19 am ¶I hate to deflate your rhetorical pinata, Senor PW, but I know some Hispanic ladies who homeschool their kids.
Posted 18 Apr 2009 at 3:26 am ¶They’re probably Mormons. And Mormon Hispanics aren’t real Hispanics. All Mormons are white, end of debate!
Posted 18 Apr 2009 at 3:33 am ¶I know Brigette & 3 of her kids. Her oldest went to kindergarten & 1st grade with my oldest before she started homeschooling (by the way, she has a doctorate). I know that through that initial group of kids, from her church & from the homeschool group that she is is a part of, her kids get just as much socialization as other kids. The great thing about homeschooling is the time that is not wasted like in public or private school. It’s not unheard of to be done with the entire curriculum in 3-4 hours. If you do that in the morning, then the afternoons are free for extra curricular activities, playdates, field trips, etc. I applaud her for homeschooling her kids. Her kids also get to learn about some history subjects that most kids, including adults, NEVER learn about in any public school. The great thing is that they ask to learn about it!
It’s too bad that more hispanic families don’t choose to homeschool. I also know several hispanic families (not mormons) that homeschool.
Having grown up in a hispanic community, lived in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, I see a lack of moral values in a lot of hispanics. I’m not saying all hispanics, just a lot. With a lack of moral values, why would they choose homeschooling? Part of the reason for homeschooling is to teach moral values – to teach our children to be productive members of society, to be nice to others, to not take from others what is not ours, to respect other’s property, plus provide them with the education far superior to what the public school is offering. Within my 1st week of moving to Santa Fe, my husband’s brand new car was stolen from our driveway, the police are corrupt (they did absolutely nothing to help us catch who did this – there was enough evidence to lift fingerprints) & this police officer was hispanic, I see grafitti everywhere in Santa Fe, I hear about many other people’s who’s homes & businesses were vandalized, my nice hispanic neighbor who’s teenage daughter was beat up by a hispanic gang of girls. No moral values!
Thank you Brigette for being part of my inspiration to homeschool this fall. If you can do it with 4 kids at home & a husband who is traveling a lot for work, then I know I can do it too – with only 2 kids & a husband who works locally.
Posted 18 Apr 2009 at 2:08 pm ¶Senorita daMom,
What is “daMom” anyway? Is that like saying someone is da Bomb among the homeschooling cult?
By the way, those Hispanic homeschoolers, if not Mormons, gotta be Jehova’s Witnesses. There’s just no way any reasonable Hispanic parent homeschools their kids. That’s why God made Catholic schools!
While I do not doubt Brigette’s abilities, I do doubt yours. You are a racist!!!!! Got that you big fat racist hausfrau? I just hope your kids don’t turn out to be racists.
You see a lack of moral values in the Hispanic communities? Pray tell us exactly what lack of moral values you have seen? Better yet tell us how Hispanics differ from other groups like Whites or even Native Americans. And by the way, how can you tell they’re Hispanic because Brigette apparently doesn’t believe that Hispanics exist? We’re all one race, right? Why don’t we sing kumbaya while we’re at it! What nonsense!
Seriously, I hope one of my compadres has his Chihuahua leave a nice little package on your front lawn. That way you can justify all of your racist beliefs about Mexicans and their dogs.
Posted 18 Apr 2009 at 8:49 pm ¶Wow, if it’s not hatred towards Hispanics, it’s ignorance towards homeschoolers…how sad…
By the way, I am a very reasonable hispanic that homeschools because I do want to instill moral values in my child that the public schools do not…plus, most public schools are horrendous and most kids nowadays have no manners or consideration for the elderly, etc…
With that said, follow me on twitter…
Posted 28 Jun 2009 at 6:03 am ¶HispHomeschool…I twitter about both Hispanic heritage, as well as general homeschooling laws, suggestions, fun stuff, homeschool days, etc…
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