Mudspark Life Learning

The journey of parenting I find myself getting so angry about how freaking hard it is to be a mom. Especially an attachment parenting, homeschooling, developing-the-selfhood-of-my-kids mom. And then I feel so guilty for feeling this way - my kids are healthy, smart children, and I chose this path, this role of super mom. I'm caught between feeling like I should stop whining and that it IS hard and I need a break already. I need kids to respect me. And I need to stop feeling sorry for myself. Such a mish-mash of feelings. I was praying about all these feelings - anger, exhaustion, guilt, gratitude, overwhelm - and as often happens if we are opening to listening to the Reply, I gained a bit of insight. It occurred to me that I have carried a perception of this time of life - mom with kids at home - as the Most Important Phase of Life. I've often told people that I've wanted to be a Mom since I realized I could be one - at about age five. Then and now I have (unconscio...

We visited the Autism Community Store today. It's just east of Iliff and Quebec. They do a good job of creating a calm, not overwhelming environment despite being jam packed with all manner of resources. My son especially enjoyed the hanging swing and the "sensory cave," a closet-sized space with soft cushions, soothing lights, weighted blankets, and a lava lamp filled with bubbles and (plastic) fish. I perused the book shelves, which includes a lending library as well as titles for sale,  and spent a good long time gathering cards and flyers for local resources to support my hive of homeschooling families. Looks like they make their own weighted blankets, beanbag animals, and weighted vests. We picked out a blue swirly chewelry and a stand for our exercise ball to replace our broken office chair. As I helped my son put his shoes back on before we headed out the door, I giggled at a sign right in front of us: "No shoes, no shirt, no skirt, no problem." He...

"Scientific studies conducted by Dr. Leonard Sagan, a medical epidemiologist, ... show that social class, education, life skills, and cohesiveness of family and community are key factors in determining life expectancy. Of all these factors, however, education has shown to be the most important. ... Hope, self-esteem, and education are the most important factors in creating daily health , no matter what our background or the state of our health in the past." Christiane Northrup, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom  p 27 (emphasis in original) Since homeschoolers tend to get a really good education, grow up feeling confident in their skin, and are often a part of a dynamic, diverse, and tight community, by homeschooling, you are benefiting your children's health and life expectancy. On self-esteem: "In addition, several studies have been done to measure homeschoolers’ 'self-concept,' which is the key objective indicator for establishing a child’s se...

You know what really irks me? Healers like my acupuncturist and chiropractor telling me that I just need to put my kids in school already. I get that parents who send their kids to school just don't understand what my life is like. I get they think it's a little crazy. But they do not need to tell me every single time I go get a treatment that I need to change this part of my life. It's not helpful. I'm working on the courage to say to them next time it comes up: "I'm not going to send my kids to school, so it's not really helpful to keep telling me to do so." That is all.

My daughter earned her first homeschool badge, Healthy Eating, by writing the following essay, her first ever essay.