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Rachel and Ford had their dentist appointments today and they did GREAT.  I was so proud of how grown up they were.  Rachel went right on back without worrying about where I was and stayed in her own room and chatted up the lady cleaning her teeth.  It was so cute to be down the hall and hear her carrying on a conversation.  Ford was ecstatic that he could watch TV and was in quite a fog while his teeth were being cleaned.  The lady finally said, "Do you want me to stop talking so you can hear your show?" and he perked up and said, "Yes!"  Pretty funny!  He made it through the whole flouride treatment without swallowing any of the stuff this time, which is a big deal for him, so even Rachel told him how proud she was!  

While we were there, I was asked the question again:  What made you decide to homeschool?  I know this is a super sore subject with lots of people and I was a little on the defensive about it at first, but now I realize the problem with the question is that you're never really sure how to answer.  A lot of times when someone asks you that question, they already have an idea of how you're going to respond, so I used to just give a quick answer and move on.  Today, I think I finally was able to give the best answer I've ever given.  I simply said, "We just want school to be different for our kids than what they would get in public school."  I could tell that was not the answer she was expecting and I didn't feel like expanding, so I left it at that.  It's just hard to explain more than that when the reasons for homeschooling are so personal.  If people who homeschool didn't want something different, they'd just send their kids to school, right?  The woman who asked me about it, also said she was glad that her youngest child is a senior because she is tired of dealing with public school.  It's amazing how many times I hear people saying they wish they hadn't had to send their kids to public school or they wish that school had been different and I just don't want to find myself saying that 10-15 years from now.  Earlier in the week, I was at a meeting for church and I was talking to a lady about our kids.  She mentioned how she lets her grandchildren watch TV and I started talking to her about how we watch about one show a day but have been trying recently to not watch any shows (you know, unless they turn it on at the dentist :)  She jokingly remarked that my kids would think I'm the devil when they get to school and find out how much TV their friends watch!  When I told her we were homeschooling she went on and on about how smart that is.  I think I just realize that public school comes with the need to be "normal" and we don't really know what our normal is right now.  I know that I don't like marketing and I don't like sitting in front of the TV for long periods of time instead of playing with my kids or helping them learn and explore, but I also know that every now and then a TV show can be fun and entertaining and (gasp!) they might actually learn something from it.  I also know that even if we could afford it, I'm not going to buy everything my kids want for them.  One of the most important lessons Allen and I want to work with them on early in life is that if something is worth having, you need to work for it and appreciate it.  I don't want them coming home every day sad because they don't have the things that their friends have or we don't have the channels (or the TV!) that their friends have.  It's taken me a long time to learn that I need to quit competing with other people and only compete with myself, so that is part of what I want to instill in these kids and we have enough competition in our own house already.  As a society, I think everyone is looking for acceptance.  People are looking for it in the clothes they wear, in the cars they drive, and heck, they're even looking for it on Facebook (don't get me started).  I want our kids to feel loved and accepted at home first and then by the people important in our lives so that when other people out in the world aren't so accepting, they know they have a strong group of people who are.

That turned into more of a rant that I intended it to, but I think you get the idea...