For my last post before Christmas I was thinking of sharing something fun and crafty, but when last week’s horrible events in Newtown are still so fresh it doesn’t seem right.
As I was on facebook that day, there were so many posts from people wanting to go pick up their children early and just hold them and from homeschoolers, many posts about hugging their children tighter right then because they could. I even saw a few posts from people saying that the tragedy made them want to start homeschooling. I can understand where they’re coming from, but this kind of thing is not what makes most of us homeschool. The sad fact is, there is violence everywhere, as anyone who was in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 can well remember. Yes, by homeschooling I have pretty much eliminated the chance that my children will be injured or killed in a school shooting, but as I hope I’ve shared with you through this blog, homeschoolers don’t just stay home. We’re out there living and working and playing in our communities, just like everyone else. So what can you do?
To quote Mother Teresa, “Go home and love your family.” It’s simple and true and it’s all that we really can do, and if everyone did just that, the world would be a better place. Wherever your kids go to school, you’ve got the next two weeks to be with them and enjoy them. Whenever the time comes that they’re loud and rowdy and completely loaded up on candy from their stockings, take a deep breath and think about how beautiful that noise can be.
Merry Christmas.
