It's My Job to Get You to Heaven

In our house, we disregard any comments thrown our way when the "socialization" issue is brought up. We don't believe that public school is the be all, end all to a way for a child to have peers. We attend church three times a week, and we have monthly fellowship groups with a few families, including children in a similar age group as our kids. We frequent Barnes & Noble, and the kids tend to share books and trains fairly well with the other kids around--as well as a three and one year old do--and Samantha almost always has an older girl following her around and keeping her entertained and busy. When our children are older, we hope that they are interested in scouts. My sister and her husband are "band geeks" and I hope that that too will rub off on Joshua and Samantha.

But, today we were at the library picking up the books that we reserved to begin the letter A unit next week, and we just so happened to stumble into Baby Storytime. At first Samantha wanted to go in, but quickly changed her mind as we entered the room. Joshua, however, wanted nothing to do with any of it. When he was Samantha's age, we tried the Music and Storytime stuff and he did not like it then either. I suppose it is mostly that he is unwilling to quickly adapt to new environments--he likes to ease into his surroundings. At birthday parties, he is usually the last to join in, but he has a blast once he does. At the library, he loves playing with the toys in the lobby, but the transition is too quick into the reading room. I have filled in as a helper in his class at church and until recently, he did not pipe up much when singing songs and helping to recite stories. I pray that his reaction to new, unfamiliar situations grows better with time, but even more so that it will not become a thorn in my side when it comes to the "S" issue and onlookers of homeschooling progress.

Now, I do realize that all children develop at different rates and different personalities, but I feel being a minority to the way today's society views what makes a kid well-rounded socially, and the fact that my Munchkin is a bit shy, will ultimately call for discussion in many situations. I hope that at the those times, I will remember to take a breath, ask the Lord for strength, and point to the Imp that is holding hands with a little girl that she probably met two mintues ago. I pray that the life we strive to model for them is worthy of God and his grace, but I have to remember that I must be understanding of the thoughts and views of others, without judging their character and motives for their comments.

A good friend of mine introduced me to a phrase that she heard growing up and now uses with her three daughters. When put in a situation that usually amounts to a "that's not fair" response from one of her girls, she reminds them, "It's not my job to be fair; it's my job to get you to heaven." I always have this thought at the back of my mind--I think that it is a good way to reach decisions and goals. Is that going to ultimately get me closer to God's will? I think that our choice to homeschool is just simply another way that we can provide unending support to our children by teaching them God's will and using the world as an example for all the blessings that he gives us. They don't need a "storytime room" for that.